University of Wisconsin Madison Collegians Ask “What Are You Thankful For?”

P1020348Thanksgiving is fast approaching and CFACT students at the University of Wisconsin wanted to take a moment to ask other students what they are thankful for this year. There are a lot of things we take for granted here in the United States. Things people in the developing world can only dream about. We have access to electricity, heat, healthy food, and clean water. We tend to use these things without even thinking about them and we rarely take the time to be thankful for them.

P1020346This is the problem Madison CFACT students wanted to tackle. They challenged other students with the facts, highlighting that there are 1.3 billion people in the developing world who lack access to electricity, and millions of people face malnutrition. When our lives are put into perspective, we actually have a lot to be thankful for.

University of Wisconsin-Madison students loved the event, and dozens stopped by to write down what they are thankful for this year. “Thinking about what we have, and what others lack really puts our lives into perspective,” said one student. Another student said, “It is crazy how much we take for granted, I have a lot more to be thankful for than I thought.”

P1020344CFACT students also took the opportunity to highlight the impact our choices here in the United States can have on the lives of the developing world. Forcing developing nations to forego things like fossil fuels and GMO’s keeps them in a state of poverty and prevents them from joining the ranks of developed nation. We owe much of what we are thankful for to fossil fuels. We use fossil fuels for cheap electricity. Petroleum powers our cars, makes up our roads, and is the foundation for thousands of household items. We have a lot to be thankful for, but we also need to make decisions that help the needy in the developing world.