By TIM ALEXANDER
Illinois Correspondent

PEORIA HEIGHTS, Ill. — Earth Day represents a good chance to meaningfully discuss modern environmental issues such as global warming and cap and trade legislation, according to John Mullen, chief naturalist at Forest Park Nature Center in Peoria Heights.

Since the first Earth Day event was organized in 1970, many key environmental laws have been enacted to help preserve the nation’s valuable, but limited natural resources, said Mullen, who holds Bachelor of Science in Ecology and Masters of Education degrees, and has worked as a forestry technician, wildlife biologist, botanist, teacher and forest ecology researcher during his career.

“Earth Day started out as partly a rallying cry, partly a protest and partly a teach-in,” Mullen said. “Shortly afterward, the United States Environmental Protection Agency was founded, and we ended up with the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act, as well as the Endangered Species Act. All of these are still extremely pertinent, and all are reviewed periodically within the federal government.
“There are occasional attempts to weaken or strengthen them, and that is (why) the continuation of Earth Day is so important. The populous has a chance on Earth Day to stand up and be vigilant and involved and make sure the basic human rights of clean air, clean water and for that matter clean soil are not infringed upon; those are all essential elements to what it means to have a healthy, live planet.”

Issues create political polarity
Environmental concerns being addressed by the administration of President Barack Obama are polarizing a large segment of American voters and establishing allegiances along party lines, Mullen said. Though he’s receptive to all sides concerning many of today’s pricklier environmental issues, Mullen can’t understand the logic of those who deny the existence of global climate change or dismiss it as a political Trojan horse for ushering in restrictive environmental regulations designed to hurt the oil and coal industries.

“Obviously, we’ve created a warming blanket, where the temperatures have increased worldwide,” Mullen said. “We have a vast majority of the world’s scientists telling us that we are well above the (allowable) parts-per-million ratio of C02 in the atmosphere, and unless we act immediately we’re going to see some changes in this world that won’t be favorable to humanity as we know it.”

Though Mullen believes that science will prevail over political rhetoric concerning global warming in the end, he said that it will be basic human observations that finally compel people to take the threat seriously. “We’re already seeing a lot of things change, but not where the populous lives in most cases. The bottom line is that we’ve been organizing this society as if we have unlimited resources,” Mullen said. “We each are part of the community of the nation, and we need to do our part to make it better, not use more and have less for the next generation. Global warming is caused by C02 emissions and the altering of the landscape by humans.”

Mullen said he’s frustrated, but not surprised by the insistence of some media companies to print or broadcast the results of junk scientific studies funded by those with an interest in debunking global warming. “995 of 1,000 scientists can agree that global warming is real, and a newspaper will give equal weight to one study by one scientist that says it isn’t,” he said. “It’s not surprising the populous comes away with a skewed outlook.”

Polarity caused by the global warming issue has reduced an issue of worldwide significance to political fodder. Mullen cuts to the chase when asked about its source.

“It seems anytime there is an issue of global consequence or national consequence there is a kickback from that, especially when there is a certain economic constituency such as big oil or big coal that needs to instill superstition into the works,” said Mullen.

All cap, no trade
Obama’s cap-and-trade legislation is a step in the right direction, but falls well short of what is needed to reverse the world’s collision course with an environmental disaster, said Mullen.

“Cap and trade is a short-term element in the reduction of C02, but personally I don’t see it as a long-term solution. Basically, with cap and trade you are rearranging the furniture as the Titanic goes down,” Mullen explained. “It will have the short-term benefit of some reduction, but if you are (allowing) someone else to trade out credits, and basically emit more by buying credits, then ultimately we’re not going to get to where we need to be.”

When asked for a better alternative for controlling C02 emissions than Obama’s cap and trade proposal, Mullen speaks in terms of paradigm shifts on personal, municipal and federal levels.
“First would be a leadership paradigm shift, if you will, to really not only mentor the country by example but also incentivize certain elements. This has been going on with the current administration, but not to a great enough extent,” he said. “Once we stop (labeling) alternative energy as alternative, then we’ll be starting to get somewhere.”

Power-robbing devices such as large-screen televisions, computers and high-end stereos that draw electricity 24 hours a day cause a great increase in the amount of power an individual household consumes over the course of a year. If all households purchased energy-saving power strips or simply shut their equipment off at night, a lot less electricity would need to be generated— and less C02 produced. “There is plenty to be done just in terms of (personal) efficiency,” said Mullen. 

Those interested in seeing how much power their appliances consume while in “off” mode can borrow a special meter from Lakeview Museum in Peoria that shows the amount of electricity dormant machines use, Mullen added.

Energy-friendly neighborhoods

In addition to government and personal paradigm shifts in how we use power, he said municipalities can strive to develop energy-efficient neighborhoods.

“Instead of increasing the amount of infrastructure needed by sprawl, such as subdivisions that consume either farmland or some other acreage, there should be more of a planned community cell based around the localized needs of a community,” he said. “By reducing the infrastructure needed you reduce the number of commutes needed.”

Mullen admits his suggestions are but a few elements required to change the nation’s direction concerning energy use. While he believes that some in key government leadership roles understand the urgency to change U.S. energy consumption habits and reduce C02 emissions, Mullen said he doesn’t yet see “a new paradigm that value education, clean water, clean air and clean soil higher than other material elements.”

Exploring more alternative energy sources and getting serious about reducing emissions harmful to the earth’s atmosphere are still distant and obscure – if not radical – concepts to most Americans, the naturalist said.

“It’s like this: When you go to the grocery store to purchase healthy food items, you have to stay around the fringes of the store. You don’t go through the middle,” said Mullen.