Global Warming

Global warming. It's here. Even if it's not an accurate description of what's happening to our environment, it's upon us in the media on a frequent basis. Everyday folks are urged to make personal changes by driving less, recycling, and living more simply. Many leaders in the world are rallying to make changes on a larger scale by reducing carbon gasses. For example, British Columbia recently declared it intends to reduce emissions 20% by 2020.

If the science of environment is accurate, then drastic changes need to occur. Yet, I wonder if we are really going about this in the best way. It seems that the primary force of motivation for change is fear of what is to come. Will this be enough to change people? Will the guy driving the Escalade wake up one day and say, "You know, maybe I shouldn't drive this thing" because he believes the planet is at risk?

I've never found fear alone to be a good motivator.

I bike to work at times, and if my only reason is fear of environmental disaster, it wouldn't be enough to get me on my bike on a rainy day. When I do bike it’s for a number of reasons. Yes, I do think of the environment and my participation in some small way of keeping it clean. I also think of saving money since I'm not using gas. Most importantly, I think of how much I love to be outside. I feel the wind on my face, the rain or sun falling on my back. I hear the stream as it flows through the firs, and I catch glimpses of deer bounding into the alders. This is the stuff that gets me on my bike.

Love and respect of nature is the piece we need to promote more in this effort to stem climate change. Since the industrial revolution, many of us have abandoned sitting by a peaceful river, listening to the birds, or seeing the sunrise over the hills. Things and busyness have taken first place priority. These are matters of the heart, and fear won’t change hearts that have lost touch with the natural world. When more of us recapture what we have lost in the love, deep respect and admiration for the natural world, the beginnings of environmental consciousness have begun.