Picture this;
Somewhere in the middle of Africa, amongst the mukuyu bushes, surrounded by the crispy brown wild grass; a rock with a smooth top surface, and I am lying on top of it, basking in the golden, mid-morning sunshine. Not a care in the world, I am not wearing jeans, no shirt and no tie and you no what? No shoes either, just a simple square shaped piece of cow hide covers my essentials, suspended on a thin string tied at the back; and yes if I stood up, you would see bare buttocks with the rock’s pattern imprinted on them. As I enjoy the sunshine, I have no worries, the only thing on my mind is weather I feel like hunting later on....
..Mankind has throughout history, done the unimaginable. From Great scientists and philosophers to great explorers and artists who decoded the world around us to what we know, and believe this very day. Over the last 100 yrs, mankind learnt to fly, people went to the moon, and in fact there are people living on the international space station. Our ability to work together for a common purpose is unquestionable, but can we unite and rise face climate change to the biggest challenge of our time?
I read an interesting journal, in it the author discussed various means by which, humans are cementing their own downfall through technology.
The article explained how weapons have become more powerful and lethal, with most systems capable of being operated remotely. The argument was that it is much easier to do war these days.
On energy, it described how some forecasters believe that oil shortage will become chronic in as soon as 30yrs. Even though coal and nuclear power appear to be means by which countries can keep generating electricity both are non-renewable resources which are estimated to dwindle within a 100yrs.
The article explained how climate change driven by global warming is becoming more apparent. The more carbon dioxide we release into the atmosphere the greater the warming effect. Responsible for this effect is our thirst for carbon fossil fuels alongside other activities which include deforestation which is surprisingly still rampant in rainforests around the world.
Since the middle of the 20th century, humankind has consumed more natural resources than in all previous human history.As I read the article, I was a bit alarmed; it reminded me of some famous words by Woody Allen,
“More than at any other time in our history, mankind faces a crossroads; one leading toward great despair and utter hopelessness and the other towards extinction. Let us hope we have the wisdom to choose correctly.”
A bit cynical, but from what I was reading it struck me how there appeared to be no way out of this situation. It was at this point that I acquired in my head, the image I asked you to visualise at the start. A peaceful life without the modern day worries of work, fashion or climate change, not driven by the need of any technology.
Before the dawn of technology, people all over the world lived sustainable lives. There were no cars, no planes or tomatoes from Spain. People lived their lives in one location, all friends and family were usually close by, a small price to pay for a guaranteed future. They did cut down trees and clear land for farming but it was on such a small scale that nature always had time to repair itself.
Last year after getting a pedometer from a cereal box, my friend clipped on for a whole day as he went to work and back. At the end of the day, it had a total count of 36, we decided that either the gadget didn’t work or he needed to put a bit more hip movement into his step. Upon reflection, we realised that 36 steps was actually quite plausible.
His car was parked right outside the house that morning 4 steps maximum, he drove to work and went straight to his desk, he did not get up for lunch, then had one or two trips to the loo before taking his longest walk of the day back to his car, longer only because he saw a wasp on his way into the car park, i think. And finally another 3 steps back into the house.
I too have been guilty of driving to my local supermarket when it was possibly even faster to just walk. 50% of UK journeys are less than 2 miles and cars account for 20% of world wide man made CO2 emissions. We travel further and faster than ever before, at the same time we cycle and walk less. Not only is our health suffering as a result of such choices but the environment as well.
Technology has helped us understand the world around us, but at what price? Has the time come for us to balance the benefits of our technology with needs of our environment, our need for survival? Let us take a leaf from our past and learn how to be sustainable. It would be nice to see you all wearing nothing but patch of cow-hide, but we don’t need to go that far.
We need to realise that it is not only Governments which can take action to reduce the threat of climate change. Our actions as individuals are required; the cumulative effect of saving energy and reducing waste will reduce the need for energy and resource consumption. In the spirit of environmental sustainability, my challenge is for all of us to find at least one area of our lives in which we can eliminate unnecessary consumption of energy.
To quote from philosopher Marshall McLuhan,
"There are no passengers on spaceship earth. We are all crew."
