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Planet
Waves | May 14, 2005
I hug trees -- yes, I'm one of "those." More, I
speak to them ... they are the breathing apparatus for our planet, a vital part
of our ecosystem, and silent sentinels to the folly of mankind. All
around us, life cooperates with itself. My fellows seldom
acknowledge the trees, parks, forrests -- they "maintain" them. I
see this differently. I never NEVER trim a tree [or bush or shrub or any growing
thing] without asking its permission. It's a matter of respect to solicit
cooperation -- I suspect that means I'm a 'greeny.'
If you're a 'greeny,' then you understand that the whole of the environment is connected ... when a butterfly breaks wind in China, a huge pine will eventually sway in a Montana windstorm [to play fast and loose with the concept.] If you're a 'greeny,' then you know that we have only THIS world -- and one shot at protecting it. Air and water are not "optional" to life. When a species dies from loss of habitat, it is gone forever. [Connect the dots ... that could end up being us.] And, happily, if you're a 'greeny,' you can count yourself in the majority of Americans who make choices daily to recycle, conserve and defend our environment. The current administration is not 'green' -- and it's pretending that nobody else is. America has not been notoriously respectful of the ecology, indeed, its stewardship has been dismal. We've turned a blind eye until recent years ... and then, when it looked like we were making progress-- BANG! The door closed tight and our environmental laws began to roll back. In our current "ownership society" the goal is not to preserve shared resources, but to secure individual property. This need not be mutually exclusive, but it has become so -- and it has never counted so much before ... sometimes the sheer logic of a problem demands that we change course. For what we have so seriously 'broken' in the last 150 years, the price has come due. In January of 1855, Chief Seattle ceded his lands in Washington State to the United States government by the Treaty of Point Elliott; in a letter to U.S. President Franklin Pierce in 1854, he wrote: " ... this land is sacred to us.
This shining water that moves
in the streams and rivers is not just water but the blood of our
ancestors.
If we sell you land, you must remember that it is sacred, and you must teach your children that it is sacred and that each ghostly reflection in the clear water of the lakes tells of events and memories in the life of my people. The water's murmur is the voice of my father's father. The rivers are our brothers, they quench our thirst. The rivers carry canoes, and feed our children. If we sell you our land, you must remember, and teach your children, that the rivers are our brothers, and yours, and you must henceforth give the rivers the kindness you would give any brother. We know that the white man does not understand our ways. One portion of land is the same to him as the next, for he is a stranger who comes in the night and takes from the land whatever he needs. The earth is not his brother, but his enemy, and when he has conquered it, he moves on..... His appetite will devour the earth and leave behind only a desert. I do not know. Our ways are different from your ways... This we know: the earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the earth. This we know." ~ Chief Seattle (c.1784-1866) Part of this recent resistance to protecting the wellbeing of our planet comes from a religious community that evidently doesn't think it needs to last much longer -- but I was heartened to see a number of recent articles that indicate that many mainstream, moderate churches are supportive of environmentalism -- even some of the very conservative. We need more people of vision to stand up. This is a HUMAN dilemma, not a religious one. George Bush is not listening to the majority of Americans on this subject
but science is proving that we have serious problems. Those problems must be
acknowledged before they can be dealt with.
In science it often happens that scientists say, "You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken," and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion. ~ Carl Sagan, astronomer and writer (1934-1996) If you Google "environmental activism" you will find over 2 million entries -- somewhere in there you will find hints on how to be a better steward of the environment, and a number of activist opportunities. For your children, and their children -- and our intimate dependency upon one another and Gaia -- pick one or two; contribute; support; fax, email, write. We need to shout loud enough to make this government hear our united voice. Peace ~ Jude Mystery of the Vanishing Salmon http://www.truthout.org/issues_05/050405EA.shtml Swiss Put Glacier Under Wraps to Slow Ice Melt http://www.truthout.org/issues_05/051205EC.shtml Pentagon Is Asking Congress to Loosen Environmental Laws http://www.truthout.org/issues_05/051105EB.shtml Cornerstone environmental law, NEPA, under fire in energy bill http://www.truthout.org/issues_05/050905EA.shtml Eric Francis is on holiday. Jude, the editor of Political Waves, is standing in for his daily blog this week. You can subscribe to Political Waves (our all-politics news distribution list) for free at the link below. You’ll receive between five and 10 news articles each day. You may write to Jude with your responses to her commentaries at moderator@planetwaves.net. Political Waves list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/political_waves/ | ||||||
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