"Say what you love" reflection- and why I think Franzen is right.

In Franzen’s TEDTalk ``Say what you love” he delves into the complexities found within conservation efforts, specifically the motivations behind conservationism. He begins by noting that there has been a loss of momentum in environmental movements with the heavy focus on climate change. He doesn’t negate the fact that there needs to be efforts to reverse climate change in the world, but he does emphasize that “if we don’t save what we have of the natural world then we won’t have nature to take if we fix the climate”. Why? Franzen’s point that many conservationists use the argument of “well if we don’t fix climate change none of what you conservationists are doing is gonna matter”, is not a foundational argument. He claims that because there is so much passion and resources that go into climate, something that has too many complex components taht affects it, we are wasting precious time and resources to protect other parts of our natural world. Not only that, but he points out how these climate activists use more scare tactics that have been proven to not be as effective as they pursue to be, and refocus on the need for society to love nature. For the rest of his talk, he focuses on the need to find love again with the world around us and instead of preventing these world catastrophes, to put the time and money into building systems of adaptation and resilience. He strengthens his argument by connecting how loving nature and building better resilient systems, there will be better outcomes of people taking initiative to change day to day behavior and habits- minimizing human activities that are killing the planet.

To be quite frank- I completely agree with his argument. As someone who isn't as passionate about environmental activism, I felt more inclined to change my little habits within my own respective circumstances when he put it more in perspective. I think most people would also feel the same way, and if I was able to have that small moment, I know that more people would be inclined to do their part better in protecting our natural resources,without feeling guilty of the mistakes we have already made and will most likely continue to. Franzen’s ability to focus on one issue that addresses all aspects of protecting our planet coincides with my own solution for addressing conservation efforts with wolves. Although I am not proposing new legislation that protects their lands or limits hunting, my focus on strengthening a healthier relationship between humans and wolves will affect all aspects of protecting their lives. By debunking myths that have been spread about wolves, more people will be more inclined to valuing their lives, which inherently affects voting behavior and day to day efforts.