PETERS: On camping, the environment and personal ethics

The point of this conversation about personal ethics is not that camping or leisure travel is such a harmful activity for one individual or one family to do.

These are the dilemmas we have to face. The impact of a personal choice on the other 8.3 billion people on this planet may be miniscule but surely it must mean something.

We can drive ourselves nuts by trying to measure our own individual impact on the environment against the impacts of entire industries.

We can drive ourselves even more nuts by running every micro action we take every single day through a complex ethical test beforehand.

As we watch the forests burn around us, it can feel completely helpless.

After years of drought conditions, not enough rain and not enough snow, we knew we were in for a reckoning.

We know July is usually dry in BC, but many parts of the BC Interior received little more than a drop or two last month.

Was there anything any individual could have done to alleviate that situation? No.

Was there even anything a government or larger population base could have done in a coordinated fashion? Maybe, maybe not.

The fact is, none of us is ever going to be perfect and the pursuit of perfection is neither wise nor necessary.

When it comes to environmental consciousness, what we should try to be is a little better, every day. A little better than generations past, a little better than we were yesterday, a little better than our basest instincts.

Look at it this way – we are on this planet for a short time. We should try to do as little damage as possible, yes, but we should also enjoy our time here.

Getting outdoors, making memories with our families and forging connections will do far more good than the potential harm of a little bit of combustion.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.

by James Peters

PETERS: On camping, the environment and personal ethics

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