I had to stop watching nature shows because of this. I saw an episode about a starving polar bear and it broke my heart. I became so angry and pained at my own helplessness to stop it. Eventually I tried a complete video fast and then implemented it permanently. Saves money to not have Netflix, etc.
A decade ago I pivoted toward nature conservation and read everything I could. One book stated the year Earth surpassed her carrying capacity as the year I was born, thus my entire life was over-capacity. I entered a state of grieving that seems similar to what David by the lake has described over the years on ecosophia.
JMG's example clicked some things into place for me. He deliberately chose a third-world lifestyle inside of a first-world country and openly claims his quality of life went up. He aspires to reduce his footprint to that of an Indonesian. The first thing that clicked into place was that there is no point in my listening to another human talk about nature conservation if my footprint is smaller than theirs.
The second thing that clicked into place is that I am 100% responsible for what I choose to do and 0% responsible for what others choose to do. I thus have 100% control over my footprint and 0% control over anyone else's, unless they come to me asking questions.
The actions I have or haven't taken for the environment are my own and between me and my gods. Americans, or anyone really, will never reconcile with the land they live on because they cannot accept and own their own actions. The first words out of their mouths are "It's not my fault." And if JMG's report of feeling blood lust in certain regions of the US is true, then the land might eat them for it! That makes reality stranger than fiction.
I'll stop doddering on now. Thanks for the thought-provoking essay.
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timeasmymeasure
Grieving, then walking away.
Date: 2021-05-13 02:29 pm (UTC)A decade ago I pivoted toward nature conservation and read everything I could. One book stated the year Earth surpassed her carrying capacity as the year I was born, thus my entire life was over-capacity. I entered a state of grieving that seems similar to what David by the lake has described over the years on ecosophia.
JMG's example clicked some things into place for me. He deliberately chose a third-world lifestyle inside of a first-world country and openly claims his quality of life went up. He aspires to reduce his footprint to that of an Indonesian. The first thing that clicked into place was that there is no point in my listening to another human talk about nature conservation if my footprint is smaller than theirs.
The second thing that clicked into place is that I am 100% responsible for what I choose to do and 0% responsible for what others choose to do. I thus have 100% control over my footprint and 0% control over anyone else's, unless they come to me asking questions.
The actions I have or haven't taken for the environment are my own and between me and my gods. Americans, or anyone really, will never reconcile with the land they live on because they cannot accept and own their own actions. The first words out of their mouths are "It's not my fault." And if JMG's report of feeling blood lust in certain regions of the US is true, then the land might eat them for it! That makes reality stranger than fiction.
I'll stop doddering on now. Thanks for the thought-provoking essay.