The following essay was written in 2001.
Gary R. Varner
Let us turn our energies towards healing the Earth and place our own desires aside for a while.
Physicist Stephen Hawkings stated that he does not believe that humankind would survive to see the dawn of another millennium. Because of the destruction of the ozone layer Hawkings said that the Earth would likely become a boiling pot similar to Venus—devoid of all life, all atmosphere.
While none of us can know the eventual outcome of his prediction, we do know certain facts that are dismally true. One-quarter of the mammals on Earth will become extinct in the next few years. Over eleven thousand species of mammals, birds, and plants are in immediate crisis of extinction. Important environmental habitats for the sustainability of whole ecosystems are being destroyed by “development”, burned or otherwise destroyed by pollution. The Rainforests are being destroyed at a rate of 2 acres a second. The destruction is intentional and man made.
Due to global warming, huge chunks of ice have begun to melt and break off in the Arctic the size of Delaware! Enormous coastal areas will be threatened with flooding resulting in the loss of crops, animals, and natural habitat. Not to mention human lives and the demise of whole towns and cities.
Another recent discovery is that the contrails from airliners create weather. Time lapse photography has shown that after several minutes the contrails expand, forming clouds which alter the natural weather systems. Weather is also “created” and mutated around our large cities, creating “hot” spots and wind tunnels which change regional weather patterns. Rain clouds gather around certain metropolitan areas which have resulted in regional flooding and droughts.
Sometime ago English ley-line scholar Paul Broadhurst told me that the energy rhythm (or “heart beat”) of the earth had increased a tremendous amount. He hypothesized that this increase was in response to the “earth consciousness” which had increased over the last few years due to people acting to protect the earth and with the increase in the number of Pagans who are, of course, Earth-based. I disagree with this theory. I believe that if the Earth was at rest and “happy” Her heart beat would be slow and steady—not at a hyper level which, to me, indicates that the Earth is in panic. The Earth may, in fact, be fighting for Her life.
Dr. Hawkings suggested that humans need to occupy and colonize other planets to ensure the survival of the human species. With the destruction we have caused on earth since the advent of the Industrial Revolution we should be able to destroy another world in much shorter time! An interesting theory of late is that humans did, in fact, originate on another world—perhaps Mars. When the Marian environment was destroyed humans migrated to the Earth and had to “start over”in their technological development. Now we may again be faced with the same result. An interesting thought.
The Earth’s response is the same response that the human organism displays when confronted with foreign bacteria. It fights back. The depletion of the ozone layer is becoming alarming. Even though the manufacture of fluorocarbons has ceased the ozone layer has continued to diminish. Huge, gaping wholes in the protective layer are appearing in more and more areas. This eventually will allow the ultra-violet rays to pour in causing not only serious skin cancers to become more and more common, but also to destroy the simple microbes that are the foundation of the food chain. When they are gone the rest of the plant and animal species will break down and die. An increase in deadly storms, floods and volcanic action are observed yearly. The Earth is trying to destroy its “germ” population out of self preservation. Humans have become a cancer rapidly destroying the Earth’s ability to survive.
The sad thing is that humans have caused all of these things to occur. We have decided that individual animal species are less important than our menial jobs. We have decided that it is better to burn the rainforest so that cattle can graze upon the land. We have decided that having gas guzzling cars that pollute the atmosphere is more important than keeping the atmosphere clean and pure for our future generations. We have decided that it is better to have massive fish factories sailing the oceans, in some areas of the seas completely obliterating reproductive populations of certain fish, than to ensure that those fish species continue to flourish and to survive into the next millennia.
Are there answers? Yes. It is not too late even now. But the answers will not be easily accepted. To stop this suicidal behavior we must totally change our attitudes, our lifestyles, our obsession with materialism. We need to take chances to create better, more Earth friendly, technologies. The United States has made it illegal to grow hemp because of the association with marijuana. Hemp (the non hallucinogenic form) can be used to manufacture fuels without petroleum products, a vast array of medicines, paper products without the use of wood, clothing and foods. In fact there are over 20,000 uses for hemp that are not allowed to be created in this country due to the strong lumber/petroleum lobbies.
We need to redesign our communities to make them smaller, self sufficient and more pedestrian friendly. The village concept needs to be re-introduced where people can live, work and play where they reside. The American way of living, which requires each person to have a car to commute to work and to shop, is a dead end. The regional mall is certainly creating the death of our small cities and an increase in urban blight. Our towns need to be reborn with their own vitality and character.
The indiscriminate “development” of our rich agricultural land must stop. The continuation of “genetically engineered” foods must cease. Monsanto has created a line of vegetable seeds which will produce only one crop. What this will mean to developing nations already torn apart by hunger is incredible. No longer will they be able to produce a crop of seed plants because the seeds will not be fertile after the first harvest. While a boon to Monsanto’s profits (they will be the sole marketers for seeds if they get their way) this is a case of extreme stupidity and totally lacking in any ethics. They have also created a line of corn which has an internal pesticide which just so happens to also kill any butterfly that may land on it and may, in fact, cause other severe environmental and crop damage.
Many of those who state that they have a “God given right” to make a living need to be reminded that they must act responsibly and ethically. These people do not have the right to make a buck in lieu of an ecosystem. They do not have the right to force small farmers out of business, to monopolize food production, to over-fish, to slaughter indigenous people and destroy those cultures to increase their profits.
We need to downsize our “technologically advanced”society. We have lost our link to Nature and the senses of our ancient ancestors which allowed them to co-exist with the rest of the Earth’s residents in a give and take relationship. Because we have taken so much for so long we have created an extreme state of unbalance and disharmony.
We need a responsible government.
It is the responsibility of every man, woman and child to again become oriented to our place in the organism of the Earth.
Let us turn our energies towards healing the Earth and place our own desires aside for a while.
It is time vote for the people that will create good rather than those who can only promise tax cuts for the wealthy or an increase in our salary. Without the life enriching world of Nature we are truly lost. Those who strive only for personal gain will create a world not worth living in.
In this time of world uncertainty and waging war it is even more important to look at “us”–what we do to ensure that the world remains a wonderful place to be in and not one to shun. It is time to ensure that all of the people of the world are able to be sheltered, to have enough to eat, to enjoy their cultures in peace. It has to start with “us”.
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