Earth Day 2022 - Love Your Mother

Earth Day 2022. The 52nd Earth Day. 

Their motto this year is "Invest in Our Planet". 

Doesn't that mean that you expect some kind of return, some profit from this investment? Are we that callous and selfish that we would sell out our own mom?

Wow, imagine the state we would be in if we didn't have those 51 years under our belts leading to the state we are in today.

My alternative motto this Earth Day, is "Love Your Mother". 

You wouldn't sell your Mom out to the highest bidder. 

You wouldn't knowingly hurt your Mother. 

And if she was sick, you would drop everything and make her health your #1 priority over everything else.

We have been tricked into selling our Mother to the bankers, in exchange for what WE want, to fulfill OUR limitless desires. The sacred bond has been broken.

"In this state of total consumerism - which is to say a state of helpless dependence on things and services and ideas and motives that we have forgotten how to provide ourselves - all meaningful contact between ourselves and the Earth is broken. 

We do not understand the Earth in terms either of what it offers us or of what it requires of us, and I think it is the rule that people inevitably destroy what they do not understand.” 

― Wendell Berry

When Berry writes about the Earth, he also understands it to be the Mother of All.

We have forgotten that The Mother of All offers us everything. This relationship requires us to show her our love, gratitude, and respect in all we do.

She will do everything for us unconditionally and for as long as she can. Today she is sick.

What will we do?

Remember our love for our Mother. 

Maybe by the 53rd Earth Day we will begin expressing that love through every thought, decision, and action. 

When we do that, current abusive systems will be blown away. This planet, and all its inhabitants will begin to heal.

Peace and harmony will reign. 

Years of digging the Earth,

Searching for the blue sky,

Piling up layer upon layer

Of mediocrity.

Then one dark night

The ceiling blew off,

And the whole structure

Disappeared into emptiness.

- Muso

Extinction Acceptance

Did you know there is a group dedicated to an organized voluntary human extinction? 

They see humanity as so toxic that the Earth, or any other planet, would be better off without us. I am inclined to agree.

At first it seems outrageous, to voluntarily go extinct. But aren't we doing that indirectly right now?

Voluntary extinction is what I call having scientists warn us for decades of the dangers of things like overconsumption, biocides, fossil fuels, metabolic syndrome, and a sedentary lifestyle, and have us do essentially nothing in response.

Lately one has to wonder if the human race is knowingly committing suicide. 

It's not so much as Extinction Rebellion as it is Extinction Acceptance. 

We need to find out why the human race is so hellbent on this slow burn self-immolation.

I won't be around long enough to find out our eventual fate (I hope), but while I am here, I would like to see humanity embrace the reality facing us, and admit our multiple and grievous shortcomings.

The next step would be doing something about them, and finding out if we can live harmoniously with the other life on this planet, or if it would be better off without us.

See more from The Voluntary Human Extinction Movement.

"Phasing out the human species by voluntarily ceasing to breed will allow Earth’s biosphere to return to good health. Crowded conditions and resource shortages will improve as we become less dense."

 

Another Pledge On Another Earth Day

My Earth Pledge 

Out of my love for Earth's systems and all its varied life forms, and from my respect for their needs, 

I pledge that:

1. I will live as simply as possible in order to do the least amount of harm possible.

2. I will only consume what I need.

3. I will use low carbon forms of transportation (walking, biking, carpooling, bus, train).

4. I will enjoy a plant based diet.

5. I will grow and collect as much of my food as possible.

6. I will treat all resources like the precious gifts that they are, use them wisely, and be grateful for them.

7. I will not buy products that are harmful in their making, use, and disposal.

8. I will minimize my purchase and use of electronic devices.

9. I will not consume news from corporate media giants.

10. I will not work for, invest in, or otherwise support a harmful system that exploits people and the Earth for pleasure and profit.
11. I will express my commitment to this pledge through the way I live, rather than the things I say.
12. I will do everything I can to make sure that we don't need Earth Day 50 years from now.



Or more pledges. 

Meaningful action toward immediate positive change is what we need on this very day, not more words.

Happy Action-Oriented Earth Day, everyone. 

There Will Come Soft Rains

Sara Teasdale won the earliest Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1918, the year she wrote "There Will Come Soft Rains", a piece of writing that imagines the world without us. 

In the poem, Teasdale describes nature reclaiming a battlefield after war. She also writes about the extinction of humanity, far before the threats of nuclear winter, or weapons grade consumerism became a reality. 

