In place of class for today, we had to watch and read several reports concerning population and the environment. The one video was about big brand companies changing the entire face of the planet just by changing their products’ sustainability. He started by saying that population is a problem, but the issue of famine isn’t just weather; more often than not, famine is caused by policies and politics. Humans cause the starvation of other humans. He called for people and companies to begin working with those they wouldn’t normally work with. In doing so, we can create big changes. The speaker also said that “you need to manage this planet as though our life depended on it, because it does.” That quote stuck out to me in his speech because it’s so simply stated but so absolutely true. People take the issue of overpopulation and product sustainability rather flippantly because they refuse to see the impact it’s having globally. Then he went on to show that 100 companies control 25% of the top 15 commodities; if these companies change how they manufacture their products, life on Earth can really begin to change. Just by making more efficient use of raw material and using less and less of the land, we can begin to decrease the issue of sustainability and feeding such an immense population. I really latched onto the idea that these large companies need to make the decision of sustainability for the future for us, rather than waiting for individuals to demand it. I’m not foolish or naïve enough to think that everyone will always think for the greater good in mind or act with intelligence. I agreed with the idea that these large, controlling companies need to make the decisions for us in order to create a better future. It’s impossible to control population one at a time. People will argue about rights and necessity until the cows come home. But companies can make a proactive effort in doing more with less and balancing out the population/consumption issue. And what was most amazing of all was the idea that these companies can make these changes without impacting anyone’s life. If I sit and think about it too long, it will tick me off because it meant that these companies had the ability and technology to make a change before and simply chose not to. But I cannot look back in anger; I can only try to look forward with hope and a cautious eye.
The second video we had to watch was about tribal resources. I was struck by the early parts of the video that this education program in South Dakota was making sure to start young when teaching about nature. Rather than waiting until people are settled into their ways and busy with their lives, this program was approaching children at an impressionable age to show them how life should really be lived. People are meant to be one with nature, not separated and isolated from it. Everything in nature impacts us as we impact it in return. You have to start young to teach kids about respecting everything: from the plants to the horse that could easily kill us with one wrong throw. Throughout the video, over and over again, was the idea of community. I’ve said it in previous posts and the theme keeps popping back up. The most we see ourselves as part of a community, the better off we will be. Being in a community makes us less selfish and forces us to act for the greater good. Whether it be an educational after school program where children are working together to pain and clean, or a town making a communal garden that everyone needs a hand in supporting: it all boils down to respecting the earth and respecting one another.
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