The hurricane activity has certainly increased our awareness of the impact that global warming is having on our weather! Yes, I do believe our human impact on the earth’s atmosphere is seriously contributing to this trend and there is uniform agreement among scientists that global warming is happening, that human activity is the main factor in causing it, and that it will produce more extreme weather.
Global warming is only one aspect of our impact on our earth, which undermines the systems keeping us alive here. The situation also involves exponential population growth and an economic system that relies on you and me purchasing an ever-increasing number of plastic goodies that will be around for centuries. It seems that our nation and the so-called Western Civilization is not terribly concerned about the impact its economic and population choices has on the world community, much less about fairness to future generations.
But, did you know that many people in Maine have great knowledge about sustainability? I just participated in a retreat with Joanna Macy, a renowned eco-philosopher (www.joannamacy.com). Joanna’s workshops help people who care about their community and the Earth find ways to continue their activism despite frustrations and hard times. We worked through the despair and are moving ahead in empowerment!
It was especially powerful getting to know some 80+ Mainers who are well-informed about the challenges we face, from details on Maine’s declining monarch butterfly population to plans for powering our communities as oil wells run dry. It gave me hope to know that each of us stood for 20 or more people who are just as committed to keeping our planet healthy enough for our grandchildren!
Joanna talks of “The Great Turning” that she sees happening. Because this work takes her around the world, to Sri Lanka, the Chernobyl area of the former Soviet Union, Europe, South America, and Africa, she meets and works with hundreds of thousands of people like us. So she can reliably report that much good is actually being accomplished and that she has hope that humans will turn the situation around in time! It was so empowering to hear this and to know that we, ourselves, are taking part in The Great Turning!
Yes, we held each other as we mourned the victims of natural calamities and of endless wars and violence. Yes, we took turns expressing anger at world “leaders” who continue to ignore the plight of ordinary citizens and to plunder our natural resources for personal gain. Yes, we confronted our fear of the accelerating destruction of animal and plant species, of increasing natural disasters, of the nuclear weapons capability that is spreading and threatening our very existence. And, yes, we spoke of our feelings of helplessness in the face of all that. Still, together we found our way to move forward, to reaffirm our commitment, and to maintain hope for the future of the human race.
The program was sponsored by the Maine Earth Institute and Audubon Expeditions Institute and the Tanglewood 4H Center, all located in Waldo County. Most of the attendees were participants and leaders in programs offered by these organizations. I would like to see some groups in our Lakes Region coming together to study these issues and begin to make changes in our own lives. I hope some of my readers will visit the Maine Earth Institute website at http://www.maineearth.org and make plans to sponsor a discussion course on topics such as: Voluntary Simplicity and Choices for Sustainable Living. Let’s not leave it to Waldo County or to the folks in Portland. We care, too!
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