Her poetry is known for its "simplicity and quiet intensity", and this poem is certainly all of that.



There Will Come Soft Rains


There will come soft rains and the smell of the ground,
And swallows circling with their shimmering sound;

And frogs in the pools singing at night,
And wild plum-trees in tremulous white;

Robins will wear their feathery fire
Whistling their whims on a low fence-wire;

And not one will know of the war, not one
Will care at last when it is done.

Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree
If mankind perished utterly;

And Spring herself, when she woke at dawn,

Would scarcely know that we were gone.


— Sara Teasdale [1884 - 1933]



Our war on nature is one that we will most certainly lose. We have treated the planet, and all life on it, so harshly, that it would surprise me if any wild creatures would miss us if we manage to do ourselves in. 

Would they celebrate our demise? I wouldn't blame them if they did.

Mary Oliver is another Pulitzer Prize winning poet, and she says, "Maybe the world, without us, is the real poem."

It doesn't have to be that way. We used to be a harmonious part of nature, and if we ever learn to adopt a global philosophy of simplicity, we will be again.

There will come soft rains, with us, or without us. The choice is ours.

World Environment Day 2019: Eco-Weenies Unite!

Yesterday was United Nations World Environment Day. Did anybody notice? Did the Anti-Environmentalists take a break for the day?

This UN designated day was started in1974, a sign of the growing environmental movement that had been building since the 1960s. Its purpose is to promote "worldwide awareness and action for the protection of our environment."

One way they could achieve their stated goal would be to make people more aware of the "movement started to end a movement", because shortly after the Environmental Movement began, the Anti-Environmental Movement came into being.

The green revolution was still in its infancy, and already the backlash had begun. Soon, the Merchants of Doubt would go into high gear.

Now, 50 years later, it appears that the anti-protection factions are winning the struggle to decide whether we help Mother Earth, or continue the mistreatment that Jim Morrison noted in the 1967 song, "When The Music Is Over".

In it, he asks:


"What have they done to the Earth?

What have they done to our fair sister?

Ravaged and plundered and ripped her and bit her.

Stuck her with knives in the side of the dawn,

And tied her with fences and dragged her down."


Have things improved for the environment globally over the past 50 years of World Environment Days? Maybe it is time for a different approach.

Currently, many gains the enviro movement has made over the decades are being repealed by misguided anti-environmentalists in the Corporate/Government Complex. Morrison would be horrified, but probably not surprised.

After decades of astro-turfing, lobbying, shady science, outright lies, and buying off politicians, a large part of the public blindly approves of the anti-environmentalist's mangled messaging.

"The Greenies are destroying everything. They hate humanity, and must be stopped. Nothing is wrong - don't worry, keep shopping."

Before/After photos in a recent British Columbia clear cut. This is the real Eco-Terrorism.

And don't forget one of their favourite tactics - the demeaning, belittling, and discrediting name calling.

Until recently, I thought I was an environmentalist, but now I realize that we have been effectively rebranded by the Denial Industry. Now we are something quite different from the concerned citizens that we thought we were when we first started to speak up for a natural world that can't speak for itself.

I thought I was a good guy, but apparently, no.

Now, because I am a defender of Mother Nature (which includes humans, who are part of nature), I am labelled an alarmist, eco-fascist, enviro-Nazi, eco-weenie, and my favourite, eco-terrorist. That is only a small selection of the slurs used to shift pubic views against the self-preservation through a healthy, functioning ecosystem, that is the goal of environmentalism.

This year the United Nations World Environment Day was centred around plastic reduction, specifically, single use plastic products. This is a very important topic that demands action from individual citizens, government, and industry. But after 5 decades, I can't help but feeling that it is too little, too late.

I suggest that next year they do something focused around environmental literacy, and shine a solar powered light on the dirty deeds of the anti-environmental movement, and their false choice of economy OR environment.

Without a functioning environment, there will be no economy, no jobs, no environmentalists, no anti-environmentalists, no nothing.

Maybe the United Nations World Environment Day next year could sport the following motivating motto:

"Eco-Weenies Unite To Save The Environment AND the Economy... AND The Anti-Environmentalists, Too"

The accompanying theme would be: "How the Corporate/Governmental Anti-Environmentalist Establishment Sold Us All Out And Are Destroying the Earth In The Process".

Something like that would really promote "worldwide awareness and action for the protection of our environment." Lets call out the Anti-Eco-Weenies (where the enviro-terrorist label really fits), and lay bare their lies and rhetoric.

