In the past, the focus was always on our impact ON the environment, as though we, as a species, are completely separate from the environment. Now we have to realise that we ARE the environment, and that everything we do to the environment – good or bad – will impact us accordingly.
We ARE the Environment!
Suzuki states that “all of life is our biological kin” and as proof points to the human genome project, which showed that we have more in common than previously thought with other species including sharing 96% of our genes with the chimpanzee. The air we breathe and the water that we drink becomes a part of us, and then it becomes part of the next person or an animal or a tree. The earth gives us food and nutrients – but there isn’t a dividing line: we are one and the same.
It’s so easy to take for granted the things that our ‘biological kin’ do to ensure our survival. Our kin includes trees, animals, fungi and microbes to name just a few, and many of these cleanse, create and replenish all our biological needs – plants not only clean the air of carbon dioxide but also replenish the oxygen in the air, which we can’t live without. The roots of the trees in the forest ensure that the soil doesn’t wash away with the rain into the river affecting the salmon’s breeding grounds; birds and bees carry seeds and pollen to replant and re-pollinate plants and flowers. When we do things that damage or eradicate our ‘biological kin’, it has an impact on us even though we may not see the results straight away.
“give Mother Nature a chance –
she’ll be more generous than we deserve”
“Think globally, act locally”, was the message extolled 20 years ago, which Suzuki now admits with hindsight turned out to be a disempowering message. As soon as you begin to think globally it’s very easy to be overwhelmed and to become disenchanted over whether choosing to recycle that plastic bottle will really make that much of an impact on a global scale. Thinking like that it’s difficult to see the value of the impact of your daily actions on a global basis. Instead, Suzuki now sees hope and the positive effects of thinking and acting locally in such ways as community gardens and creating sustainable cities. He says that you need to “think and act locally to have any chance to impact…globally.”
Sustainability is the new mantra, and it’s up to us to see ourselves in the big picture and to act in an environmentally responsible manner. Suzuki reckons there are 3 ways we can do this:
- Slow down – pay attention! Be present; be aware of your impact.
- Get to know each other – become part of a community, connect with your neighbours, think of your children and grandchildren.
- Re-imagine the future – we CAN have a future where we support and nurture our environment as much as it supports and nurtures us.
If we can all start thinking and acting locally, imagine all that we can achieve… and believe it or not, it will have a global impact. He left us with a final thought: “give Mother Nature a chance – she’ll be more generous than we deserve”.
Isn’t time to give her a hand?
Want to know more?
Check out any of David Suzuki's books - his latest being The Legacy, An Elder's Vision for Our Sustainable Future and look out for his new movie.
Trailer for FORCE OF NATURE - THE DAVID SUZUKI MOVIE
David Suzuki's 'legacy' - 15 October 2010 Lateline (ABC) interview - Change now! Learn to live with environment or perish!
Written by Lisa Mains
Image from movie trailer
