Words, Words, Words and Actions

Less than a year ago, I had the priviledge of hearing former president Clinton speak in honor of Pace University's 100th anniversary. Say what you will about his politics or pastimes, the man is as poised and charismatic at the podium as Pericles. He noted at that speech that the era of the internet has the capacity to make us all activists. We can all contribute with incredible ease to our favorite charitable organizations. We can all vouch our support for our favorite causes.

Certainly, he has a point. As we know it now, the internet is a global resource for an incredible variety of information. From various perspectives - Shi'ite, Kurdish and Sunni - from sexual liberation to liberation from sex to the idiotic. For us head in the clouds enviros, the internet is indeed a choice location for environmental information and activism.

But Clinton's speech was marked not only by his eloquence and optimism, but by two protestors who stood up at one point and called him a war criminal. He shrugged off the 10-second-long protest with the line "everybody's got an opinion." And it's true. You could call Clinton many things, including key to helping and hurting the environment with his deal with Richard Branson. We live in a culture so stuffed with opinions and pundits that it almost seems to be a rebellion not to have a stance.

This could not be further from the truth. Say what you will about Clinton, he is working for his causes. If I say nothing else in this blog it is this: distinguish between the source and the mouthpiece. Bill Clinton or Bill O'Reilly for that matter likely both have good reasons for their views, but that has nothing to do with whether or not what they say is true. Especially when it comes to the environment, quality information is essential. And when it comes to quality information about the environment, nothing beats going out and exploring it thoughtfully.