Mother Earth will be dragged down no more. We have to be prepared to draw the line, and defend it.

I'm off to New York to make my proposal. I wonder how long it will take to ride my bike to the U.N. headquarters?

The Darkness Before The Light

We are entering dark times. Today we slide into the shadiest week of the year (in the northern hemisphere), leading up to that most monumental and hopeful day on the calendar, the December 21st event of Winter Solstice.

Up till then the Sun appears to be marching relentlessly to the dark side, and us, powerless to stop its trajectory. That sounds like a familiar theme these days. And then, we see at Solstice that our life-supporting energy source is not going to abandon us permanently. It is a time of rebirth and renewal.

Things are dark in human affairs as well. But we can be assured that reason and compassion are similarly not gone for good, despite what we see around us. The light will return.

Mayan prophesies predicted this long ago, and even took the time and effort to etch their message in stone for the benefit of those of us who would be around past the 2012 turning point. According to the Long Count Mayan calendar, Solstice 2012 marked the end of one civilization and the beginning of another.

It predicts a spiritual transition towards a new consciousness, and while it may not get much press coverage, such a transition has been taking place, quietly, relentlessly, here and there in pockets of awareness the world over.

Certain forces of human darkness can slow human evolution - or are we going backwards at this point? - but they can't stop it. Most of us choose light. Many of us are lighting candles. Or starting bonfires.

The Mayans told us that humanity must eventually choose between disappearing as a species that threatens to destroy the planet, or evolve towards integration with the planet, and everything else.

I know what my choice is.

Evo Morales, the President of Bolivia at the 67th session of the UN General Assembly explained the special significance of Solstice 2012:

"The scientists know very well that this marks the end of an anthropocentric life and the beginning of a bio-centric life. 

It is the end of hatred and the beginning of love, the end of lies and beginning of truth. 

It is the end of sadness and the beginning of happiness, it is the end of division and the beginning of unity, and this is a theme to be developed.”

That makes a nice list of lightness for the new year. Put it in your daytimer, or calendar, or on your fridge.

Bring on the light.
  

Things To Do in 2018

1) Honour the Earth and all life. 

2) End hatred/promote love.

3) Steer lies toward truth.

4) Comfort sadness, be the source of happiness.

5) End division/focus on unity.



Note: no need to wait until the new year to start.

Human Responsibilities

Just because something is legal doesn't make it moral. And not everything illegal is immoral.

The crusade to convince humanity to embrace responsibilities and obligations is thousands of years old. It hasn't taken yet, but perhaps we are closer to universal acceptance than ever before.

We hear a lot about human rights these days, as we should. They are critical to sharing this world in harmony and with peace for all. What you don't hear much about, are human responsibilities. But freedoms and rights in the absence of responsibilities and obligations is a dangerous state of affairs.

We have many lists of critical human responsibilities, for every major religion has one of its own. They are all very similar.

“I truly believe there is a common ethic running through all the world’s major religions. The basic values, the ethical standards, needed for a peaceful society, are shared.” 

- Malcolm Fraser, Prime Minister of Australia (1975-1983)

Mahatma Gandhi crafted his own non-religious list, his Seven Social Sins.

There are also the Seven Deadly Sins, and Seven Principal Virtues that may be more familiar to many than Gandhi's list.

We have a responsibility and obligation to adopt acceptable standards of behaviour.

More recently, The InterAction Council, a group of former heads of states, brainstormed a Universal Declaration of Human Responsibilities to go along with the UN adoption in 1948 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. I have summarized the document below.

"The InterAction Council has been working to draft a set of human ethical standards since 1987. But its work builds on the wisdom of religious leaders and sages down the ages who have warned that freedom without acceptance of responsibility can destroy the freedom itself, whereas when rights and responsibilities are balanced, then freedom is enhanced and a better world can be created."

Each of us has the responsibility and obligation to:

- Treat all people in a humane way.

- Strive for the dignity and self-esteem of all others.

- Promote good and avoid evil in all things.

- Accept a responsibility to each other, to families and communities, races, nations, and religions in a spirit of solidarity.

- To put into practice the motto: "Do unto others, as you would want them to do to you."


- Act in peaceful, non-violent ways, and respect all life.

- Protect the air, water and soil of Earth for the sake of present and future life.

- Solve disputes between states, groups or individuals without violence.



- Promote sustainable development globally in order to assure dignity, freedom, security and justice for all people.

