When you study the development of civilization over the past 10,000 years it becomes readily apparent that humankind’s lifestyle has shifted from one of respecting nature to one of consuming nature – not a sustainable trend!
The Global Oneness Project has produced a very thought provoking video featuring Julia Butterfly Hill, in which she speaks of how modern society has sadly embraced the habit of living a disposable life, and the consequences of our doing so.
How often do we think about where trash ends up? And do you ever consider where that trash came from in the first place? Julia brings such questions to light and gives us pause to consider how our waste is, in turn, wasting the planet itself. Spend five minutes watching this video, then reflect on your own lifestyle for a moment.
- Have you added your name to the National Do Not Mail List?
- Do you diligently practice Reduce, Reuse and Recycle?
- How efficient is your method of transportation?
Julia Butterfly Hill
Julia Butterfly Hill brought attention to the plight of the world’s last remaining ancient forests when she climbed 180 ft into the branches of a thousand year-old redwood tree and refused to come down. Her protest of the environmental destruction that was caused by the clear-cutting of ancient redwoods culminated after 738 days with an agreement that provided permanent protection for the tree known as Luna and a 3 acre buffer-zone around it.
Julia Butterfly Hill
Julia Butterfly Hill is an activist, a writer and a poet. She is the author of the national best seller The Legacy of Luna and the co-author of One Makes The Difference. Julia founded the non-profit organization, Circle of Life to promote the sustainability, restoration and preservation of life, speaks regularly on university campuses, has addressed the United Nations and lobbied congress, and has continued to stand on the front lines of environmental and social justice issues all over the world.
Are you living a life based on disposablility consciousness?
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“When you study the development of civilization over the past 10,000 years it becomes readily apparent that mankind’s lifestyle has shifted from one of respecting nature to one of consuming nature.”
An entirely unfounded and over generalized statement. It is possible that our ability to consume nature has simply surpassed nature’s ability to keep up. It is also not necessarily true that we have lost respect for nature, indeed this article is evidence that we may not have. Thirdly, we I suspect we have a greater respect for nature’s fragility now that we have scientific ways of measuring it. Lastly, I think the PC term is “humankind”
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I agree with your view of the statement quoted as being “generalized”, as there are many in the world who do express great respect for nature, but I don’t subscribe to the notion that it is “unfounded” – an examination of the rapid rise in the rate of resource consumption by developed countries over the past century clearly indicates that we are consuming nature at a rate that is unstainable in the long run.
As to your third point, it is quite true that science has given us the opportunity to understand, appreciate and respect the beauty and fragility of nature – I would just like to see more people adopt that point of view.
p.s. thanks for the PC reminder…I’ll update the article!
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