Everyday should be Earth Day. There was a time when everyday was. Back before the economy became THE priority - when food, water, shelter, and clothing were the necessities of life. Somewhere between the time when we started using money as a medium of exchange and now, we began to value money more than the necessities it is used to acquire.
The shift from a necessity based economy, to a money based economy has brought with it great stress and pain for the earth. There was a time when the established generations planned their consumption carefully to ensure the well being of future generations. Today, the future is measured by economic growth. Stockholders demand profit and investment return without any concern of how those profits are being generated. We rape and pillage for the economy today without considering the long term consequences for our own grandchildren, let alone a stranger’s grandchildren on the other side of the planet..
The earth provides enough to satiate everyone’s needs, unfortunately it cannot produce enough to satisfy everyone’s wants. The haves can’t seem to get enough to be happy and have nots can’t seem to get enough to survive. The solution seems so simple but unfortunately it relies upon the haves willing to sacrifice their wants. Really tough to do when the the iPhone 5 is only months away.
“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed.” - Mahatma Gandhi (1869 - 1948)
1 comment:
This truth is right in our faces, every step of the day. Its unfortunate, but it seems that this pattern is set in stone. Its comforting to know that I'm surrounded by people who want change (at SRKF) and are walking the talk, but we are such a small portion our community. Even though we strive to spread awareness and plant the seed, its sad to say but our efforts are not supersedeing the degradation of our planet. However, we must never be discouraged and give up!
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