- Ensure that economic and political power is not handled as an instrument of domination, but used responsibly in accordance with justice and for the advancement of all humanity.


- Codes of ethics should reflect the priority of general standards such as those of truthfulness and fairness.


All together we have a "Handbook For Living Together On Earth". We know what to do, and have known for a long, long time. What are we waiting for?

We may be approaching a time when we finally adopt a Universal Declaration of Human Responsibilities, and use it to be better people, and therefore form a better world. I see a golden opportunity, and hope that each of us chooses to seize it.

Let us build on our advancements over the decades, centuries, and millennia. We have the potential to create a wonderful balance between the rights we enjoy and the responsibilities and obligations we have to each other, and the planet.

Is there any other endeavour more worth doing?

Snapping Turtle Nest

Ever since seeing my first Snapping Turtle in July two years ago, I have wanted to see a Snapping Turtle nest. This year, while on an October hike in the woods, I got my wish.

At first I was not sure what I was seeing. My eye was drawn by white bits on the trail. Upon closer inspection, they turned out to be creamy white ping-pong sized shell remains, exactly as described in my online research of these large turtles.

Sure enough, close by was the nest, the hatchling hole. It was in a well-drained, south facing site, perfect for incubating 25-30 turtle eggs.

Next October, or perhaps in the spring if a nest overwinters, I hope to see the event as it is occurring. What a sight to see a new generation starting out, the individuals of which could live 40 years in these woods.

Go little turtles, Go!

What Will We Choose?

Door #1 - Pandemonium. Door #2 - Paradise.

In a hyper-consumer environment, any time we buy something we calculate how much money it will cost us. "How much will this cost me?" The only limits to purchase are dollars. If the consumer has money in the bank, or access to credit (increasingly the choice many make), the transaction takes place.

But wait. We fail to ask the most important question.

Where is the attempt to calculate the costs of the purchase to the greater environment? We should be asking,

"What is the ultimate cost to people and the planet for buying this service or item?"

I am convinced that most people do care about this, and will change their behaviour in compassionate ways when confronted with the facts (yes, I do believe those still exist).

Many Cassandras have been warning us of the final reckoning for the planet since industrialization and capitalist consumerism took over. They all come up with the same message - Earth can not afford these ways, and unless we change the way we do things, ecological collapse is the likely outcome. 

This was the conclusion of The Limits To Growth by Donella H. Meadows, in 1972. Unfortunately, it has been largely discredited since its publication, by pro-growth pressures, and we largely missed an opportunity to act.

Certain opportunist optimists would like us to believe that we are smart enough to transcend all limits to growth. But can we, really? Look at the results so far. From what I can see, not so good.

We have a simple and basic choice to make, as outlined in Limits To Growth so many years ago. Think of it as Red Pill/Blue Pill.

Or Door #1/Door #2.

Door #1 - If the trends in world population, industrialization, pollution, food production, and resource depletion continue unchanged, the limits to growth on the planet will be reached sometime in the near future. 

Door #2 - Arrest growth trends and establish a condition of ecological and economic stability that is sustainable far into the future. The state of global equilibrium would be designed by the people, for the people. In such a system, the basic human rights and material needs of the whole human family are satisfied in environmentally sensitive ways.

What happened since this 1972 red flag? The infinite growth system became an unstoppable juggernaut. The planet lost, as did the majority of its people. However, Mother Nature does seem to be fighting back, and "" are "Pissed Off".

We need a new paradigm in order to slow, then reverse our current slow-motion collapse, and I don't think governments are the answer. Their track record is increasingly sketchy, too, just like their corporate friends.

I'll take what's behind Door #2, please. Let's at least try it. If it fails, then we can go back to greed, poverty, a lack of genuine freedom, and an increasingly hostile environment.

What are the true costs of our consumer habits? Each purchase we make is an opportunity to choose  between pandemonium, or paradise.

There Is No Planet B

We should quit looking for planets to move to, and fix the one we've got.

Quit something. Start something. DO Something! Anything. Please. There is no Planet B.

Make every day Earth Day. Your children will thank you.

Happy Earth Day 2017

From: The Earth Day Network

Earth Day 2017’s Campaign is Environmental & Climate Literacy 

Education is the foundation for progress. We need to build a global citizenry fluent in the concepts of climate change and aware of its unprecedented threat to our planet. We need to empower everyone with the knowledge to inspire action in defense of environmental protection. 

