This is an encouraging essay with lots of insights, so well worth reading. Thanks for your time thinking and writing so clearly.
I am ever hopeful, but then that seems rather stupid at times. Change often comes from a union of grassroots desire and activism prompting responses by the Corporate State. But then they can become authoritarian in dangerous ways. With the exception of the weapon-makers, many corporations are somewhat controlled by shifts in our demands, despite how much they market. We can all be more proactive as consumers, buying things that are relatively good for what we care about be it Nature, Humanitarianism, or both rolled into one. Eating organic and low on the food chain is easy for some people, but don't be tricked into fake meats that are full of processed oils that are actually unhealthy. You do have to be careful with what you buy because so much of the damage caused is hidden. Think sweat shops, and child slaves in the lithium mines, when you buy that surprisingly cheap new dress or feel smug about owning that flashy electric vehicle.
Another challenge that I find frustrating is that efforts to bring good may conflict. For example, maybe you do ecotourism to support biodiversity preservation, but then your flights have a huge carbon footprint that ramps up climate change. Obviously, we could all focus more conservation work locally and push for our governance structures to start paying us to do that. Unfortunately, so much of what is called "conservation" is actually killing animals for sport, creating forest monocultures, and sanitizing nature for our use.
I run volunteer projects in relatively poor biodiverse countries like Kenya and Ecuador, and charge comparatively wealthy Westerners a moderate fee to participate on the project. For example, what would you pay to camp with Maasai in Kenya for a couple of weeks? Would you value that unique cultural experience in nature? Would you enjoy walking around the savannah collecting data about giraffe nurseries and their habitat needs, or do you only want to go on safari drives and stay in fancy lodges? My wealth transfer frameworks help to protect wildlife and ecosystems in biodiversity hotspots, empower local people to advocate and act on nature conservation, and broaden the personal horizons of all involved.
I would guess many of your readers are doing what they can to slow the now global Corporate State as it eats through Nature and people to enrich an elite class. The easiest way to stop them is to refuse to support their wars and their products - but that's a tough act for most.
We are all dependent on the Corporate State to some degree. Thus, dislodging it is enormously challenging. I'm suggesting that the vast pool of nature people dedicate themselves to a genuine greening of our governing system and get moving.
I remain hopeful that we will find that balance between caring for the environment and caring for the Earth's peoples, too. In fact, doing BOTH is the secret of success. This is why I founded a Facebook group inspired by Pope Francis's Laudato Si' (look for our banner, the planet Earth on a leaf, where one of our followers shared this article), which has grown from a few friends to over 900 individuals and organizations (Catholic and many other traditions). The Laudato Si' in turn was inspired by the words and works of St. Francis of Assisi and by the #creationcare focus of the Greek Orthodox church movement. We also coordinate with a group in Israel, authors of the Eco Bible, the Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development. On the secular side, I have worked directly with the author of Blood and Earth, Kevin Bales, an expert on human slavery who sees that saving our peoples and saving our environment go hand-in-hand. I also am a founding member of the Zonta District 12 (Colorado, Montana, South Dakota, Wyoming) AEGE (Action for Environment and Gender Equality) committee which is concerned with environment issues in our region and also with elevating women's concerns and voices, including the voices of our Indigenous peoples. (See our work at the Zonta Says NOW - District 12 page. The Zonta Says NOW movement was founded by fellow Zontians in Australia District 23.) Through all of these associations and others I see hope and action every day!
Hi Elisabeth, Thanks for your comments and info! People like you are doing great and essential work. The big cultural shift we need depends on a lot more of this from all social, religious, and political angles. Cheers.
I like your reference to ‘extreme anthropocentrism’. We need to place ourselves in the web of life and the nourishment of the earth. We have to see that our way of life has to imitate nature’s design systems and get closer to and interact with our world, not dominate and kill it. This way of life would be far more fulfilling than what we’ve had under capitalism and corporatism. Take a step back, we are breathing because of plants, we are hydrated with the miracle of water, we are fed by the sun, soil, water and photosynthesis. These are no small things. They are the miracle of our just right planet spinning through space. So much ego, so much distraction, so much taken for granted. YES, we need to do more and I agree there are millions if not billions of people who cherish our beautiful planet.
Greening the government is a huge task and means different things to different people. Elisabeth Warren was working on that or gave it lip service (at least). The neoliberal Dems are "greener" than the Republicans historically, but it was the people and NIXON that put in our legal framework to clean up the mess of corporate industrialism in the 70s. Both sides will support green growth rather than the reality of overshoot. I think the fastest solution is not to have more than one child, tax the crap out of the super rich, put the money into serious conservation, restoration, and tree planting, give tax breaks to those that reduce consumption of energy and excess, put more money into nature preservation and cleaning up plastics in the ocean. So, yes, for now we have to pressure the government we have.
The Corporate State has largely shut down debate about overconsumption and over population. But they seem to be yielding a bit on the matter of the former, but as an economic austerity measure rather than for environmental reasons. That could change. Unless forced to, the world elites will not be the ones who will cut back. And by not "walking the talk," the populists will push back against them even harder, and public resentment will rise.
This is an encouraging essay with lots of insights, so well worth reading. Thanks for your time thinking and writing so clearly.
