Nature
No one needs to be convinced of how great nature is. If you need a reminder, go check out National Geographic’s Instagram feed. Not only does it fill us with wonder, giving us a feeling of freedom and belonging at once, but it provides the resources from which our modern society is built.
At the risk of sounding alarmist, signs of nature receding because of our encroachment are everywhere. Suburban sprawl obliterates habitats deemed not important enough to protect, and particularly, our development of prime forest and brush fire territory has become a problem. Our lives and property are at risk, but so are the plants and animals still trying to figure out how to survive with their new neighbors.
Exacerbating the situation, the air temperature around the globe is getting steadily warmer and drier, making conditions perfect for a destructive fire to be ignited. But if fires were the only problem, maybe we could have more confidence that it would be solved. In reality, it’s much more complicated.
Everything is linked, and everything comes from the earth. And unless we start blasting waste into space, everything must stay here and must be dealt with here. Look around you. The materials for everything you see came from the earth. Whether it’s metal mined from an open pit where a mountain top has been removed, wood from a forest, or some oil-derived synthetic product, it’s all from nature and to nature it must return. When that cycle breaks down, nature no longer works. If a tiny span of history fills the earth with waste that takes hundreds or thousands of years to break down and be reabsorbed into something “natural”, the earth will be full of trash and the atmosphere will be full of gases that either suffocate us or heat the planet to an extent that nature’s delicate chain is broken.
Take Action
Individual action is a step in the right direction, but this is a monumental issue that demands a concerted effort. It needs central leadership rather than a patchwork of strategies going in different directions. Here are some ways you can have the greatest impact as an individual:
Write your representatives in congress and tell them reducing greenhouse gas emission, reducing single-use plastics, and protecting parks and other natural resources is a priority for you.
Check out websites of non-profit organizations dedicated to these causes and make a small donation to one that appeals to you:
The Continental Divide Trail Coalition
The Pacific Crest Trail Association
Center for Climate and Energy Solutions
Big Green non-profits listed below have probably done some good things, or at least had good intentions, but have also joined forces with major oil companies, corporations, and others. Some have supported environmental actions such as injecting millions of pounds of fine particulate into the stratosphere with the hope of reducing global temperatures. In other words, fight pollution with more pollution. Cloud the skies. Disrupt weather patterns. Establish yet another addictive practice with no exit strategy. All without any real idea of what long-term consequences would be.
Others have allowed oil drilling within protected lands under their stewardship as a means of raising revenue. Hypocrisy at its finest.
No one is perfect. And some of these organizations have corrected course after some missteps. Regardless, I’m listing these as secondary groups to consider donating to:
The Environmental Defense Fund
The National Wildlife Federation
National Resources Defense Council
The Wildlife Conservation