Environmental and climate literacy is the engine not only for creating green voters and advancing environmental and climate laws and policies but also for accelerating green technologies and jobs 

This Earth Day, gather with your community for an Environmental & Climate Literacy Teach-In or another project focused on education. 

This is also a day to show your support for science-based decision making. Marches are planned globally.

The March for Science is the first step of a global movement to defend the vital role science plays in our health, safety, economies, and governments.

-  www.marchforscience.com 

Happy Earth Day to all Not Buying Anything readers. We are grateful for your support for this blog, and for all things green.

Go Green, and spread the word. Our survival depends on it.

 “We need intense activism along with structural analysis and the building of alternative, sustainable lifestyles. We need wisdom, reverence and creativity that we pull up from the depths of our uncertainty. Author Joanna Macy calls it ‘the Great Turning.’ It’s a shift in consciousness that aligns social healing, economic fairness and an end to war with environmental sustainability. And the time to make it happen is running out. We can’t afford to lose another decade, or another twenty minutes.”

-  Robert Koehler

8.7 Million Reasons To Live Simply

Something people rarely take into account is the fact that we share this planet with an estimated 8.7 million other life forms (trillions of individuals). There are many, many species that are as yet unknown to us. Undoubtedly, our unchecked consumption habits will cause many of those to go extinct before we even discover that they used to be our neighbours.

Adopting a minimalist, simple lifestyle is a great way to honour ALL species, and allow them the best chances for survival on this gloriously diverse planet.

"We have only begun to uncover the tremendous variety of life around us. Smaller life forms are not well known anywhere. Some unknown species are living in our own backyards - literally."  

- Alastair Simpson 

When we talk about biological diversity we recognize three distinct types:

1. Genetic Diversity

2. Species Diversity

3. Ecosystem Diversity


All three of these forms of diversity are imperilled by our inability to overcome our selfish refusal to recognize other life, and accord it the same rights as our lives have. Because, after all, does not all life in all its myriad forms have a right to exist?

Part of transforming our greed-based system will be the recognition that we share this planet with millions of other species that deserve to live just as much as we do. When that happens, a peaceful and sustainable coexistence will begin that will change the way we do everything.

Need a reason to live more simply? To approach life with a minimalist's attitude? To live and let live? I have got 8.7 million reasons. And it is easy to come up with more, with little effort.

“Biodiversity is much more than beauty and wonder, important though that is. It also underpins ecosystem services that -- although not counted in conventional GDP -- humanity is dependent upon."

- Lord May

Do it for the planetary genetic material that keeps things running smoothly as we constantly adapt to change. Do it for all other species, our friendly, hard working neighbours. Do it for the amazing variety of ecosystems. Do it for your own survival. Do it for peace and cooperation and mutual benefit.

But just do it.

Still not enough reasons? Keep on reading NBA, and the comments that add so much to what we are doing here. Or consider adding a comment of your own. Maybe you have reason number 8,700,001 for living simply. We would love to hear it.

Nature Invites Us: "Be My Friend"

Nature has an open invitation for us all to become her friend. When you accept, you have returned into a long-standing relationship. The kind that is good for you. Now you will do anything to protect her from all harm.

Be a Friend of Nature. A Lover of Nature. A Defender of Nature. She will thank you in so many life-enhancing ways.

"On the day I am blue, I go again to the wood where the tree is swaying, arms touching you like a friend, and the sound of the wind so alone like I am; whispers here, whispers there, come and just be my friend."

 - Mi’kmaq poet, Rita Joe’s (1932-2007) last poem

The Peaceful Warrior

I constantly practice my warrior gaze, but have a way to go.
It should say, "Mess with Mother Nature, and you mess with me".

I think I have more of a forest elf thing going on, but that is alright, too.
The bright colours are so I don't get shot while out in the woods during hunting season.

Peaceful warriors have the patience to wait
until the mire settles and the waters clear.
They remain unmoving until the right time,
so the right action arises by itself.
They do not seek fulfillment, but wait with open arms
to welcome all things.
Ready to use all situations, wasting nothing,
they embody the Light.

Peaceful warriors have three great treasures:
simplicity, patience, and compassion.
Simple in actions and in thoughts,
they return to the source of Being.
Patient with both friends and enemies,
they live in harmony with the way things are.
Compassionate towards themselves,
they make peace with the world.

Some may call this teaching nonsense;
others may call it lofty and impractical.
But to those who have looked inside themselves,
this nonsense makes perfect sense.
And for those who put it into practice,
this loftiness has deep roots.

