Earth Cares

With all the natural disasters and problems experienced by people all over the world these days, we sometimes ask ourselves if people are being punished for all the wrongs they have done—like some sort of cosmic karmic debt is finally due and it’s the present generation of humans who now have to pay for the mistakes of their ancestors.

It may not appear to be obvious but the acts of people can directly affect the way the planet behaves. The biggest issue of the early part of the 21st century is climate change, which is supposedly caused in part by industrialization. The various technologies produced by people in the name of progress supposedly allows for better living conditions, but consequently separates people from the Earth. This separation is pretty evident when parents realize that their young kids don’t even know where the food they eat on the table comes from.

A lot of kids today simply weren’t brought up to be aware of their connection with the plants and animals around them that willingly sacrifice their lives in order to serve as food, clothing, and shelter, so that people may live. There is a lack of understanding that the clothes and shelter that people use come from raw materials sourced from the Earth. For instance, while it’s a fact that the wood and fabrics that we use for house construction and clothing come from trees, more often than not, we take these things for granted, hardly blinking when we see whole forests destroyed by illegal logging and slash-and-burn farming.

Disruption of Life

The Earth has always cared for people, but people hardly seem to care back and even inadvertently cause destruction that prevents the Earth from providing their needs effectively. For example, the rampant release of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) into the atmosphere from cooling devices in the past has destroyed the ozone layer to an extent that the sun’s dangerous ultraviolet rays are no longer sufficiently blocked and are now cause skin cancers in some people—and that’s just a small part of the problems unknowingly created by people in their quest for progress.

Consider all the trash that is released into the environment that does not enter the many cycles of decay and rebirth that occur on the Earth. Synthetic plastics are not natural and thus are not broken down in the normal process of decay, to return what’s been spent back to the earth. They simply accumulate and ultimately block and pollute water systems to cause sicknesses and death—non-biodegradable rubber tires collect water and breed unnecessary numbers of mosquitoes that help spread viruses like dengue; oceans choke up and marine life die from all the plastic detritus, depriving whole ecosystems of sources of nourishment; oil seeps out of petroleum wells to destroy habitats and poison plants and animals. There are too many examples out there to include here! In each one, you can see that life is disrupted because of the people’s departure from the natural ways and processes of the Earth. It’s also us that ultimately suffer.

Earth Cries

The Earth has always been caring for people just like it has always cared for the other living beings that live in it. But it’s the intelligence of people that has caused the rift which has set forth a chain reaction of disharmony that, in spite of the efforts of people to improve the quality of life, has led to discomfort and more problems in life, which include economic and social distress.

In the middle of the modern chaos created by people, the Earth cries out for attention.  It is on a tantrum to shake people back to their senses and for us to realize the errors of our ways in how we abuse the environment for the sake of progress and material wealth. There is a need to reconnect with the Earth and awareness of this need may be one way for the current problems of society to be solved.

Bothered by rising fuel prices? Switch to alternative sources of energy! Smothered by pollution? Go renewable and use solar energy instead of combustion engines! Garbage causes flooding? Go back to biodegradable materials! People killing each other? Stop thinking of other people as enemies! We are all one in this Earth.

Reconnecting with the Earth can solve a lot of problems of humankind. There are many ways to reconnect with the Earth, and it’s up to each and every one of us to do what’s necessary to effect the changes that will lead to things returning to how they used to be. It may appear to be too late, but we have to remember that the Earth does not exist for people to die—it is there to support us in any way it can. So let us reconnect with it and give back to it. The time is due.

What’s wrong with our world? Tom Shadyac tries to find the answers in his “I Am” movie.

How to Save Planet Earth

Erik Reece brings awareness of the effects of mountain top removal in a way that is unique and compelling. He delves deep within the problems associated with strip mining rather than simply pointing out the issues on the surface. By spending time with the families who live in Eastern Kentucky, he is able to give us real life accounts of the human suffering that is taking place there. He tactfully raises questions of decency, fairness, and justice. One example of this is found in the story Reece tells us about “the powerlessness of landowner Mrs. Bige Ritchie who had to stand by and watch a bulldozer plow through a family graveyard uprooting the coffin of her infant son and pushing it over into the creek.” (82)

The audience is quickly aroused when Reece points out the alliances between politicians and the coal industry and their blatant disregard for the human beings who reside in Eastern Kentucky. They have neither concern nor remorse for those who have become ill due to their water being poisoned, have to wade around in a foot of mud in their living rooms because of flooding, have the foundations of their homes cracked, and their gardens that many rely on for food destroyed. Erik Reece compassionately points out that this crime upon humanity is taking place as a consequence of a type of blindness, an ignorance fueled by greed on the part of politicians and the coal industry. Reece points out this greed by advising us that “both George W. Bush and Kentucky senator Mitch McConnell received millions of dollars in campaign contributions from the coal industry.” “In return the coal industry received fewer restrictions as a result of the rewording of the Clean Water Act by the Bush Administration, lower coal dust standards that protect workers from black lung, and lower fines for violations.” (136, 137)

The author, Erik Reece is very vague and at times contradictory in his approach to offer real solutions to the problems associated with strip mining. For instance, in one section of the book Erik tells the reader he believes there should be a higher tax placed on the coal taken out of Eastern Kentucky and the money collected from such a tax stay in Eastern Kentucky. In another section of his book, he tells the reader we need to get away from the use of coal all together and begin thinking about alternatives. So does he feel we should continue extracting the coal leading to the destruction of our natural resources or doesn’t he? Realistically thinking, the money collected from this proposed tax would more than likely fall into the hands of those in power as opposed to those living in poverty. There are no guarantees that a tax hike wouldn’t fall on the backs of the public making it even more difficult for those in poverty, the elderly, etc. to afford the luxury of heating their homes.

