Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Elections Aside, The Earth Beats On

Like many, the democratic primary has drawn me in. And now, news of Eliot Spitzer.
Yet, while we get all worked up about the political jousting and disappointments, the earth beats on, and she's not so healthy. How easy to forget about global warming. Not to mention threats to animals (this week wolves, elephants, fishers, lynxs, and whales). May I remind that without our planet we no longer exist? Why are so many willing to take our creations for granted? I think the reason is that people have already changed. We no longer experience ourselves as part of nature. But evidence suggests otherwise. And it is never to late to fight for our earth rights - to take back and redefine our rightful place within the ecosystem.
On Peoples' Minds: Said by a participant in my research,"I'm feeling pretty annoyed by this election . . . politicians come and go but life is sacred, and I am worried how little we are doing to protect it. On all levels from the soldiers we lost in Iraq to the failure to take any substanative action on the environment."
In the News: Sad to hear more evidence of how brutal we are to the animals who feed us. I no longer eat animal flesh of any kind, but I swear it off again. This is more proof that what hurts the animals ultimately hurts us as people. And there is more to suggest that we are what eat, and that what we eat is what we are. It is time to let go of the false idea that there is such a strong separation between people and the environment. It is important to focus our politicians away from each other and back onto things that matter. As it turns out, new studies suggest that even with "0" emissions we might be able to fully reverse the damage we have done.
Today's Green tip: My eight-year old daughter read a couple of words on this post and felt worried. Of course she is. And it is our job - each and ever one of us - to change our lives now so that the ecological problems our children will encounter will at least be manageable (because no matter what we do the enviroinmental issues they face will be far worse than ours). My daughter suggested that everyone plant something - for life.

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