- Adapted from a poem by Lao-tzu

Eco-Footprint Overshoot

In my lifetime, human consumption of resources has exceeded the productive capacity of our planet.

Everyone has an ecological footprint. We all need to use the earth’s resources to survive. But some of us are wearing ridiculously large, floppy clown shoes while others have existed forever in tiny slippers.

One average Canadian footprint is the same as that of 12 average Ethiopians. How big a footprint is too big? How much is too much? 

Since the 1980s we have been living unsustainably by draining stocks of "natural capital" faster than nature can replenish them. It is a fatal mistake to think we can take more resources than the earth can provide, and do so indefinitely. We have been doing so for about 3 decades now, and the rate of overshoot is getting faster with each passing year.

The size of a person’s eco-footprint depends on many factors. Do you grow your own food? Do you walk or drive to places? Do you use renewable or non-renewable energy sources? Is that a rice and bean dish I see on your plate? What kind of climate do you live in?

These factors, and so many more, make a difference in the amount of resources required to sustain our lifestyle, and therefore the size of our footprint.

ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINTS AROUND THE WORLD


Average number of productive acres the Earth provides per person (each human's eco-footprint "fair share"), not leaving anything left over for other living things - 4.5 acres

Average amount per person if we include the needs of other living things - 1 acre 

Average global footprint per person  - 5.6 acres

FOOTPRINT BY COUNTRY

In an age of ecological overshoot, having a smaller footprint is more desirable, so I have listed countries starting with those with the smallest footprint.


Afghanistan - 0.75 acres

Bangladesh - 1 acre

India - 2 acres

Ethiopia - 2.4 acres

Iraq - 3 acres

China - 4 acres

Mexico - 6 acres

Turkey - 6.7 acres

Russia - 11 acres

New Zealand - 12 acres

France - 12 acres

Germany - 12.5 acres

United Kingdom - 13 acres

Spain - 13.4 acres

Netherlands - 15 acres

Australia - 17 acres

Canada - 22 acres

United States - 24 acres

We need to reduce our lifestyle shoe size in so-called "developed" societies. Ecological overshoot can not go on forever without degrading the environment to the point of mass extinctions. Either we need to reduce our population, or reduce our ecological footprints. Preferably both.

Of the two, reducing our consumption of Earth's resources is probably the more attainable solution. If resource depletion is the problem, reducing our demands on those resources is the answer. I think this can be done while positively affecting one's overall quality of life.

It makes me wonder. Does the size of a person's ecological footprint transmit to happiness and contentment in life? Are humans in North America happier than humans in countries with a smaller average eco-footprint? Or does a larger footprint just mean a larger amount of waste and useless excess?

Live softly, and leave a small footprint. That would be the best holiday gift possible if you are considering getting something for Mother Earth this season, and year round.

Protectors vs Plunderers

Learning to live more gently on the earth does not happen spontaneously when you are born into a culture of consumerism. In my pursuit of the simple life I have had a lot of guidance.

The core of my gentle approach to living comes from my parents. And while my own culture has some excellent examples of people warning us of our luxuriously wasteful ways, they do not reflect the large society.

For me, then, the next basic source of ideas and practices for a way of life that made more sense to me is from my First Nations hosts.

I was born in Blackfoot territory. After university I moved north to the land of the Cree. After that Linda and I were hosted by the Coast Salish for 10 years. Two years ago we traversed the whole of Turtle Island and now live in the area of the people of the rising sun, the Mi'kmaq.

It is because of their generosity that I have lived my life in their lands. It is because of their stewardship over thousands of years that there was a functioning ecosystem here when my ancestors arrived from Europe looking for refuge. Look at what we have done with it since then.

We are Earth Plunderers. "The economy or the environment?" could only be asked by such a person.

Native peoples everywhere on the planet, on the other hand, are Earth Protectors. They have not forgotten how to live sustainably on the land. North American native groups have been waiting 500 years for their guests to get with the program, and many of us are still having problems with the "Mother Earth comes first" philosophy.

Standing Rock is the most striking example of sharing the native world view with a consistent message that has been the same since settlers arrived on their shores - we and the Earth are one and the same. What you do to the Earth, you do to yourself. Therefore, treat her gently.

The Water Protectors of Standing Rock are decedents of one of the greatest and well known leaders in the area of what is now known as the USA. The wisdom of Sitting Bull, highly respected Lakota Chief and medicine man, could have helped us avoid problems like the Dakota Access Pipeline, if only we had listened.