Erik casually gives his reading audience the idea that the people of Eastern Kentucky can pull themselves out of poverty by utilizing their natural resources for logging, furniture making, and gathering herbs. As pointed out in the book, the people of Eastern Kentucky are in poverty, have been treated like sub-humans, and intentionally educationally suppressed. Does he think that not a single soul in Eastern Kentucky has had the same or similar ideas? The question is not what can we do. The question is how do we do it. First of all, how are people in poverty going to get the funds needed to purchase the tools required for logging or furniture making? Who is going to educate them on how to go about such tasks? Even if they had the tools and knowledge to make furniture, what are they going to do make a bunch of stuff to collect in their back yards? How will they market the furniture once they make it? Giving such an idea without offering solutions on how to go about it could be perceived as offensive by the people living in Eastern Kentucky. One such person as Reece mentions is Paul David Taulbee who stated, “He was tired-sick and tired of outsiders coming into Eastern Kentucky and telling its people what they should do.” (62) This is an understandable attitude considering they themselves have probably had similar ideas circulating amongst themselves but became frustrated and hopeless in not knowing how to implement them.

What we need to do is give them the tools, education, funding, etc. to allow them the opportunity to act on their own ideas. Possibly the people in power could do something to attract a company to come in to do the logging on the contingency that they must replenish what they take, offer a particular, fair salary range, offer on the job training, and give the jobs to those who reside in Eastern Kentucky. This would open up not only jobs doing the logging but also jobs replanting trees, office personnel, truck drivers, etc. It’s possible that these ideas have also already been contemplated. If so, we must stop contemplating and take action.

Erik Reece is highly effective and very descriptive in making his reading audience aware of slurry spills, the effects of blasting atop the mountains, watershed contamination, unenforced regulations, and corruption. But again, what are the solutions? How will a higher tax, logging, furniture making, or herb collecting stop the slurry spills, water contamination, flooding, etc. How will it improve the health risks and living conditions the people of Eastern Kentucky are being forced to live with?

Unfortunately, the problems that strip mining has given rise to are vast and complex and will probably take the people who are in control to get off their duffs and let go of their greed to make a significant difference. However, if each individual makes it their personal responsibility to cut down on the overconsumption of energy, we too can make a difference. But, how do we do that? To resolve a problem, we must first be aware that the problem exists. Erik Reece does an excellent job at making his audience aware of the problems associated with strip mining and I commend him for that. Maybe his purpose does not lie in coming up with the solutions but rather in bringing awareness and grabbing people’s attention and that’s ok.

However, if he doesn’t have the solutions and can’t give the people whose attention he did grab advice as to how they can be part of the solution then direct them to the people who can. Otherwise, making people aware is completely ineffective and pointless. Our heads are merely being filled with more information that leaves us hanging with even more concerns and fears that we feel completely powerless and hopeless to do anything about.

This reef is undoubtedly unique and has been of much interest to scientists the world over. Interest stems from many different scientific arena’s too, birds, fish, weather, sea life, archaeology, environment and so on. There is still much to be learned from this place hence, the heritage status that it has been granted. This reef is home to 4000 types of mollusc and 1500 different types of fish. There are also over 200 different species of birds. Aside from all this, it is a very beautiful place and the temperature and climate is fantastic. It has definitely got tourist appeal and attracts two million visitors each year simply because of the many activities that are available to do. It is estimated that the economy can expect to grow by a whopping $4000 million dollars from this region.

There is much concern over the effects that global warming is having on this district. Already there is speculation about the ‘coral bleaching’ that has occurred in recent years – namely 1998, 2002 and 2005/2006. During these years there has been more loss and coral dying than ever before. With a marked increase in water temperatures there is a grave concern about the future of the reef and the cause of the bleaching. The coral is living at the upper reaches of the temperatures that they can survive in. When the water stays warm for too long the coral expels the photosynthesising zooxanthellae and become colourless which results in the calcium carbonate skeletons. This became very apparent in the Keppel Islands group when a massive amount of coral died due to the unusually high sea temperatures. A reef scientist, Terry Done, has predicted a 1 degree rise in global temperature would cause an 82% of the reef bleached, 2 degrees resulting in 97% bleaching and 3% would mean total devastation.

I don’t presume to know or understand the full effects that global warming is having on our world but having been to the Great Barrier Reef and seen its beauty, I feel that it would be a great loss to the world. I am willing to believe the scientists who study the planet and the world in which we live in rather than people who have economic gains to make from it.