Mother Earth May I... Stay?

A few months ago I watched a documentary that impressed me a great deal. It was about the much discussed topic, Climate Change. Based on interviews with different scientists within different disciplines it gave a good insight to the current problems of climate change and its impact on the future and well-being of human beings.

What impacted me the most was a phrase that kept standing out in my mind every time I thought about the topic. It has stayed with me and I want to share it with you. The phrase was uttered by Chief Oren Lyons, one of the leading advocates of Indian American causes and a great promoter of indigenous rights. He said that when the limit has been reached and the earth can no longer bear the large pressure we, the humans, put on it, the earth will eventually regenerate itself. And it will be peaceful again. So maybe there will be no people on earth, but the earth will regenerate. His answer to why this is so was simply: “because the earth has all the time in the world. And we don’t!”

So the argument is that while all life may not be extinguished, we, the humans, as a species at the top of the food chain, are the most vulnerable. Life has existed on earth for 3.8-4 billion years. Yet, 99.9999 % of all species that have ever existed have been extinct. Thus, there is reason to argue that extinction is a natural part of life.

Though, and I'm still referring to the documentary, the tragedy is that in our fall we are taking many other species down with us.

We are causing an extinction crisis!!

In my master's thesis I looked at the situation of unsustainability that exists in mainstream society nowadays and I saw that biodiversity is decreasing radically. What we don’t realize is that, while we focus on growth and marketeconomic values, such as profit maximization, consumption and competition we are actually committing suicide. We are destroying the planet on which we depend in a speed that, if you look at it closely, is terrifying.

We need to break out of this consumer democracy where it’s all about satisfying the greed of the people. Rather we ought to focus more on environmental protection and ecological sustainability.

The problem is that this is not possible unless we undergo a complete cultural transformation.

We need to start focus on what we really need instead of what we want (or what the corporations want us to want). This is really difficult. I know. But here are a few steps that you can take:

1. Awareness: be aware of what’s going on around you. Watch documentaries and read books and articles on the topic.
2. Buy local: Support local small-scale corporations, especially when you buy food. You will discover that the food tastes better (normally it has undergone less chemical treatment and it is fresher).
3. Sustainable thinking: Keep thinking about what you really need. Think about what you could live without. In my thesis I found that in most indigenous societies the level of sustainability is substantially higher than in mainstream society, because the values are different – for example they have a profound respect for the environment on which they depend and don’t just focus on how much profit you can gain from it.

This is not a problem that economic development can solve, because even though technology may be one of the means to deal with environmental problems in the long run, the whole thing starts with a societal change of mind, a cultural transformation. Many scholars argue that it's already late or that we are running out of time and every one with a little bit of historical understanding knows that a cultural transformation does not happen over night. Yet, the process needs to begin. And, as I'm an optimist, I believe that we can change. Let's fight for the the planet to become green again and for our survival.

Here are some links for ways to get informed:
The Documentary - The 11th Hour:

The 3rd and most recent report in the series The Limits to Growth, commissioned by the Club of Rome and started back in 1972 (really really good):
The Limits to Growth: The 30-Year Update