The San Francisco Chronicle reports in its March 5th edition that China will soon surpass the United States in the emission of atmospheric CO2. This is very bad news for our little planet, and I have to wonder what might be the chances of convincing them to give up their quest for the materialist lifestyle, to make them see the folly and the failure of the consumer culture, to adopt sustainable living practices, to forego the resource-intensive technological luxuries of the West, to practice austerity and voluntary simplicity, to make them WANT to live this way?
What are the chances that the West can lead by example?
Remember that the latest research on the erosion of our natural systems indicates we have maybe ten years at best to make significant changes to our behavior, naturally beginning with our values and sense of identity, and about only 30 years to reduce GLOBAL fossil fuel consumption by 90% (if nature doesn't do that for us first).
This, or our extinction (more or less), as well as many other species', is all but assured (e.g., recent research indicates a total collapse of the ocean food chain is likely within the next few decades unless we immediately and completely change our ways).
Such change requires nothing less than an absolute revision of how we live, how we understand ourselves and our relationship to the Earth and the rest of creation, even how we understand God and the universe.
In other words, this requires a profound spiritual awakening, an epiphany not unlike what the Buddha experienced under the Bodhi tree (an accomplishment that even for him was only possible after much time spent in silent contemplation).
And moreover, as this news clearly indicates, it must be global.
What are the chances this can be done in ten years, given it hasn’t ever happened in the history of civilized humanity (though the move TO civil society might be considered an awakening of sorts)?
Is this even possible (considering the inevitability of the historical timeline bringing us to this point indicates some degree of intent to surmount the problem and evolve, however one believes that to manifest within the universe)?
Should we just wait for benevolent space aliens or Jesus or any other hoped-for authority to simply zap us into enlightened consciousness, or should those who recognize this problem work with all possible haste and diligence to tackle it personally?
Should we even be doing anything else with our time besides working to achieve this awakening and effect the necessary change to society (aside from possibly concurrently working to preserve what we can from an increasingly likely global catastrophe)?
Is this not the most important human endeavor on the planet today--perhaps ever?
And irrespective of religious dogma, might our Earthly presence at this time in history--the reason each of us is alive today--be related to how we deal with this issue?
More importantly, does change occur by the efforts of anyone other than the individual?
Granted, this is a lot to infer from news about China's growing CO2 emissions, but that development begs the question.
Given the potential threat that China’s massive population could pose to our environment, this may well be how the final straw of adverse human impact manifests for planet Earth.
Blame, retribution, and the selective force of others are obviously unproductive, irrational responses.
There is only one human society responsible for this problem--the same one with the sole power to solve it: all of us.
And the alarm bells are sounding loudly now.
So what should we do about the larger issues this news raises?
How and when should we change our individual lives?
As everyone knows by now, the time to act was yesterday.
John Campbell is a freelance writer from the Louisville, Kentucky area. Comments may be directed to jb.campbell@insightbb.com
###
Printer Friendly Version
E-Mail This Article
