the Environment

For most of human history, our species lived "in balance", as they say, with our environment. This did not mean that we were harmless, or that we had no control over or effect on our environment. Rather, we could not exceed the limit of our effect. We could not outstrip our resources because we needed them in the future, we could not pollute our water source because we needed it to drink from, and we could not have too many children because they would not survive. To keep us in check, our societies developed — over millennia — cultural practices, beliefs, and taboos that forbade going beyond these limits. Without these beliefs, we couldn't have survived.

Today, we routinely burn up resources willy-nilly, pollute our air and water, and have as many children as we want. What allows this to continue? What cultural traits are missing that allow — even protect — our ability and desire to continue this self-destruction?

Many environmentalists, communities, and organizations have focused on one issue, such as global warming, population, and conservation. They lobby governments to enact laws that will "protect" the environment, without even questioning why it needs protection in the first place. Certainly it is necessary to lobby for specific issues, but this fails to address the larger problem. As soon as we end global warming, another problem will rise up to threaten us once again. What we need to do is figure out why we are destroying our own environment — and figure out how to end that.

The result of ignoring the larger problem is that the public ends up assuming that the larger problem is completely insolvable. They come to believe that it's human nature to destroy ourselves, and the only thing we can do is keep fighting the symptoms as they appear. However, humans have not always been self-destructive — and there are still cultures today that live sustainably.

Many people have assumed that technology is at fault for our destruction. They see that sustainable cultures have only "primitive" technology and therefore blame our problems on our technological progress. And it is true that without modern technology, we could hardly be cutting down 100,000 acres of rainforest a day or pumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. However, there was pollution, depletion of resources, and overpopulation long before the industrial revolution and modern technology. These environmental problems, in fact, are as old as civilization. There's something missing from our society today that so-called "primitive" societies rely on to stay in balance.

Certainly part of the problem is that we are no longer "in touch" with nature. We are so disconnected from the ecosystems and species we destroy that we don't see the destruction, see how it affects us, or connect it to our individual actions. But this is merely a convenience that makes it easier to continue on this destructive path — the real problem is our attitude toward the earth.

A theme common to all religions of primitive societies is that the earth is sacred. Every river, rock, plant, and animal is important, and cannot be taken for granted. It is absolutely necessary to use them only when it's needed and to never waste any part that doesn't have to be wasted. This is not because primitive people are altruistic or saint-like; in fact, it's just the opposite. They have no choice but to respect their environment because they'll never survive otherwise. They can't just spread to new areas because they have a limited territory. They must learn how to live sustainably within their means.

We of civilization, on the other hand, have been spreading across the globe since civilization began. As soon as an area became worn out, we would encroach on our neighbors' territory — and be able to displace them simply because our intensive farming supported so many more people. Respect for the earth became inconvenient, because we couldn't plunder the new territories unless we felt it was our right to do so. Out of this grew a feeling of superiority over plants, animals, and nonliving things, and a feeling that we were the favored of the gods.

Without this attitude of ownership, our technology and disconnection from nature would be irrelevant. We don't need to "go back" and be hunter-gatherers or give up technology. We don't need to "get in touch" with nature. We don't even need to keep lobbying the government, although that might buy us some time. Until we no longer feel that the earth belongs to us, we will never get off the path of self-destruction. That is what we must change.

related rants: The New Tribal Revolution, Anthropocentrism

links: The Nature Conservancy
World Wildlife Fund
Greenpeace
Friends of the Earth
Rainforest Action Network
Earth First!
Sierra Club
Natural Resources Defense Counsil
Save the Redwoods League
Amazon Watch
National Wildlife Federation
Indigenous Environmental Network
Sustainable USA Network
Earth Liberation Front
Union of Concerned Scientists
State PIRGS
League of Conservation Voters
Environmental Defense
Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund
Green Marketplace
RedJellyfish.com
NRDC's Guide to Greener Living
Environmental Tips and Environmental Issues
Energy Saving Tips
Eco-Tip Library
Ecobeetle's Eco Tips
Eco Tips
Environmental Tips
Environmental Tips for Shoppers
Ecology Fund
SaveRainforest.net
Care2.com's Race for the Rainforest
Care2.com's Race for the Big Cats
The Environment Site
I Want Clean Air!
The Rainforest Site
ENN Click to Donate
Tree 4 Life
FreeDonation.com: Environment

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