In this time 'green' and 'global warming' seem to be everywhere we look, yet IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) is warning that too many years have already passed occupied by doubt and words alone, that meaningful changes are still not happening despite these years. Their latest report has sounded like a call to arms, that if we do not make significant changes right now it can realistically endanger our very species’ survival, not to mention others. Yet it is not easy to help the cause from an individual’s point of view and that will have to change. The default consumerist way of life distributed by the developed nations and now present in every corner of the world has to become an environmentally aware one, it has to be easy to allow it to be adopted by every household and individual. It will also have to be commercially profitable in order to succeed, we need easier ways of distinguishing which product has traveled less distance to reach us and has made a smaller mark on the environment so that competition is encouraged.
To bring about these changes individuals have to take initiative, somebody has to, as many people as possible even if it is to the smallest effect and those that take those steps need our support to succeed.
The longer I live the better I understand what fragile beings people are. We can be strong and as dispersed as jelly… like plants easy to crush but can be strong as nails when dry (which is not necessarily a truly beneficial state). It is not only the physical consequences of the lifestyle that our society is leading that is failing us but emotional as well. Gone are the support networks of the villages our ancestors lived in, and changes that have come with ever increasing life expectancy have not been fully recognized.
In an apparently wealthy housing estate in the north west of Hong Kong despair drives its residence to suicide (reported by BBC 29/11/07 Outlook program) Because of the lack of jobs in the area and too-expensive public transport into the city, the residents (all supported by welfare) are unable to earn any more money and become separated from family by fanatical restraints on the travel of both parties. It sounds like tragic suicides are happening one after another from lack of hope and purpose.
We need to return to the ‘slow’ way of life, reverting to some of the traditional aspects of life which got humanity through past millenniums. Living in ‘organism-like’ communities has humanitarian advantages; older people can help single or young parents, shared gardens and cooking would be possible and jobs providing services within the community would stop some people from needing to travel to work. Overall this could improve both individuals’ and our planet’s well being.
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