We, as humans, view ourselves in a perspective that puts us on top and in control. We are constantly striving to "progress" our technologies to reproduce what nature already does. From my title quote, I am sure you can see where I am going with this.
We seem to be really good at identifying problems that are really symptoms, criticizing innovation and when are actually motivated to "do the right thing" it sometimes tends to be the wrong thing entirely. How do we solve the looming monster issues of today without creating another problem in the future? Or how can we effectively begin to heal the Earth, humanity and the important relationship between the two? Only humility will allow us to move out of our own ways/agendas/ sentiment and see that the solutions are all around us. Let's take a look at an example.
The Energy Crisis - The problem... well, let's start our humility by not assuming we know the problem. Let's discuss the symptoms until we discover what the problem really is. The symptoms of the "energy crisis" are the facts that we will eventually run out of oil, we are causing more pollution than the Earth can deal with and it has become so valuable that wars are fought as a result of it's location and ownership. We use oil for everything. From fuel to plastics, from food to lubricants.. the uses for oil are so extensive, it has truly become something our society depends on.
Oil has become the thing that we use so that we do not have to be accountable for our wastage, so that we do not have to be completely creative in design, so that we can do the whatever we want without concerning ourselves with relevance, effectiveness and efficiency.. oil replaces the need to be concerned with how a system will be propelled, powered or positioned. Oil makes our "progress" look more like a plateau.
How are we supposed to stop using oil when we have become dependent on it? Well, we begin to take actions that are less dependent on it now while we can still call it a resource. It is unreasonable to think that we can just stop using the resource that we've intertwined into every part of our everything. But, a drastic shift in thinking does need to occur.
Our housing is designed to consume. Our cities and subsequent transportation corridors are designed to consume. Our industry is designed to consume. Our children our being 'designed' to consume. What now?
I suggest that nuclear power is the answer. WHAT? That's right, nuclear power.
There is a nuclear reactor that we can all use in unlimited ways, without affecting it's energy stores, withou creating pollution, without fear of fallout... in fact, this reactor gives off more energy than we need without consequence... we just need to design its use into our lives in a major way. It is located in the relative center of our solar system. Yes, I am speaking of the Sun.
If we designed our homes in such a way that was not motivated by image, order or convenience... we could essentially decrease our fossil fuel consumption astronomically. If we designed our homes to retain solar energy and designed systems within our homes to use the same resource, our "energy crisis" would not seem like a crisis at all. AND.. this is only one application of that resource. As I alluded to earlier.. life is the perfection of technology and that technology is fueled by the Sun.
We live in a world of excess and waste and the result is fear, disease, obesity, poverty etc.... but we as a society act like there is no other alternative. Vulnerability is something most of us avoid and reasonably so. But, humility can turn that vulnerability into a positive momentum for change. The symptoms we face daily result from the doctrines of society and they cannot be healed without new doctrines. New ways of relating, thinking, pursuing and acting.
The solutions to our symptoms are all around us. The real question is, are we humble enough to be taught lessons by the earth instead of trying to control and direct the planet for our unreasonable appetites for power, wealth, and status? I feel that many of us are finally answering this question honestly and now are ready for some ideas that would otherwise be thought ridiculous. So here is a ridiculous idea .. permaculture.. it's just crazy enough to work.
