Weeping as I write

I weep as I write.

Surfers surfing, walkers walking and
 people enjoying the good life.

It is a beautiful day; surfers are surfing, swimmers are swimming, people are walking everywhere, the local coffee shops and cafes are packed with those simply celebrating the good weather and the equally good life.

This is the good life, at least that which the modern marketers tell us is the good life, and it is the rich life, something that is the epitome of our growth and consumerist-based economy.

It has been achieved because of our rapacious approach to all that allows humans to prosper. Sadly, and confusingly, it is a lifestyle I love, but it is one that is entirely unsustainably.

It is urgent, well beyond urgent, that we re-think what it is we do; re-imagine our way of life; seek a new way to access joy; re-structure and re-shape our communities to allow them to become emboldened with happiness the resilience and within that understand that contentment is to be found through working with, helping and encouraging your fellows, family and friends, rather than pursuing a life foundered on the exploitation of finite resources and making “presentism” the root of all activities.

Saving the planet is irrelevant as it is fine for no matter what we do, it will go on, the real issue is about saving ourselves, or at least preserving the conditions that are conducive to human survival.

Nature always looks to achieve equilibrium, but in dumping inordinate amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, we have disrupted its bid for equilibrium and it will achieve that no matter what – storms, droughts, and major weather events we cannot yet understand.

The lifestyle we lead and the one I weep for is open to us because of our wealth; a richness that has allowed us to service our wants rather than simply our needs.

Working fewer hours each day (work in the modern and traditional understanding of work) is an anathema to any economist trained in the growth/consumerist/profit paradigm, but it is the most obvious first step in any move to abate the impacts of climate change.

Should we have fewer grounds for exchange (money) we will have no option but to turn to our fellows for support and within that build stronger and more resilient communities.

By Robert McLean

A slowing economy helps abate climate change

Evidence that the slowing of the world’s economy will help abate climate change is on the record.

The 2008-09 GFC not only
 took the economy through
 the floor, but it also had
 a noticably impact on
slowing carbon dioxide
emissions.

The much discussed Global Financial Crisis (GFC) did many things, among them slow noticeably the world’s output of carbon dioxide.

With the world’s economy sliding into disarray in 2008-09, the world’s environmental sinks were given a breather as our consumption, of everything, dropped back in a measurable sense and people, certainly those in the developed countries, found new ways to maintain their “good life”.

The Four-Hour Work Day is similar to the GFC as its introduction will cause significant disruption, decided disarray and unimagined unease for some, but treated altruistically and honestly, it will ultimately be more life affirming for all, and, importantly kind to the earth, the only home we have.