However, I will now put that aside and talk about other things. I know that I seem overly optimistic to some people, and I am optimistic in many regards, but I try hard to be realistic in my expectations for the future. McCormick agrees that a lot of harm was done in the past, and admits that UN initiatives are often watered down and unenforced. However, he gets very excited by any form of international agreement. It seems to me that McCormic is judging the current state of affairs against an earlier time when the environment was completely commodified and taken for granted.
Concern is better than ignorance.
People may realize that it is important to recycle, that global warming may happen in the future, that there may be an ozone hole over the south pole, and that somewhere in the world ignorant people are wiping out great forests. I think that corporate advertisers understand them far better than the environmental movement organizers do, and are better funded to boot. My optimism comes from my belief that a sounder environemntal policy really is in everyone's best interests, and people always act in their best interests . This argument will always win points with me. One of the greatest flaws of our race is our reactiveness and excellent hindsight.