It's a good question... Yesterday I talked with my friend Diego Vera, and between the emotion of telling him about my trip to Australia and the natural beauty that country has, as well as its industrial development, he showed me a video which he thought was AWESOME. Unfortunately it is in spanish and I have not found a translated one, but if you still want to see it, here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcQUtLOhfvQ. It is seriously AMAZING!!!
It's plot is about the end of the cities due to progress. Interesting... And that is why I used this question as title. Because it is important to think and meditate about how us, seeking everyday for more progress, more material things, as if it was a race, as if the world was gonna end, as if we had ignored all the beauties nature gives us and instead, create our own artificial (man-made) nature.
Industry is necessary for the progress of our cities, and is also the cause of the destruction of them. But, without industry, could we survive? Would today's human being throw away the change of having a car, going to the disco with music at max loudness, having a job, buying a better house everytime he can, and, most of all, consume the incredible ammount of electricity which bills don't reflect in their numbers?
Australia has a 21 million population aproximately, and a surface area of about all Europe Together. Maybe that is why there is way much of natural wildlife still existing, but another reason is that its people don't want to see their country devastated by pollution and deforestation. Imagine if that happened, people in other countries could never again say "I wanna go to the land of the kangaroos" because they wouldn't exist anymore.
So then... WHAT DO WE DO?... and one more time WHAT DO WE DO!!!!!!?
That is the hardest question to answer, and still we have a lot of time before the earth's resources deplete, including the oxygen in the air... but this is an answer we would expect from a conformist, isn't it? Why wait for everything to be in red alert, when we can start right now!
I don't have an answer yet, and that is why I write about this, because I know that at least one person is going to read this and will be able to answer it from a point of view he/she finds convenient, and please consider I am open to criticism, but! I also want you to write a solution that comes into your head, and that way we can begin to contribute with our bit :D
5 comments:
The problem seems to be that we have become an impatient society. We are no longer patient with ourselves and our children let alone our communities. We have become accustomed to relying on technology to do everything for us. We can't even count anymore, for what, we have calculators, right? I am a mother of 5 girls and I am very concerned for their future. I think we are killing ourselves slowly as we deplete our natural resources in search of our next fix. I grew up in a city on the east coast. I love the subway, the buses, the trains, and all of the things available to me 24 hours a day but reality is I'd love to take my daughters to a place where they could experience LIFE without all the hustle and bustle. We get too wrapped up in our everyday lives and have become so selfish in our searches for perfection that we do not slow down to see the destruction we are causing. I love technology as much as the next person and just like many I feel lost without my iPhone but truth be told I love my children more and I hope that one day someone can answer your question before it is too late. Regardless of what the real solution is I think it important that we teach our children and lead by example. Take time out each day to do something even if it's small, such as conserving electricity, water, or recycling. Our future generation will do as they're shown not as their told. I enjoyed reading your post. I hope my response was not way off base.
Thank you, for writing this comment!
It is definitely on track to what I'm writing, because, you have made me think that maybe we could start using eco-friendly products, we could do this or that thing to help the environment, but the real solution is to teach people to do this with example. Many businesses are starting to promote ecology, but there is still something that is not quite true, and as I see it, is because they are trying to do this a trend, "the trend of ecology", and whoever promotes it more, wins more utilities. And that is why people still have no real sense of whether ecology is important or not.
Here in Peru, we have the fortune to have the amazon, and still a vast territory which is undeveloped and even virgin, but there is no conscience about nature yet in the majority of our people... But that has to change, and I think you just gave me a tip :)
Congratulations on your children, and I hope they get as much example and advice from you as they can. :)
And if you ever get the chance, come to Peru, there is a lot of places to go without hustle and bustle :P And in rather cheap rates.
I agree with your regarding the "eco-friendly" trend. Many people are putting in solar panels, purchasing Hybrid cars, and finding other energy saving tools to implement into their homes and businesses but half the time it's because they can afford it and it's the cool thing to do or it sounds like a great tax write off. Those are all great things but for those of us that cannot afford it we can recycle, we can turn out lights when we don't need them, we can reuse plastic bags, we can turn the sink off when we brush our teeth, and we can plant trees and community gardens in our cities not because it looks good but because we need to replace what we've taken down. I think like I said before we really need to lead by example and know exactly why we are changing our habits. Children are like sponges. If we teach them now they may remember and act out of habit. It may be too little too late for many of our fellow adults!
As far as Peru, I'd love to visit. My mother has been and I have a friend in Ecuador as well. South America I am sure has many beautiful and quiet places left to see. Continue to write! Hopefully one day we'll all find a solution!
Hey! Good news! I just received a request to be the "Master of Ceremonies" in an event in my university destined to Ecology or Ambiental Responsibility.
I will have contact with the minister of Ecology of Peru, and some of the best students in some schools, I will definitely take this opportunity to develop what we have been talking about here.
Take care, see ya later.
Congratulations! What an honor! You must be very excited. We don't often get the chance to voice our opinions and ideas to the right people! Enjoy it and best of luck!
:)
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