It's gotten to a point where we(as a whole) have almost no compassion left. Not towards the natural world around us, nor our fellow man or even ourselves.
Slraep
I empathize deeply with your statement. I have often thought about this subject when pondering such things as the inhumanity of human-kind. I have come to the conclusion that much if not most of this problem is based in fear. When something becomes so hugely fearful that it is hard to see that we may have the means to overcome the problem, then it becomes a
"monster creeping towards us in the dark." Our terror combined with our sense of vulnerability and inadequacy to protect ourselves can become so great that it seems too terrible to perceive and contemplate. Not conceiving of how we might deal with our fears, we refuse to see, to face that which we fear. So often then we withdraw into our own little territories and, seeking solace, we grasp for whatever feels like security, taking, without great thought for others or the future, whatever we can for solace and reacting to others as threats to our own security, feeling that any competition threatens to take from us what we need to survive and live well. In an age where the threats to our future security have become global, these previously unimaginable dangers I think, manifest themselves in anger, greed, an inhumane, sometimes homicidal violence towards others and our environment.
I find that the most reasonable response to this fear, the one that offers hope for all of us who feel we must face the immensity of fearful uncertainty that we often feel confronts us is the one attributed to Margaret Mead:
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." (From the Institute for Intercultural Studies, to be found at:
http://womenshistory.about.com/gi/d...=http://www.interculturalstudies.org/faq.html)
During the last half of the 1980's I and others that I knew despaired over the collapsing stocks of salmon, steelhead and other anadromous fish of the northwest coastal waters of North America. We found an example of what might show promise in starting to recover these stocks and their crucial habitat in two rather recently started organizations, California Trout and Oregon Trout. We were inspired to attempt to start Washington Trout. Much to our surprize, every single organization we approached--fishing clubs, the two state Trout organizations, as well as many individuals--donated money, time and other resources both asked for and unrequested and we were soon up and running. When we incorporated as a non-profit in 1988 we had less than a double handful of members. However, the people needed with the skills, knowledge and expertise to make this work came to us in surprizing numbers and the organization has continued to grow and have a substantial positive impact on the health of the fisheries. A little over a year ago it's name changed to the Wild Fish Conservancy and is beginning to work on an international and bio-regional basis. When we started this I could never have imagined the eventual impact of what we were doing and often questioned whether I was nuts trying to do something to correct such large and pervasive problems. Here is a link to the organization:
http://www.wildfishconservancy.org/
I write about this here to illustrate how even a few people with limited resources can make a tremendous difference. Global Warming/Ocean Acidification is an immense problem. However, I am very heartened that there are so very many people developing so many solutions both proven and potential that show promise to solve this problem if only they can be implemented--soon! If I may say so, there is the potential for a great impact among the people who frequent the PearlGuide.com. These pearl afficionados are made up of people all over this fragile globe, many of them having significant resources that could be put to this possibly-most-important work that there is. I urge those who read this to get involved and be a part of the solution, here or any other place that can make a difference. It is in the self and unselfish interest of all.
