In a conversation with my dad, we’ll call him Mr. Toussaint, he told me global warming would be a problem the Earth would fix itself. “The Earth didn’t start these problems,” I replied. “These problems are man-made or human-made and therefore should be human solved.” He respectfully disagreed and I, maybe disrespectfully, disregarded his position as being that of a man of a certain age.
More recently I heard a speech from Leonard Peltier, “American activist, member of the American Indian Movement” and political prisoner. He explained his own and a general American Indian view on environmental issues that was framed in terms of Mother Earth.
He explained Mother Earth was the life-giver and we are acting in a destructive manner by polluting Earth with toxins and nuclear waste. I assumed I knew to whom we were being destructive and thought “yeah, how about that, we should really do something.”
He went on to explain corporations and most environmental activists were incredibly arrogant in their thought that they could “Save the Planet”. He said Earth was here before us and would be here after us. Earth could sustain what we do to it but WE could not sustain what we do to it. We would die before the Earth would.
Then it all made sense. “Saving the Planet” never really made sense to me. (more…)
