Intro

First, I will introduce myself fully. My name is Chris Baranowski, I’m 19 years old and I was born in Amityville, Long Island. I have lived in New Jersey since I was 2, right near Princeton University. Music is probably my greatest passion and hobby, whether it be listening or playing. I play guitar, bass guitar, and a bit of piano and banjo. I enjoy listening to the music of Bob Dylan, Radiohead, and The Smiths. I think my passion for the environment, or more generally nature, came from a childhood filled with trips to state parks, zoos, beaches, caves and other places that both educated me and allowed me to see the beautiful natural world. I remember wanting to be a marine biologist as a kid, a dream that is probably still more alive within me than I realize. But it was only in the past few years that I realized, “why not try to spend my life in dedication to saving these places that I grew up with?” That way other children can develop a sense of awe and appreciation for the living world around us. For it is that appreciation that was promoted in me as a child that allows me to be able to find tranquility in taking a walk through the woods or just watching a river flow.

As for Stanley Fish’s article on living environmentally friendly in the U.S., I appreciate the informal tone he is taking in order to reach out to an audience that maybe is tired of having environmental issues forced down their throats. However, I simply cannot agree with his light tone or humor his pleas for sympathy. Fish seeks to point out the ridiculousness of certain green practices that he believes he should not be expected to follow. He doesn’t say that he doesn’t believe in global warming, he just feels that his life is being inconvenienced in certain areas for what he believes is maybe not a justifiable payoff. I realize that going green requires a lot of sacrifices that may be viewed as inconvenient, but in the article, Fish simply sounds like he’s whining to me, with lines like, ‘So far I have managed to avoid the indignity (for a sports-car lover) of owning a hybrid.’ Living environmentally friendly in the U.S. does not mean adhering to literally every miniscule energy saving practice and Fish should not be held to that standard, neither should we. But we should try to do everything that is possible in our everyday lives to make energy conscious decisions. But with an attitude like Fish’s, where the focus is on how hard change is or how we are being inconvenienced, progress will never be made. After all, going green requires a fundamental shift in the way we think. Fish seems outdated and even condescending and I hope he takes green practices more to heart.