Looking to the media for the cure is not the best answer either.

If you ask me, the media is what is polluting this earth more than anything. Unless you watch Democracy Now! or Frontline News, chances are you’re just getting “junk” news, which is taking over pretty much every TV station out there. They are trying to keep us all from noticing what’s really going on in the world. When was the last time you heard about the crisis in Darfur or the AIDS epidemic on FOX 9 News? They spend more time talking about a local man who likes to put up a ton of Christmas lights each December than they do about the war in Iraq. It’s all propaganda to keep us small-minded and comatose. As “conspiracy theory” as it sounds, I think the people behind Big Media are seriously trying to control the masses.

Lets take ads for example. Ads for companies that claim to be “green” are now one of the greatest polluters out there. Big companies like McDonalds, Exxon Mobil, and WalMart claim to be “green” or to carry “natural” products, but to you honestly think they are? I highly doubt anything they use or produce is certified organic or fair trade. They pay for studies to find out what colors and pictures make peoples’ brainwaves dance around to stimulate them to buy their pruducts. McDonald’s is trying to be hip and cool by showing a bunch of hippy-looking folks sitting around, playng guitar, and eating BigMacs with a sidesalad instead of fries. Car ads play Indie music and claim to be more fuel efficient because studies have shown it will probably just make us smile and give praise that they are so eco-friendly. What they’re doing is exploiting a very serious issue to get you to buy more of their product, which in turn is causing more pollution. These companies aren’t trying to make the earth a better place; they’re trying to cash in on our concerns to put more money in their pockets. “Green” products have just become another item to add to the “Impulse Purchase” list; they’re right there by the candy bars and batteries at the checkout aisle.

And then you have outdoor advertising. Everywhere you turn, there’s a billboard put up by ClearChannel with whichever company can afford to advertise on. What’s more disgusting is that there are even electronic billboards that change pictures every five seconds to advertise everything from fastfood to what shows are playing on NBC that night. Do we really need all of this crap shoved in our faces while we’re driving? I’d like to see how many more traffic accidents are occurring because of these. It’s all one distraction after another to get us to keep our minds on consumption. Chances are if you see a McDonald’s ad in the morning, you’re going to find yourself craving it at least once that day. I think more cities should take the initiative that Sao Paulo, Brazil, took when they decided to ban outdoor advertising. Seriously. If you went to that city, which is one of the most polluted cities in the world, you wiould see no billboards. Nada. I’m sure plenty could be argued against it, but statistics have shown that most of the population of Sao Paulo supported that decision, and it is a big step towards ridding the city of unneccesary pollution. (I highliy reccommend looking into the subject.)

Anyway, I could seriously go on and on, but the point I really want to make is that we need to step away from the “simplicity” of a media-controlled, electronic-based lifestyle and focus more on self sustanence. I think it would be a great “trend” if more people started growing their own fruits and vegetables and relied less on imported products. As cliche as it sounds at the moment, consuming less and reusing/recylcing more will help diminish the impact we’re having on the environment and make this a better place for our future generations. I think if we were to simplify our lives more by removing all of the unneccessary clutter we’ve created, we would be a more prosperous and happy people. But that’s just me.