FRAZIER: Loving the Earth is a Dirty Job

Published 4:00 am Saturday, July 17, 2021

I have never categorized myself as an environmentalist. 

That’s not to say, I don’t love the planet. 

As a Girl Scout, I learned to appreciate many of the little nuances that one can experience when camping in the out of doors. 

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Like the smell of pine in the air, the sound of crickets chirping on a warm summer night and the view of bright shining stars that would otherwise be drowned out by light pollution. 

 There were times, however, when becoming one with the Earth got a little stinky. 

On one particular camping trip with our troop, my friends and I were up late one night talking and laughing in our tent when all of a sudden we heard something outside. 

Not knowing whether it was friend or foe, we did what every young girl would do when scared in the middle of the night. 

We started screaming. 

Well, needless to say not only did this send our leader into a dither as we were supposed to all be sleeping; it also caused the creature that was rooting around outside to react. 

My sleeping bag was never the same after the skunk let us all know he was scared, too. 

The Earth and taking care of the planet has become one of our country’s biggest political debates. 

It’s apparent the earth is warming up and the question is how do we find a solution to stop it. 

As a person of faith, I am not sure we as humans have the ability to alter what God has already put in motion, but certainly, we have the power to try our best to take care of what he has given to us. 

With that being said, I am not sure the answers all lie in the “Green New Deal” with its astronomical price tag. 

While I would never try to pass myself off as an expert in conservationism, or economics for that matter, this doesn’t mean I don’t have questions about how we are going about solving the problem. 

There are some things that just leave me scratching my head. 

For one –— The U.S. ranks second in the world when it comes to contributing to global warming — at 14.75 percent. 

China comes in first at 27.51 percent, nearly double the U.S. 

The remaining ten are India at 6.43 percent; Russia 4.86; Japan 2.99; Brazil2.25; Germany 1.98; Indonesia 1.64; Canada 1.63 and Mexico 1.62. 

Unless we can get commitments from other countries to follow suit — skeptical that China and Russia will allow the U.S. to dictate what they should do — I’m not sure how we alone can make significant changes to our climate. And I am apprehensive that by shuttering our resources, we will lose our independence and will be at the mercy of others. 

Secondly, it’s mind-boggling that we have billionaires fulfilling their dreams of going to space and in doing so are using inordinate amounts of fuel that could otherwise be consumed by those who actually need it to travel to work. 

Reportedly in a CNN opinion piece, Richard Branson said his Virgin Galactic claims that the carbon footprint for passengers is comparable to that of a business class ticket on a transatlantic flight. 

There is just one small discrepancy. The number of people soaring up to space on the Galactic compared to the number of passengers who board an aircraft traveling over the Atlantic is quite a bit less. 

Jeff Bezos says his Blue Origin does not emit carbon. However, the production of hydrogen fuels depends on fossil fuels which when processed, release carbon dioxide. 

Are you scratching your head yet? These men are being applauded for their creations. Is there a double standard here? 

Lastly, if we are to truly to began living a green life, we need to start small. 

It is only when we take baby steps that we will truly create real change. 

Currently, we still struggle when it comes to recycling, and we are a country that continues to litter. 

Camping was one of my favorite things to do as a scout. And one of the things I learned was that before we ever left a site, it was to be cleaner than we found it. 

Taking care of our planet is much more than a “green new deal”; it is an ideology that must be taught. 

It has been said, “When it comes to global warming, everybody wants to change the world but nobody wants to change himself.” 

 

About Terri Cowart Frazier

Terri Frazier was born in Cleveland. Shortly afterward, the family moved to Vicksburg. She is a part-time reporter at The Vicksburg Post and is the editor of the Vicksburg Living Magazine, which has been awarded First Place by the Mississippi Press Association. She has also been the recipient of a First Place award in the MPA’s Better Newspaper Contest’s editorial division for the “Best Feature Story.”

Terri graduated from Warren Central High School and Mississippi State University where she received a bachelor’s degree in communications with an emphasis in public relations.

Prior to coming to work at The Post a little more than 10 years ago, she did some freelancing at the Jackson Free Press. But for most of her life, she enjoyed being a full-time stay at home mom.

Terri is a member of the Crawford Street United Methodist Church. She is a lifetime member of the Vicksburg Junior Auxiliary and is a past member of the Sampler Antique Club and Town and Country Garden Club. She is married to Dr. Walter Frazier.

“From staying informed with local governmental issues to hearing the stories of its people, a hometown newspaper is vital to a community. I have felt privileged to be part of a dedicated team at The Post throughout my tenure and hope that with theirs and with local support, I will be able to continue to grow and hone in on my skills as I help share the stories in Vicksburg. When asked what I like most about my job, my answer is always ‘the people.’

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