My father, the environmentalist

摘要

I shall here comment on three largely unconnected memories that I have about my father's environmen-talism. One is that I think that he was right to devote time to the environmental education of children. It seems to me to be far more effective to focus on the open minds of young people, rather than to try to change the minds of those who are already relatively set in their ways. Moreover, his Johnny Biosphere persona, much loved by children, was probably very effective. Nonetheless, I remember most of the family being annoyed that Johnny (globe and all) initially insisted on being part of every family outing-thereby leaving Jack behind. Johnny's exhibitionism drew too much attention and made it difficult to have a normal family interaction. Eventually, Johnny became more sensitive and, to our pleasure, allowed Jack to participate in family outings.