Where are we?
I don't think we can start to discuss health without first acknowledging our intimate connection to nature as human beings. We are an integral part of the biosphere here on Earth. Our relationship to the biosphere is integral to our health as human beings.
We breathe the air, drink the water, and eat the plants (and perhaps the animals or animal products that eat them) that surround us. Without these things, we would not exist.
The health of the soil is our health, in the long run. The purity of the water is our purity. The clarity of the air is our clarity. We are one with all these things. If we treat any of them as separate from us, and lack care in our treatment of them, we do so at our own peril.
As we are mammals, walking around erect, with big brains, opposable thumbs, experienced tool makers, thinkers, etc., we have fashioned a vast array of life support for ourselves, such as buildings, roads, clothing, food preparation & delivery networks, waterworks, appliances and gadgets of all kinds, etc. Living amidst all this that we have created, it has become easier and easier for us to forget our intimate connection with nature. Food comes from a shelf in a grocery store. Water flows abundantly from a faucet. Our indoor air is filtered and cooled or heated for our comfort. Waste is blown out, flushed down, or carried away to unseen locations.
So, here on this page, I want to emphasize first and foremost that in order to maintain and improve our health, we must maintain and improve our awareness of our intimate connection with nature. There are many ways to do this, but I believe that direct experience is best. Sure, we can read about the natural world around us, or stare at photographs or movies. But I believe that our best way to understand our relationship with nature, our biosphere, is to get ourselves out into places beyond those that we have crafted for ourselves. Places that are not built upon, mined, pumped out, cleaned up, etc.
Now, clearly with well over 8 billion people on the planet, if everyone headed out into the wilderness at once, we'd end up damaging much of what we're seeking to experience. So, clearly, it seems that we would do well employ whatever other means we have to remember and stay aware of our deep connection with nature.
We breathe the air, drink the water, and eat the plants (and perhaps the animals or animal products that eat them) that surround us. Without these things, we would not exist.
The health of the soil is our health, in the long run. The purity of the water is our purity. The clarity of the air is our clarity. We are one with all these things. If we treat any of them as separate from us, and lack care in our treatment of them, we do so at our own peril.
As we are mammals, walking around erect, with big brains, opposable thumbs, experienced tool makers, thinkers, etc., we have fashioned a vast array of life support for ourselves, such as buildings, roads, clothing, food preparation & delivery networks, waterworks, appliances and gadgets of all kinds, etc. Living amidst all this that we have created, it has become easier and easier for us to forget our intimate connection with nature. Food comes from a shelf in a grocery store. Water flows abundantly from a faucet. Our indoor air is filtered and cooled or heated for our comfort. Waste is blown out, flushed down, or carried away to unseen locations.
So, here on this page, I want to emphasize first and foremost that in order to maintain and improve our health, we must maintain and improve our awareness of our intimate connection with nature. There are many ways to do this, but I believe that direct experience is best. Sure, we can read about the natural world around us, or stare at photographs or movies. But I believe that our best way to understand our relationship with nature, our biosphere, is to get ourselves out into places beyond those that we have crafted for ourselves. Places that are not built upon, mined, pumped out, cleaned up, etc.
Now, clearly with well over 8 billion people on the planet, if everyone headed out into the wilderness at once, we'd end up damaging much of what we're seeking to experience. So, clearly, it seems that we would do well employ whatever other means we have to remember and stay aware of our deep connection with nature.
How did we get here?
Everyone alive today was born after certain things had already been developed and established, such as the vast use of fossil fuels, fresh water, minerals, and the creation of buildings, roads, factories, and everything else that we have used these resources for. Put another way, almost no one alive today has had direct experience without these things existing. Granted, the majority of the human population still lives with a dirt floor, no running water, limited access to food, etc., but as our information networks expand, more and more people are aware of all this, even if they have not been able to benefit directly.
When I was growing up, there was always a car, a house, a refrigerator, running water, central heat from burning oil, furniture, food, and clothes from a store, a washing machine, a telephone, radio, recorded music, and so on. As a child, all this was a 'normal' part of life. I had little to no idea where these things came from or where and how they were made, we just had them or bought them. We didn't make anything at my house besides meals and some wood projects on my father's workbench in the basement. We grew none of our own food, at least at first, and even later, only a token amount in our backyard garden.
When I was born (1950) were 2.5 billion people on the planet, and 150 million here in the USA. Now, that's quite a large number of people. There were already people who had written about our (human) adverse impact on our planet's biosphere, but those voices went largely unheard. Instead the order of the day was progress! Technological progress on many fronts. "The War" (World War II) was over, and it was time to improve our lives and expand our economy.
Now (in the 2020s) we have over 8 billion people on the planet, with over 330 million people here in the USA. Again, these are incomprehensible numbers, but clearly, our impact as humans on the biosphere has increased greatly. There is much more awareness now, of what we have done to destroy parts of it, and perhaps what we must change about how we live to stop and reverse the effects of that destruction.
So, I don't really blame any one person for our current situation. I don't even blame any group of people, even. After all, it can be challenging to stop and step back from everything in your life that has "always been there" and start over again from scratch. Our challenge is to evaluate what is, where it comes from, why we have it, what impact it has on our lives and on nature around us, and so on. Instead, we tend to "just keep living" based on what we're familiar with and used to. It's often upsetting when we have to make significant changes in our lives, especially if we have to give up something familiar, perhaps never to see or experience it again.
