Environmental choices …

Christian Century, April 10, 2002 by Cassandra Carmichael

I WAS ALARMED to see John Buchanan state that we do not personally lay waste the earth and pollute the seas ("The human condition," Feb. 27-March 6). He does admit that we participate in guilty political-economic structures, but by distancing the average citizen from the causes of environmental degradation, he absolves us from correcting the problem. The transportation choices we make, the household products we use, the clothes we wear--all these have an impact on the environment.

Each dollar we spend helps determine the way products are made or harvested, how services are provided and how workers are treated. As individuals, we can choose environmentally responsible products such as shade-grown, fair-trade coffee and energy-efficient light bulbs. If thousands of consumers make even small changes, industry will respond with better products and services. We can stop laying waste to the earth and polluting the seas.

Cassandra Carmichael
Takoma Park, Md.