Sitting Bull led his people during the time of colonization, and summed up the newcomers in a way that is unfortunately just as accurate today.

"Yet, hear me, people, we have now to deal with another race – small and feeble when our fathers first met them but now great and overbearing. Strangely enough they have a mind to till the soil and the love of possession is a disease with them. These people have made many rules that the rich may break but the poor may not. They take their tithes from the poor and weak to support the rich and those who rule. 

They claim this mother of ours, the earth, for their own and fence their neighbors away; they deface her with their buildings and their refuse. The nation is like a spring freshet that overruns its banks and destroys all that are in its path."

Sitting Bull died on the Standing Rock Reservation December 15th, 1890. He was shot by police attempting to arrest him on trumped up charges. He, like his decedents over the past 8 months of water protecting, paid a high price for resisting the plans of the Earth Plunderers.

I am in debt to the peoples that have hosted me here throughout my lifetime. Not only because they let me stay, but also because it is through their example that I have learned about living more gently and simply on this great and abundant land.

All settlers on Turtle Island have native people to thank. Today I am grateful to the people of Standing Rock and to so many other native groups around the world, many of whom converged on the reserve in an unprecedented show of solidarity. Thank you for showing us the way to becoming Earth Protectors ourselves.

May what has been happening be the beginning of an ongoing collaborative movement to restore the land, and ourselves, to a more healthy and balanced state. As Sitting Bull said, "Let us put our minds together and see what life we can make for our children."

Turtle Troubles Part Of Larger Problem

There goes the neighbourhood - many creatures called this home before resource extraction happened here.

There are many reasons not to engage in the planet-destroying excesses of consumer society. One of the most important for me is the preservation of non-human species. They are nice to behold, and we can learn valuable lessons from them. Most importantly, we can not exist without them.

We already know that life for this planet's human infestation, I mean 'population', is bound to be rough without the likes of ocean phytoplankton which produces 50% of the oxygen in the atmosphere.

Einstein knew a lot about the nature of things, including the importance of our enormously stressed bees. He said, "“If the bee disappeared off the face of the Earth, humans would only have four years left to live.”

It is not so much about "saving the whales", or the bees, or saving this or that, or even "saving the environment". What it really is, when you get right down to it, is "saving ourselves". We are inextricably linked to everything else. If consuming too much is the problem, then cutting consumption is the solution.

The overconsumption of the past few decades has decimated wilderness and wildlife. Habitat loss is occurring just about everywhere as we extract resources at an ever-increasing rate.

Snapping turtle surveying what has happened to her home.

Every other living thing we share this planet with deserves to live just as much as we do. They deserve any and all efforts to reduce our impact on conditions around us so that they may live. That includes the snapping turtle here in Nova Scotia, which were listed as "a species at risk" in 2013. I found this out doing research after meeting a snapping turtle while I was biking in the woods.

Snapping turtles are the province's largest fresh water turtle, reaching a size of up to 50cm (almost 2 ft). While they spend most of the year in water, towards the end of June and into July these creatures leave the water to lay their eggs in soft soil or sand.

Looking amidst the logging debris and destruction for somewhere to lay her eggs.

These prehistoric-looking amphibians can live to be over 100 years old. The one I saw looked 1000 years old, or older. Its wrinkly wrinkledness had to have been a million years old. I don't know how old it was, but it looked older than time itself. Turtles in other parts of the world can live to be hundreds of years old... if they are lucky and avoid contact with their main predator - us.

Resource extraction and increased access to the deep woods means that many snapping turtles are run over on roads, leading to a precarious drop in numbers. How exciting to see one for myself - it was an encounter I will never forget.

Could she be crying? Or are you of the opinion that non-human animals don't have feelings?

When Gandhi said, "Live simply so that others may simply live", I am sure he wasn't just talking about other humans. The planet is so much more than that. There is a need for us all to live simply so that everything else may simply live. Everything. Trees, turtles, phytoplankton, bees. Everything.

If we continue to show such blatant disregard for other species, it won't be long before we are headed for extinction ourselves.

Or are we already headed in that direction? I am not sure, but I can say that it was an amazing encounter when I got lost looking into the deep, dark, teary eyes of my neighbour the snapping turtle. I am glad we met, and I hope that future generations will have this same opportunity, perhaps with this exact same turtle.

