Insight Environmentalists discussion

Hello. I'm Heather--the group moderator or "trail guide." I started this discussion group because I wanted to learn more about how professional ecologists and citizen activists are doing--mentally, physically, and spiritually--as we address our planetary mess.

To begin, please tell me where you get your information on complex topics like climate change. What have you read that has been most thought provoking?

Personally, I really liked McKibben's Eaarth. It is an excellent review of what climate changes are already underway and what we can expect in the near future. It is excellent investagative journalism. I wasn't too impressed with his conclusions or recommended next steps. But, isn't that what we're all struggling with?

I like E. O. Wilson's idea of biophilia from his book Consilience. I simply need to love the planet and get others to do the same. On a local level, it can be so easy. On a global scale, it becomes too abstract. Facts simply do not move people if they are not invested emotionally in the outcome.

Personally, I hope my work (I am a photographer) can move in that direction. Certainly, I can act on a personal level and, as the over used saying goes, be the change I want to see in the world--my wife has identified at least 15 edible weeds on our garden and they are really good. At least the ones that get blended into a vegi smoothy.

I'll check out Consilience--it sounds like an interesting approach. One thing I wonder and perhaps you can answer. What happens when people don't know how to love?

One of the most challenging things in today's society is for people to love themselves, their spouses, their children, their community, their institutions.... Often times, people limit love to what they want to give or what they need to take; they miss that love is about giving what the other needs.

So yeah, I'm all for helping people fall in love with the planet, but their love must find expression in giving earth what she needs. Otherwise, we will see more Jeep commercials with vehicles chewing up ecosystems as people "love" nature to death.

Does this make sense? Did EO Wilson address this?

And by the way, that is so cool that your wife is serving edible weeds! So cool--

E O Wilson did not really address the concept directly, but in a passing manner. But a very interesting book none the less.

The planet has a compassion deficiency, no doubt. The trouble is all the other arguments and methods don't seem to be very effective. The rational arguments assume people are rational and would be moved by facts. I have never seen that. People are instinctive and emotional--they are animals after all.

It is a very depressing situation. But I agree with Winston Churchill who said, "I am an optimist because there is no point being anything else."

There is something about photography that transcends talk, yes? Like other art forms, it holds a mirror to a truth beyond the limitations of our concepts and words. Thank you for being a photographer with a case of biophilia!

Despite what I said above, I do think love is what it is all about; loving kindness is the only thing that will heal the planet. True love--that which is a skillful means for seeing and caring--is at the core of spiritual ecology.

In regards to being an optimist....
I really like what Joanna Macy says in this month's book--Active Hope. Passive hope is what you wish others would do to make the world better. I feel quite pessimistic and hopeless that our institutions (for example) will turn the tide on climate change. But active hope emerges from our own truth, what we are willing to do to heal the world. The only reason I feel optimistic when I look at the mess we're in is that I--like you--am actively engaged in planetary home improvement. Plus, I am surrounded by others contributing to healing. This gives me active hope.

Heather, the great thing is when people figure out that everything is messed up and there needs to be a change, then there is going to be a group of talented people around to help them out. There already is. And by a person at a time, the group is growing.

Thank you, but from the outside, may arts seem ideal. From the inside, you start seeing the limitations. Most nature photography is very sentimental and is actually giving the false impression that everything is OK and that the wild places are not where you live. When was the last time you saw a picture of Yosemite with a large crowd of people and traffic jams? That is the reality. Nature documentaries are even worse by not only giving the same view, but also staging that view--their emphasis on the "dangerous and thrilling" outdoors that needs to be conquered and feared is also disturbing. Still, we can chip away at the problem. And there are certainly photographers that are trying to do that.

First, I love your phrase: "The great thing is when people figure out that everything is messed up...." It IS a great thing but it is seldom celebrated!

Second, you have a powerful insight into the distortion potential of photography. In a similar vein, I launched a land conservation organization in 1996. At the time I observed plenty of conservation organizations preserving "the last great places" or what was heralded as pristine wilderness landscapes. My not-for-profit instead bought contaminated brownfields in inner-city neighborhoods and transformed them into vibrant and healthy parks.

Perhaps you and I are cut from the same cloth: no sentimentality, eyes wide open. Skillful action requires the full picture of the world.

:-)