When I was growing up, there was always a car, a house, a refrigerator, running water, central heat from burning oil, furniture, food, and clothes from a store, a washing machine, a telephone, radio, recorded music, and so on. As a child, all this was a 'normal' part of life. I had little to no idea where these things came from or where and how they were made, we just had them or bought them. We didn't make anything at my house besides meals and some wood projects on my father's workbench in the basement. We grew none of our own food, at least at first, and even later, only a token amount in our backyard garden.
When I was born (1950) were 2.5 billion people on the planet, and 150 million here in the USA. Now, that's quite a large number of people. There were already people who had written about our (human) adverse impact on our planet's biosphere, but those voices went largely unheard. Instead the order of the day was progress! Technological progress on many fronts. "The War" (World War II) was over, and it was time to improve our lives and expand our economy.
Now (in the 2020s) we have over 8 billion people on the planet, with over 330 million people here in the USA. Again, these are incomprehensible numbers, but clearly, our impact as humans on the biosphere has increased greatly. There is much more awareness now, of what we have done to destroy parts of it, and perhaps what we must change about how we live to stop and reverse the effects of that destruction.
So, I don't really blame any one person for our current situation. I don't even blame any group of people, even. After all, it can be challenging to stop and step back from everything in your life that has "always been there" and start over again from scratch. Our challenge is to evaluate what is, where it comes from, why we have it, what impact it has on our lives and on nature around us, and so on. Instead, we tend to "just keep living" based on what we're familiar with and used to. It's often upsetting when we have to make significant changes in our lives, especially if we have to give up something familiar, perhaps never to see or experience it again.
Where are we now?
Before I go on with what I see for the future, I'd like to stop for a moment to Thank You. "Thank me for what?" you might ask. I want to thank you for doing everything you have done and/or are already doing to treat our biosphere with love and care. Even if you don't think you're doing much of anything, I still want to thank you for whatever you are doing. You are, after all, reading this. And whether or not you agree with everything I've said here, you are at least thinking about the big picture of our health within the biosphere of Earth. That's actually a very big step.
So, even if you don't have a compost, don't put much into recycling, perhaps, or don't think of yourself as an 'environmentalist' per se, I still want to say Thank You. I don't think we thank each other enough for what we are doing right now. It's easy to panic about the future and dash about telling others to do more before it's too late. But I find that giving thanks to others is often missing. I don't want to live in a world where expectations are always on the increase (it seems) without acknowledging what the vast majority of good people are already doing.
So, Thank You!
Next, I'd like to say a few things about what I see as human nature. Three tendencies come to mind:
- take the easy way out
- out of sight, out of mind
- power corrupts
I'll expand on each of these later. But for now, I want to acknowledge that these aspects of humanity do not make us 'bad' even if they have seemed to have lead to 'bad' things happening on our planet. This is another reason I don't blame anyone, and wish to thank everyone. Living with these tendencies can be a challenge. Making an effort to compensate for them can also be a challenge. And yet, I believe that most of us are doing our best, on a daily basis. Doing our best to live a worthwhile life, do well by others, and attempt to care for our surroundings. It's hard at times. Other times, it seems that we have achieved success.
So, even if you don't have a compost, don't put much into recycling, perhaps, or don't think of yourself as an 'environmentalist' per se, I still want to say Thank You. I don't think we thank each other enough for what we are doing right now. It's easy to panic about the future and dash about telling others to do more before it's too late. But I find that giving thanks to others is often missing. I don't want to live in a world where expectations are always on the increase (it seems) without acknowledging what the vast majority of good people are already doing.
So, Thank You!
Next, I'd like to say a few things about what I see as human nature. Three tendencies come to mind:
- take the easy way out
- out of sight, out of mind
- power corrupts
I'll expand on each of these later. But for now, I want to acknowledge that these aspects of humanity do not make us 'bad' even if they have seemed to have lead to 'bad' things happening on our planet. This is another reason I don't blame anyone, and wish to thank everyone. Living with these tendencies can be a challenge. Making an effort to compensate for them can also be a challenge. And yet, I believe that most of us are doing our best, on a daily basis. Doing our best to live a worthwhile life, do well by others, and attempt to care for our surroundings. It's hard at times. Other times, it seems that we have achieved success.
What's next?
Although I don't blame any one person or group of people for the current situation, I do acknowledge that we are now charged with the responsibility of working with the consequences. Lucky us!
It's one thing to complain about the lack of leadership in government, or the apparent abuses of industry. But in the long run, I believe that it is "We the People" who ultimately must do the work. After all, governments and even corporations are mere empty shells without the people who occupy and work within them or receive their benefits. Ultimately, we are faced with letting go of at least some of what has been familiar. We are now challenged to make major changes in how we obtain, use, and discard much of what we depend upon for our very lives.
And, I believe, as we go about this, we will also be acting to improve and maintain our health as human beings.
It's one thing to complain about the lack of leadership in government, or the apparent abuses of industry. But in the long run, I believe that it is "We the People" who ultimately must do the work. After all, governments and even corporations are mere empty shells without the people who occupy and work within them or receive their benefits. Ultimately, we are faced with letting go of at least some of what has been familiar. We are now challenged to make major changes in how we obtain, use, and discard much of what we depend upon for our very lives.
And, I believe, as we go about this, we will also be acting to improve and maintain our health as human beings.
(Some images on this page are courtesy of Free Digital Photos and Photobucket. Others are photographs that I have recorded myself.) I originally wrote this page in 2014, updated it in 2020, and again in 2023.