Even if we could completely stop emitting greenhouses

Even if we could completely stop emitting greenhouses gases today, we already have caused more global warming to come, says Allen Thompson, assistant professor of philosophy. In fact, global temperatures would continue to increase, adding another half-degree Celsius to the 0.7-degree warming we already have seen.

The effects on global climate will precipitate unprecedented changes in both nature and society. While traditional environmental efforts have focused on conservation and preservation, Thompson says restoration is key to a sustainable future.
nce most components of office furniture can be broken down and used to produce other products, we see this as another opportunity to help the environment. We would be more than happy to recycle your unwanted furniture for you.

what happened after the paper disappeared from the curb. So I took a trip to the infamous Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island. Covering 4.6 square miles, Fresh Kills was one of the largest dumps in the world. When it was officially closed in 2001, some say the stinking mound was the largest man-made structure on the planet, its volume greater than that of the Great Wall of China, and its peaks 80 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty.2 I had never seen anything like Fresh Kills. I stood at its edge in absolute awe. As far as I could see in every direction were trashed couches, appliances, cardboard boxes, apple cores, clothes, plastic bags, books, and tons of other Stuff.

You know how a gory car crash scene makes you want to turn away and stare at the same time? That is what this dump was like. I'd been raised by a single mother of the post-Depression era who instilled in her kids a sense of respect for quality, not quantity. Partly from her life philosophy and partly out of economic necessity, my youth was shaped along the lines of the World War II saying: "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without." There just wasn't a lot of superfluous consumption and waste going on in our house. We savored the things we had and took good care of them and kept them until every last drop of usefulness was gone.
Up until few years ago, I was a working bee at a high tech company that due to the bursting of the dot-com bubble, had to close, and all the employees were let go, including me.

Even thought it was expected, I still was in a bit of a shock, from a working bee with no life to doing nothing. I didn't quite know what to do with my sudden freedom.

What I did know, was, that I never really liked my job.

You know that feeling when you fantasize about your next vacation? About taking a day off just to sit back and relax on the beach, catching up reading a new book? But your boss always has a sour face when you tell him you need some time out and he / she makes you feel you wished you have never asked for it?


Thompson lends his expertise on environmental philosophy to the cause. He works to introduce topics of environmental value as the Clemson University Restoration Institute and the department of planning and landscape architecture's Environmental Design & Planning program grapple with the role of restoration and design in a changing world.

Contact Thompson at (864) 656-2380 or Ross Norton in News Services (864) 656-4810 or 207-1157.