| I want to be more Ecologically Minded - But | |
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8 Oct 2004 @ 13:45, by Scotty
I'm becoming more and more confused about what is Ecology - can being more ecology concious really help the planet - and do ecologists themselves really know what they're talking about !!
One would have thought that this day and age is a golden opportunity to teach people about ecology and start putting some ( most or even all) of the ecological principles into action ... but it doesn't seem to be !
More and more often politicians are using ecology as a platform and they're promisisng all sorts of remedies to heal the planet - they say they're going to plant trees - cut down on pollution and clean up the air - some even say they're going to sponsor research into new ways of saving energy- if of course we vote for them !
Like most members of the public my attention is being drawn more and more to ecological matters - but I'm begining to realise that my 'understanding' of it all is almost null !!
Sure I go on about the disasters that happen because of deforestation or pollution of the waters and overfishing etc etc - I say that we must plant more trees and clean up the rivers ... then I go to the supermarket and by alluminium foil for cooking - buy groceries that are for the most part packed in containers that can't be recycled and put it all into the free plastic bags that are provided (and these are seldom biodegradable) and I use for them later for the rubbish bin - which then gets dumped in the local decharge !!!
The 'science' of ecology seems (to me at any rate) to have become an arena of debate and not much real teaching is going on - people ( the public/me ) are full of popular misconceptions about plants and animals and the environment and all these misconceptions are being repeated and recirculated and they grow and become even more deformed in the retelling !
What good will ecology do if it is based on misunderstanding the facts of real ecology?
I don't know about you but I know that for myself I tend to see plants and animals as being part of the environment - sort of passive recipients of whatever mankind happen to inflict on them - not much more than part of the scenery in a theatre instead of what they really are - actors in the play.
Too little is said or even known about the hundreds of thousands of species of life all over the planet - all of them different in their behaviour and each one with their own role to play.
Maybe all of this is too complicated for the majority of people - but I can't help thinking that we've got to start opening our eyes sometime (preferably before it's too late) and start making real efforts to learn more about the planet and what really needs to be done - and what needs to be stopped doing.
Maybe we have to start taking more interest in what is being taught in our schools for instance - instead of teaching kids that 'ecology' is a 'science' we could start opening them to the realisation that the planet is not seprate from them - that we and the planet are living entities and we depend on each other intimately !
It isn't just a question of planting more trees - it's more a question of our values on living ! It's about seeing the planet as the living thing it is and seeing it and ourselves as one !
The knowledge of Ecology is only going to be as useful as the wisdom we use in applying it - if it ends up as simply a political platform or a class to be taken amongst other classes instead of someting that is 'lived' (just like religion perhaps) then I think we're going to miss the boat !
"The Chinese word for "Crisis" incorporates the symbols for "Danger" and "Opportunity".
These dangerous situations offer the opportunity for great changes -- changes, first of all, in perception -- a shift in consciousness."
Whatever befalls the Earth befalls the children of the Earth. Man does not weave the web of life,
he is merely a strand in it. Whatever I do to the web I do to myself. ~ Chief Seattle (adapted).. [link]
Earth Sanctuary [link]
**Popular Environmental Myths.. [link] ..... If what it says in this link is TRUE - what the heck am I supposed to think now ?? Are the ecologists 'lying' and are they trying ot manipulate people because they have their own secret agenda - - or have they just got their facts wrong - or is the link just a whole lot of lies - sowing again even more seeds of disinformation and confusion -- and if so - WHY ??
I don't know about you - but it's a hell of a labyrinth trying to find ones way around all these conflicting reports !
No wonder I'm confused !! Just where does the truth of it all lie and how the hell am I supposed to know it when I see it ???
"We can work together for a better world with men and women of goodwill, those who radiate the intrinsic goodness of humankind. To do so effectively, the world needs a global ethic with values which give meaning to life experiences and, more than religious institutions and dogmas, sustain the non-material dimension of humanity. Mankind's universal values of love, compassion, solidarity, caring and tolerance should form the basis for this global ethic which should permeate culture, politics, trade, religion and philosophy. It should also permeate the extended family of the United Nations. " ~ Wangari Maathai ... [link]
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Category: Environment, Ecology
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