I'm an Indy Star kind of person. Anymore, however, reading it all the way through is something of a day long undertaking for me. I had a bit of luck this morning and had the chance to enjoy the first section and a half before 7, when life otherwise started. Today, there were THREE unique articles (e.g. not related to each other) all impacting environmental issues included in the front section. Impact? Awareness? They all fall under what Indy Star Editor Dennis Ryerson refers to as "the more traditional reporting that covers big breaking news, examines how things work or don't work, or exposes wrongdoing" in his "From the Editor" feature.
First, "Hospitals are Thinking Green" (A4). A Washington Post piece, it alludes to an incongruity with our healthcare system: we go to the hospital (or other medical facility) essentially to regain wellness, yet if this place maintains unnecessary toxicity, it indicates hypocrisy. But five groups responsible for purchasing $130 billion of medical products, representing more than 4,000 hospitals across the country, have adopted a series of questions for medical supply vendors to "encourage manufacturers to produce 'greener and safer products for workers, patients and the environment'."
Second, "Group's Goal: Energy for All" (A7). Have you ever heard of such a thing as "energy poverty"? For other basic needs that are denied to so many people around the world, who ever thought of our world community as lacking necessary supplies of energy? In fact, "There are 1.3 billion people or 20 percent of the world population, living without electricity and 2.7 billion that lack clean cooking facilities" according to the International Energy Agency in this Bloomberg News piece. What will it take to overcome this deficit? According to the IEA, $48 billion must be invested every year. To emphasize this point, consider this: "791 million people in sub-Saharan Africa, excluding South Africa, use about as much energy each year as 19.5 million people in New York state." I'm sure that no one is shocked by this, yet at what point do we become alarmed at the basic lack of energy that is available for everyone?
Third, and perhaps most importantly, "The World's Challenge: Basic necessities may be scarce for some as population hits 7 billion" (A20). You might think that this is a lesser story since it is more or less buried towards the end of the section, but in essence, this Associated Press piece encapsulates every environmental problem that we have in this world. This affects everyone, regardless of where you live. Our Earth has 7 billion people to support, and that's just this second, right now (actually on October 31st when we're expected to reach that mark). What about even a few years from now? 7 BILLION. That's simply unfathomable. We're not doing a great job so far using the resources that we have, and if our world community continues to expand as it is doing, what do we do when the resources are gone? Destroyed? Eliminated? Facts: The world population reached 1 billion in 1804 and 6 billion in 1998. We gained an entire 1 billion people in 13 years whereas is took all the way to 1804 to reach that point originally? What are we going to do???
If you have a few moments and are interested in reading more, I highly recommend all 3 of these articles (but especially the third). We are a part of a larger world community, and we're all in this together.
