Enviroment

The summer of 2007 was disastrous for Greece and more specifically, for its ecosystem. Anyone who watched the news during the summer will grow tired reading about the countless fires that ravaged the forests and burned houses and, sadly, people. I was witness of such a fire, during my time in Kastoria as a soldier, where the fire came closer to our facility, than it was comfortable. What I want to point out here is not the who, what and why, surrounding the fires but the mentality of the average Greek guy towards the environment and the meaning of ecology, as I perceive it.

2007 may be the year to mark a turn to ecology. Even more and more advertisements concerning the environment appear on the TV, which makes me believe that being “green” will be the business of the years to come. Major companies will use the concept of ecological / environment friendly products to sell. What concerns me is how the average Greek Joe (or Giorgos, if you prefer) is viewing this whole mess.

I believe that most think of it indifferent. Well, the polar ice is melting, so what? The poles are very far from Greece, right? Duh! The forests are burning, so what? I live in the city. Duh! The temperature is rising? So what? My new, super-duper, fucking awesome air conditioner will keep me cool. And if it isn’t, I am gonna buy a second one, a more powerful one! DUH!

Greece, being a beautiful country from nature, never seemed to need taking care of. OK, we had garbage, but that’s it. Recycling still is “something for the geeky, northern European folk”, alternative energy sources are still “experimental, unavailable and extremely expensive” and hybrid cars are “too slow, too unpredictable and there are no alternative fuel here, right?”. All this baloney makes me go crazy! The apathy. The indifference. The boredom. The lack of information. The lack of will to be informed.

Why does it have to be like that? Is it really THAT difficult to care about the environment, not in a WWF/Greenpeace way, but in an every day way? It is comforting and strange at the same time, that, whenever I visit certain places, like electronics stores, cinemas, press stands, etc., there are certain depots for battery disposal, under the AFIS (ΑΦΗΣ) initiative. And they are almost always full. That means that there are people, hear – hear, that care about disposing their used batteries! This gives me hope that there will be people, mostly the new generation, that will do what’s good for the environment, without feeling like they are forced to.

It all begins with education: Make people from little age, learn how to recycle, how to take care of trees, make them learn how to be patient and not use air-conditioners. Not taking the car for small distances in the city. Not to litter. All these stuff that make a Greek roll his eyes and feel oppressed. It won’t feel like that, when someone has learned to take these things for granted.