I happily cut my personal consumption to make sure that everything can live. No sacrifice is too much to handle if it means snapping turtles and other living things may thrive together along with us on our beautiful, shared planet.

Smartest Animals

Crows are very smart, not to mention beautiful.

I remember when I first started fishing, my grandpa told me fish didn't feel any pain. That isn't what it looked like when I had a fish on the ground in front of me.

Now we know better. Fish feel pain. I don't fish any more, but am glad that I can in case the grocery stores quit stocking food, or if that food gets too expensive to eat. Until that time I am happy to see fish swimming free in the water. Unmolested (I do not do torture and release either).

Fish do feel pain, and are smart. Other smart creatures on Earth include the following (in order of intelligence).

1. Chimps
2. Dolphins
3. Elephants
4. Cephalopods (octopi, squids and cuttlefish)
5. Crows
6. Squirrels
7. Pigs
8. Dogs
9. Cats
10. Humans

Just kidding about the "in order of intelligence" part, but I wasn't sure where exactly homo sapiens sapiens fit on the list of Earth's most intelligent.

Do other creatures kill each other for no reason? Do they soil their own nests? Are they threatening life as we know it on this planet?

I do know that the more I learn about nature, the less intelligent we seem in comparison.

Nature Is Into You

I have loved being in nature for as long as I can remember. I measure my success by how much time I  spend in wild places untouched by the heavy hand of civilization. My relationship with nature has been a passionate, life long affair.

I have had people tell me, "I'm just not that into nature." For a while I didn't know what to say, but I think I have figured it out.

From now on my reply is going to be, "You are lucky that Nature is into you."

So-called 'ecosystem services', otherwise known as 'the gifts of Mother Nature', have been carefully calculated in monetary terms for those who fail to see the beauty and inherent rights of nature to exist over and above what's in it for us.

Seen from the perspective of the bottom line, it is obvious that there would be no economy without nature and the ecosystem services it provides. Anyone saying it is either the environment or the economy should be told that we are voting for the environment.

The numbers don't lie.

"The services of ecological systems and the natural capital stocks that produce them are critical to the functioning of the Earth's life-support system. They contribute to human welfare, both directly and indirectly, and therefore represent part of the total economic value of the planet. 

We have estimated the current economic value of 17 ecosystem services for 16 biomes, based on published studies and a few original calculations. For the entire biosphere, the value (most of which is outside the market) is estimated to be in the range of US$16-54 trillion (1012) per year, with an average of US$33 trillion per year. 

Because of the nature of the uncertainties, this must be considered a minimum estimate. Global gross national product total is around US$18 trillion per year."    - source

I am so into Nature, and I am glad that she is into me. We have been very happy together. She has taught me everything I know, and to acknowledge this fact, I try to do everything I can to help her out.

We are lucky that Nature is into us all, whether we know it or acknowledge it or not. We should try and keep it that way.

All Life Has Rights

Yesterday was World Human Rights Day. Same with today. Every day is human rights day. I would like to see us expand the concept to include the rights of all living things. Then celebrate that every day.

That might be a bit much to expect at this point in our painfully slow evolution. We can't even get human rights done properly.

The advocacy group Human Rights Watch "monitors policy developments and strives to persuade governments and international institutions to curb abuses and promote human rights". Their "World Report 2015" gives human rights information for 90 countries.

This is what the report had to say about Canada's recent human rights record:

"...in 2014, the sitting majority in parliament refused to take essential steps to remedy serious human rights concerns..."

How does your country rate in the area of human rights? Check out the report here. More than likely, like Canada's dismal record, you won't like what you see.

So how do we stretch our brains around recognizing the rights of more than just humans, of all living things? International Animal Rights Day, which also happened to be yesterday, reminds human beings that every creature on the planet deserves to be treated with equal kindness and respect.

It isn't that hard to understand. Life wants to live, without pain or harassment, and be free to grow and thrive in all possible ways. It applies to humans, and farm animals, and trees. Ticks and flies as well.

This also applies to Mother Earth, as she has rights, too. We are about as bad at recognizing those as we are with human rights, with similar catastrophic results. How do we turn this around? We have to take responsibility for our actions before we can improve our performance on recognizing and celebrating rights.

With our human rights come responsibilities, the oft forgotten other part of the equation. These are equally important. The number one responsibility is to recognize and honour the rights of all living things. Do no harm. Live and let live.

If we would do this to the best of our ability with each decision we make, everything else would take care of itself. Imagine what that world would look like.