Can politics save our planet? This week the politicos of many countries gather in Copenhagen, Denmark to discuss what to do about global warming. The problem I have with all this is it seems that no one is willing to lift a finger unless there is something in it for them. That is certainly true of the major superpowers, the U.S.A. being chief among them. In other words, the salvation of our planet becomes nothing more than an economic bargaining tool with each country trying to get a “leg up” by extracting economic benefits in exchange for reducing carbon emissions. In fact the whole “global warming” phenomenon has been reduced to a way to make money. Even Al Gore, the founder of the Internet as well as the person who discovered global warming (just joking), is in on the mix, having become filthy rich from speaking out about the topic. The fact that human derived damage to the natural world has gotten our attention is a good thing. But why do we humans always have to see everything in terms of economic opportunity? That seems to be the root of the problem. We have exploited the natural world that God gave us in order to do what? To have bigger houses, bigger cars and a fatter wallet? To be able to lounge in luxury in swanky resorts that required the clearing of tropical forests and the dislocation of all that lived in them. In short, we destroy nature for things we don’t really need. So I am extremely dubious about the chance that these political fat-cats will really do anything more than seek ways to line their own pockets. If that sounds pessimistic, well, I guess it is. In the book La Loca de Gandoca a similar story is told about a young woman’s fight against political corruption and greed that threatened a precious environmental habitat right here in the natural paradise of Costa Rica. The suggestion in the book is that the natural world enlisted her help….recruited her for the job. Why? Because unlike many people she loved it to the point of feeling a part of it. Maybe that is the answer for all of us. Maybe we will never make serious strides in reversing the trends of environmental destruction until we really learn that nature doesn’t exist for our exploitation. Nature desires that we feel a part of it, not at enmity with it. Until that happens, I fear that the bulldozers and chainsaws will continue to drown out the sounds of nature’s warning calls, even here in Costa Rica. In the end, we, the “powerless,” must be the ones to save our planet from the hands of the powerful.
Comments
Stephanie Casanova
That’s an interesting point about how humans tend to exploit nature and natural beauty until there is nothing natural or beautiful about it. Building eco-friendly hotels that allow people to enjoy nature while also practicing sustainability is one way to make a living teaching people how to respect the world they live in. There is so much natural beauty in Costa Rica, it is understandable why people want to come and enjoy it; but we need to remember that limitless exploitation will just turn our paradise into the places we have tried to get away from.