DIALOGUE

"The Earth is Full"

Posted by Bonnie Bright on June 9, 2011 at 11:45am in Depth Psychology General

In case you haven't seen it, I wanted to share a link to an article in yesterday's NY Times called "The Earth is Full" by Thomas L. Friedman. 

The article is sobering--as it should be--and actually echos a book I am reading currently, "Eaarth" by Bill McKibbin. Both works pretty much suggest that we are already beyond a tipping point with Nature and that with current population growth and non-sustainable practices, we are headed for significant difficulties. I know for many of you, this is not new--and the hardest part is to look at it and really hold the tension it carries so that something eventually new can arise.

If you haven't read the article--and even more so, I hope you'll consider it. I think we owe it to ourselves. Anyone else read either one and have thoughts you can share?

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Tags: culture, ecology, ecopsychology, environment, modernity, population, sustainability
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  • C.Victor Posing, June 21, 2011 at 3:13pm
    Most people are aware of the rising problem with overpopulation and cost of food that keeps going up, but one of the main problems is the lack of knowledge in the areas of nutrition, and ways of sustainability.  This was given away to the government and corporations, in which we placed our trust, with hope that they would protect us and do the right thing. Well, now they produce foods with little or no nutrition, and the obesity rates are soaring along with health costs.  I grew specialty vegetables and herbs for several years and supplied chefs in the area with organic high nutritional products.  It was definitely hard work, but now I could grow and supply myself with food the year around, which is sustainability in one area.  Most people will not do that, however, community gardens are on the rise.  I realize that what I wrote covers just one area. There is over-use of every part of our environment and this is another issue to work out.  Just some thoughts.  C.Victor
  • Siona van Dijk June 9, 2011 at 5:03pm

     

    I'm an unfortunate contrarian when it comes to much of this. The Earth isn't our problem; we're the Earth's problem. The planet has been infested with life for a few billion years, and somehow, no matter how hard we try, I don't think human beings are going to come close to eradicating 95% of the species we currently share it with. In any case, I'm willing to place my faith in human insanity and the relentless irrepressibility of nature, though perhaps the two are one and the same.

     

    And that aside, nothing lasts forever. I'm not sure how many more smog-smudged sunsets I have ahead of me, but I do not want to lament the beauty of any of them.

     

     

    • Bonnie Bright > Siona van Dijk June 9, 2011 at 10:31pm
      Beautifully said, Siona, and much appreciated at a time when I am "in it" as I research and ponder the theme of "collapse" from multiple perspectives in relation to my dissertation. Nice to reconnect with you as well. Thank you for taking the time to share this perspective and shift my focus to the sunset....
      • Siona van Dijk > Bonnie Bright June 10, 2011 at 11:49pm

         

        Oh, thank you, Bonnie. I didn't mean to sound callous or flip; it's just that life on this planet has been around for so much longer than my little mind can fathom, and has survived far worse than the current cascade of changes. What we might consider a poisonous environment some other happy little algae would label heaven, and partial as I am to we humans, I'd far prefer to cherish the mystery and chaos anxiously wring my hands about preserving a state which can't possibly--at least looking at the earth's long past--be preserved. Life will go on, just as will death, and if nothing else, we can always look forward to our bodies once again returning to the soil. 

         

         

  • Ed Koffenberger June 9, 2011 at 11:58am

    Interesting article leaving me with one question: How does the author actually see this shift happening? I am assuming that he does not believe we (captains of industry, internet gurus, minimum wage earners, and the homeless) will all wake up one morning as enlightened beings willing to sacrifice what we have for a better tomorrow. Nor does the extreme seem to be the picture, where there is a great tragic leveling leaving the rich on the same level as the poor (assuming the poor will somehow gain as the rich lose ground). I'm hearing the potential for revolution, sadly violent, to wrestle the reigns of power away from those who currently control decisions from seats of financial and communication power.

    Can anyone give me a brighter future scenario that I can share with my grandchildren?

     

    Ed

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