I am ever hopeful, but then that seems rather stupid at times. Change often comes from a union of grassroots desire and activism prompting responses by the Corporate State. But then they can become authoritarian in dangerous ways. With the exception of the weapon-makers, many corporations are somewhat controlled by shifts in our demands, despite how much they market. We can all be more proactive as consumers, buying things that are relatively good for what we care about be it Nature, Humanitarianism, or both rolled into one. Eating organic and low on the food chain is easy for some people, but don't be tricked into fake meats that are full of processed oils that are actually unhealthy. You do have to be careful with what you buy because so much of the damage caused is hidden. Think sweat shops, and child slaves in the lithium mines, when you buy that surprisingly cheap new dress or feel smug about owning that flashy electric vehicle.
Another challenge that I find frustrating is that efforts to bring good may conflict. For example, maybe you do ecotourism to support biodiversity preservation, but then your flights have a huge carbon footprint that ramps up climate change. Obviously, we could all focus more conservation work locally and push for our governance structures to start paying us to do that. Unfortunately, so much of what is called "conservation" is actually killing animals for sport, creating forest monocultures, and sanitizing nature for our use.
I run volunteer projects in relatively poor biodiverse countries like Kenya and Ecuador, and charge comparatively wealthy Westerners a moderate fee to participate on the project. For example, what would you pay to camp with Maasai in Kenya for a couple of weeks? Would you value that unique cultural experience in nature? Would you enjoy walking around the savannah collecting data about giraffe nurseries and their habitat needs, or do you only want to go on safari drives and stay in fancy lodges? My wealth transfer frameworks help to protect wildlife and ecosystems in biodiversity hotspots, empower local people to advocate and act on nature conservation, and broaden the personal horizons of all involved.
I would guess many of your readers are doing what they can to slow the now global Corporate State as it eats through Nature and people to enrich an elite class. The easiest way to stop them is to refuse to support their wars and their products - but that's a tough act for most.
We are all dependent on the Corporate State to some degree. Thus, dislodging it is enormously challenging. I'm suggesting that the vast pool of nature people dedicate themselves to a genuine greening of our governing system and get moving.
I remain hopeful that we will find that balance between caring for the environment and caring for the Earth's peoples, too. In fact, doing BOTH is the secret of success. This is why I founded a Facebook group inspired by Pope Francis's Laudato Si' (look for our banner, the planet Earth on a leaf, where one of our followers shared this article), which has grown from a few friends to over 900 individuals and organizations (Catholic and many other traditions). The Laudato Si' in turn was inspired by the words and works of St. Francis of Assisi and by the #creationcare focus of the Greek Orthodox church movement. We also coordinate with a group in Israel, authors of the Eco Bible, the Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development. On the secular side, I have worked directly with the author of Blood and Earth, Kevin Bales, an expert on human slavery who sees that saving our peoples and saving our environment go hand-in-hand. I also am a founding member of the Zonta District 12 (Colorado, Montana, South Dakota, Wyoming) AEGE (Action for Environment and Gender Equality) committee which is concerned with environment issues in our region and also with elevating women's concerns and voices, including the voices of our Indigenous peoples. (See our work at the Zonta Says NOW - District 12 page. The Zonta Says NOW movement was founded by fellow Zontians in Australia District 23.) Through all of these associations and others I see hope and action every day!
Hi Elisabeth, Thanks for your comments and info! People like you are doing great and essential work. The big cultural shift we need depends on a lot more of this from all social, religious, and political angles. Cheers.
I like your reference to ‘extreme anthropocentrism’. We need to place ourselves in the web of life and the nourishment of the earth. We have to see that our way of life has to imitate nature’s design systems and get closer to and interact with our world, not dominate and kill it. This way of life would be far more fulfilling than what we’ve had under capitalism and corporatism. Take a step back, we are breathing because of plants, we are hydrated with the miracle of water, we are fed by the sun, soil, water and photosynthesis. These are no small things. They are the miracle of our just right planet spinning through space. So much ego, so much distraction, so much taken for granted. YES, we need to do more and I agree there are millions if not billions of people who cherish our beautiful planet.
So well said, Annie. Your thoughts bring to mind Thomas Berry's "The Universe Story" and Ian McHarg's "Design with Nature". Thank you!
Thank you Tony for this insightful and and well presented essay. I am better informed for it, and I'm sharing.
Much appreciated, Patrick. And thanks for sharing! Cheers.
Greening the government is a huge task and means different things to different people. Elisabeth Warren was working on that or gave it lip service (at least). The neoliberal Dems are "greener" than the Republicans historically, but it was the people and NIXON that put in our legal framework to clean up the mess of corporate industrialism in the 70s. Both sides will support green growth rather than the reality of overshoot. I think the fastest solution is not to have more than one child, tax the crap out of the super rich, put the money into serious conservation, restoration, and tree planting, give tax breaks to those that reduce consumption of energy and excess, put more money into nature preservation and cleaning up plastics in the ocean. So, yes, for now we have to pressure the government we have.
The Corporate State has largely shut down debate about overconsumption and over population. But they seem to be yielding a bit on the matter of the former, but as an economic austerity measure rather than for environmental reasons. That could change. Unless forced to, the world elites will not be the ones who will cut back. And by not "walking the talk," the populists will push back against them even harder, and public resentment will rise.