Ashes, Ashes, All Fall Down

Ashes, Ashes, All Fall Down

8/2/01 entry from my weblog http://icymarch.blogspot.com/?/2001_08_01_icymarch_archive.html

"Picture a bright blue ball, just spinning, spinnin free,
Dizzy with eternity.
Paint it with a skin of sky,
Brush in some clouds and sea,
Call it home for you and me.
A peaceful place or so it looks from space,
A closer look reveals the human race.
Full of hope, full of grace
Is the human face,
But afraid we may lay our home to waste..."

John Barlow - "Throwing Stones"


KTAO played the Dead's "Throwing Stones" while I was at work today, hadn't heard it in a while. I was taking a break for a cup of tea, trying to wake up after another boring meeting. The song got me thinking of a show I was watching on Discover last night with Viv, about all of the environmental destruction caused by mankind. Fragmentation of ecosystems causing loss of diversity, destruction caused by pesticides, pollution, etc. Pretty depressing stuff. The show went on to explain that environmental destruction is not something new, the American Indians created desert areas from forests in the southwest hundreds of years ago by cutting down trees for food and building materials. Ancient cities had to be abandoned because the local ecosystems were damaged by overpopuation to the point that they could no longer sustain the people who lived there.

This got me thinking of "Planet of the Apes" (The original, I haven't seen Burton's remake yet). Quote from Dr. Zaius: "Man is a nuisance. He eats up his food supplies in the forest, then migrates to our green belts and ravages our crops. The sooner he is exterminated the better. It's a question of Simian survival."

The narrator of the show on Discovery posed the question: Is Man inherently destructive by nature? They went on to say something to the effect of "Not intentionally, but we are changing our environment". I tend to agree with that statement, but not totally. On the whole, I think most people do not actively want to damage the environment, but they will if not given an easy enough alternative. Example: If cities have curbside recycling with bins provided, a good portion of the people will participate. If not, most of the recyclables end up in the trash. So I guess it's up to the leaders to guide the people into doing the right thing, the way it's always been since the tribal days.

I do think that some people, especially people with political power, can be intentionally destructive, like George W. and some of his cronies. These type of guys will do whatever makes Big Business happy, they don't give a rat's ass about the environment or what kind of world they leave for future generations. You don't like arsenic in your water? They don't care, their family drinks bottled. Your city's air isn't fit to breathe? They don't give a damn, they live far enough outside of town to where it won't bother them. Global warming got you down? They'll just turn up the AC and laugh all the way to the bank.

So, what do we do? Some people say "Think globally, act locally." Others say it's hopeless, you can't change the system. Just give up and go with the flow. Me, I'm just trying to get by and provide for my family without causing too much damage to my environment. I try to do the right thing whenever reasonably possible. I am a registered Green, and would really like to see them become a viable third party in future elections in this country. Maybe some day, by the time my son is old enough to vote...

Gotta wrap this up. Stayed up too late to write this, I need to get some sleep. I'll close with a few more lines from the song:

"...If the game is lost,
Then we're all the same.
No one left to place or take the blame.
We can leave this place and empty stone
Or that shinin' ball we used to call our home..."