THE WAKE UP
I don't understand why
when we destroy
something created
by man, we call it
'vandalism'
but when we
destroy something
create by nature
we call it 'progress.'
Ed Begley Jr.
What we are
doing to the
forests of the
world is but a
mirror reflection of
what we are doing
to ourselves and
to one another.
Mahatma Ghandi
EGO TO
ECO:
SAVING LIFE
WRITTEN BY SCHUYLER SOWA
A plausible solution to the continual destruction of species on earth would be to reconstruct the framework of how our economy
and moral construct operates. The economies and laws of first and second world countries operate on the principle that nature is
property: something to be owned, used, bought, and sold. We treat nature as a material commodity, created for us to do with as
we please. As long as our current structure stands, the value of nature and life is second to capitalism, wealth, and ego.
As long as environmental-activism operates within the confines of our capitalistic society, the rate of destruction of our
environment will only be slowed down, not stopped or reversed. The extinction of animals and the continual warming and pollution
of our environment, and the 'natural' disasters wrought by our exploitation of resources are an audible siren reminding us that our
set of laws are not in balance with the laws of nature.
Logically, to preserve nature and begin restoration of our planet, and every planet we inhabit in the future, we must recognize that
nature and its laws are more important than those created by man. All laws created by man must take into account their impact on
the environment and its inhabitants. We must agree that oceans, wildlife, trees, and rivers all have the undeniable right to exist,
persist, and regenerate naturally. Ecosystems have the right not to be destroyed by human activity.
It can be hard to imagine what it would truly look like to take on the root causes of climate change, extinction, and pollution. How
our economies would be structured, based on the capacity of Earth to sustain life, further complicates the situation. Though, we
have hundreds of examples set forth by present and past indigenous cultures, and self-sustaining eco-villages. For we know from
them, that a self-sustainable Earth is possible by constructing society around the systematic regeneration of nature.