Saving the Planet Can Be Fun

By: IPSnews.net – Paul Virgo
Published: May 23, 2010

ROME – Saving the planet from environmental catastrophe is undoubtedly very important, but one of the reasons many people are not doing their bit could be that being green does not seem much fun.

Activists frequently tell us, with good reason, that things such as driving cars, eating red meat and jetting off overseas on holiday should be cut down or eliminated because of their hefty carbon footprints.

But influential United States-based writer and biologist Gary Nabhan has some refreshing news: conservation is not just good for the planet, it can be immensely pleasurable too, above all for the palate.

Nabhan says people have the power to help reverse the agricultural biodiversity loss that is putting our food supplies in peril in a simple way – by tucking into the rich variety of goodies nature provides.

“In other environmental issues we tell people to stop something, reduce their impact, reduce their damage,” Nabhan told IPS at this week’s Rome festival celebrating biodiversity, organised by the Bioversity International research institute.