Somewhere in the middle of Africa, amongst the mukuyu bushes, surrounded by the crispy brown wild grass; a rock with a smooth top surface, and I am lying on top of it, basking in the golden, mid-morning sunshine. Not a care in the world, I am not wearing jeans, no shirt and no tie and you no what? No shoes either, just a simple square shaped piece of cow hide covers my essentials, suspended on a thin string tied at the back; and yes if I stood up, you would see bare buttocks with the rock’s pattern imprinted on them. As I enjoy the sunshine, I have no worries, the only thing on my mind is weather I feel like hunting later on....
..Mankind has throughout history, done the unimaginable. From Great scientists and philosophers to great explorers and artists who decoded the world around us to what we know, and believe this very day. Over the last 100 yrs, mankind learnt to fly, people went to the moon, and in fact there are people living on the international space station. Our ability to work together for a common purpose is unquestionable, but can we unite and rise face climate change to the biggest challenge of our time?
I read an interesting journal, in it the author discussed various means by which, humans are cementing their own downfall through technology.
The article explained how weapons have become more powerful and lethal, with most systems capable of being operated remotely. The argument was that it is much easier to do war these days.
On energy, it described how some forecasters believe that oil shortage will become chronic in as soon as 30yrs. Even though coal and nuclear power appear to be means by which countries can keep generating electricity both are non-renewable resources which are estimated to dwindle within a 100yrs.
The article explained how climate change driven by global warming is becoming more apparent. The more carbon dioxide we release into the atmosphere the greater the warming effect. Responsible for this effect is our thirst for carbon fossil fuels alongside other activities which include deforestation which is surprisingly still rampant in rainforests around the world.
Since the middle of the 20th century, humankind has consumed more natural resources than in all previous human history.As I read the article, I was a bit alarmed; it reminded me of some famous words by Woody Allen,
“More than at any other time in our history, mankind faces a crossroads; one leading toward great despair and utter hopelessness and the other towards extinction. Let us hope we have the wisdom to choose correctly.”
A bit cynical, but from what I was reading it struck me how there appeared to be no way out of this situation. It was at this point that I acquired in my head, the image I asked you to visualise at the start. A peaceful life without the modern day worries of work, fashion or climate change, not driven by the need of any technology.
Before the dawn of technology, people all over the world lived sustainable lives. There were no cars, no planes or tomatoes from Spain. People lived their lives in one location, all friends and family were usually close by, a small price to pay for a guaranteed future. They did cut down trees and clear land for farming but it was on such a small scale that nature always had time to repair itself.
Last year after getting a pedometer from a cereal box, my friend clipped on for a whole day as he went to work and back. At the end of the day, it had a total count of 36, we decided that either the gadget didn’t work or he needed to put a bit more hip movement into his step. Upon reflection, we realised that 36 steps was actually quite plausible.
His car was parked right outside the house that morning 4 steps maximum, he drove to work and went straight to his desk, he did not get up for lunch, then had one or two trips to the loo before taking his longest walk of the day back to his car, longer only because he saw a wasp on his way into the car park, i think. And finally another 3 steps back into the house.
I too have been guilty of driving to my local supermarket when it was possibly even faster to just walk. 50% of UK journeys are less than 2 miles and cars account for 20% of world wide man made CO2 emissions. We travel further and faster than ever before, at the same time we cycle and walk less. Not only is our health suffering as a result of such choices but the environment as well.
Technology has helped us understand the world around us, but at what price? Has the time come for us to balance the benefits of our technology with needs of our environment, our need for survival? Let us take a leaf from our past and learn how to be sustainable. It would be nice to see you all wearing nothing but patch of cow-hide, but we don’t need to go that far.
We need to realise that it is not only Governments which can take action to reduce the threat of climate change. Our actions as individuals are required; the cumulative effect of saving energy and reducing waste will reduce the need for energy and resource consumption. In the spirit of environmental sustainability, my challenge is for all of us to find at least one area of our lives in which we can eliminate unnecessary consumption of energy.
To quote from philosopher Marshall McLuhan,
"There are no passengers on spaceship earth. We are all crew."
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