As the incidence of natural disasters increases over the coming years there will be a similar rise in the number of people turning to religion for explanation and understanding. Although the earthquakes of the last two days cannot be attributed to human environmental destruction, the coming increase in incidence and severity of extreme weather events as a result of climate change can be.
The seemingly inexplicable loss of life that will result from these disasters will drive people to seek solace in religion and spirituality. Unfortunately, the Western world's fervent belief in consumerism as its modern day form of religion will only cause more environmental destruction as humanity rapes and pillages Earth of all its resources. So long as we equate happiness with material belongings, this mutually affirming and perpetuating cycle will continue.
The root cause of humanity's woes is ethical yet the very foundation of our society is based on a purely unethical and irrational treatment of nature as the 'other'. If climate change is not the final proof off this fact, there will be another environmental disaster waiting in the wings.
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Hi Charlie!
ReplyDeleteHow is it going?
I just read this in a spanish's journalist blog, so this is the translation of it:
"When I'm happy or sad, or all at once -often feelings come all mixed-, it does me well to reread some of "the Invisible Cities" by Italo Calvino accompanied by music. They are poetry and magic, as the history of Zobeida, "white city, well exposed to the moon, with streets that turn in on itself like a ball. From its founding it is said that: men of different nations had the same dream, they saw a woman running at night in an unfamiliar city, saw her back, she had long hair and was naked. They dreamed that they followed her. Eventually, after many turns, everyone lost her. After the dream, they searched that city. They didn’t find it, but found each other and decided to build a city as the one in their dream."
Zobeida is an extraordinary and unique city: it aims to retrieve and modify a dream. That’s what utopias are about. About constant rebellion, and refuse to surrender; to be defeated in the name of pragmatism, maturity, fear and other traps. At my age, I only rebel in dreams and when I write [...] Have a good day."
I think many people in western societies are (slowly) realising that other ways of living/development are possible. Hopefully this isn't a utopia. However, for the time being, let's refuse to give up!