Ecological Awareness

For most of history, man has had to fight nature in order to survive; in this century he is beginning to realize that, in order to survive, he must protect it. – Jacques Cousteau

Great unnatural changes are taking place around the world. When I was young, most people were not concerned about protecting nature. They believed in the almost infinite capacity of the natural environment to absorb waste from plastic cups to nuclear fallout. My parents however, taught us to pack out the trash we created and not toss it out indiscriminately. Now the planet’s population has more than doubled, and the world is addicted to plastics.

So much cheap plastic is dumped into our environment that the artificial is fusing to the natural. Globally, synthetic aggregates taint once pristine environments. Petroleum based pollution has become ubiquitous. Now, our world is covered in billions of wounds that take one thousand years to heal. The long lasting trauma intensifies each year. From the tops of the highest mountains to the deepest ocean trenches, our waste offers no sustenance only desolation.

Humanity has lost its collective mind. Political treaties, pledges and promises have done little to slow the unnatural replacing the natural. We can however make a difference in our local environment. As Margaret Mead said, never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, its the only thing that ever has. Each of us makes choices whenever we buy any product, from the purchase to the disposal – be gentle with your choices. Read the labels on what you buy – try to avoid palm oil. Walk when you can. use LEDs. Buy local. Plant trees. Reduce your use of plastics.

If you live in a place with clean drinking water – Don’t Buy Bottles of Water! I find plastic drink bottles scattered all over the beach. Carry a reusable bag or two for shopping. 5,000,000,000,000 single-use plastic bags are used worldwide every year. Break the dependence on the artificial, and live more in tune with nature. Let’s Beautify the Future.