In 1990, Turner Broadcasting System CEO Ted Turner commissioned Captain Planet and the Planeteers, an environmental superhero cartoon that lasted for six seasons. One recurring theme in the show that many reviewers picked up on was the treatment of Wheeler, the sole white American member of the multiethnic Planeteers. He was portrayed as the least environmentally knowledgeable of the group, presumably as a reference to the stereotypical cluelessness of Americans regarding such matters.
Why am I mentioning this? Because in real life, virtually the opposite is true. The majority of environmental support comes from well-to-do, affluent, whites. It is a fairly recent development; for most of history, people only saw nature as a supply of resources. It was not until people were able to live comfortably enough to explore the natural world for leisure that they could contemplate preserving it for its own sake.
For example, the disposition of the waste people generate is a classic problem of environmentalism. All too often, though, the chosen solution to it is to build landfills, and these landfills are too often built near populations of unprivileged people who have no way of objecting to their presence. And this is not a good thing. This phenomenon has been dubbed "environmental racism" by experts, who point out the inherent hypocrisy of not getting the opinion of other groups of people when it comes to environmental matters.
Is there a solution? Is there a way to preserve the world's ecosystems as a functional whole while allowing people to keep the lifestyles they enjoy? One thing is certain--unless we look at environmental problems as from the perspective of everyone involved, that solution will always be out of reach.
