First and foremost, I would like to apologize for my lack of blogging. My computer crashed and the computer lab in my dorm is actually nonexistent. I will now have to blog twice tonight and twice tomorrow to make up for it so get ready for a blast of blogging from yours truly. Moving on...
Everything is bigger in Texas. We've all heard it. From big hair to big hats, Texas prides itself on its size. And why shouldn't it? According to Newsweek, if Texas were its own country, it would be ranked 40th in size. That's pretty big when you consider how many countries there are on the Earth. Something else Texas does in a big way is apparently its CO2 emissions. If Texas were indeed its own country it would have the 8th highest CO2 emissions level. Yikes.
However, it's not just Texas's CO2 emissions that have environmentalists concerned. Newsweek says that Texas's 23.5 million residents use nearly 3,000 more kilowatt-hours of electricity every year than the average American. Also, 1 in 4 Texans drive a gas- guzzling pick-up truck. Not that that should come as any surprise to anyone.
I feel like Texas is somewhat of a big brother to the rest of the nation. It should be a role model for other states because of it's history, its culture, and simply because of the influence it seems to have on the rest of country. Shouldn't they be doing more to fix this environmental crisis going on in their state? Especially when global warming is such a hot issue right now. Texans should take a stand to protect the environment but instead they seem to take pride in the the fact that everything is bigger in Texas. Including their pollution levels.
3 comments:
Amazing facts about the amount Texans contribute to environmental problems. They aren't moderate like us modest folks from Ohio. Just joking. But seriously, I think there is a kind of narcissism involved with this because people who don't care about the impact of their carbon footprint on the planet are putting themselves first over others who have to suffer the consequences of smog and pollution, now and in the future. Not all Texans have this chauvinistic attitude, but how many other states brag about themselves as much as Texans? You mention that Texas is like a big brother to the other states. It's true that foreigners, when they think of the US, think of Texas--partly because of the popularity abroad of the TV show Dallas, but also because of the "bigness" of the culture and the people of Texas. So where does the #1 Texan, George W., stand on this issue? Hasn't he been dragging his heels as the rest of the world tries to solve the problem? By the way, a lot of college students are very involved in campus programs to make their campuses and communities as green as they can be. Are there any SMU student organizations working on reducing our collective footprint?
I mean the rest of the world except China.
China is actually desperately trying to clean up its air for the Olympics. Have you seen this on the news? Some of the athletes are going to wear masks from the minute their plane touches down. And they are going to prohibit nearly anyone at all from driving a car during the time the Olympics are going on.
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