We are in the midst of a hot, humid day. Its dry and the transplants are suffering as we try to find the balance between encouraging deep root growth and preventing dehydration. Being so close to the ocean one is reminded that water can be everywhere and there be no drop to drink. The water saturated air literally takes my breath away.
This morning we strolled down to the village for some coffee and a light breakfast. Actually, Jennie strolled and I rode the disability scooter. It was pleasantly cool and the light was lovely.
On the way home we passed the local yacht sales room. This set me to thinking about the conundrums inherent in our way of life. On one hand, we want to have access to the ocean without sacrificing comfort, on the other hand our consumption of fossil fuels is literally killing the ocean. (Yes, we have finally turned on the AC.)
The sea is still beautiful, calming, and oh so pleasant to dangle one’s feet in, even as it becomes increasingly acidic and barren, forcing many species into starvation. I find it difficult to get my head around the notion that we can “sacrifice” the Amazon, the oceans, and much insect life and expect to continue to breathe and eat, let alone have any semblance of soul. Our blatant disregard of other kinds of life, to say nothing of our collective hubris, surely bodes ill for us.
This brings to mind another conundrum. Most of us desire some sense of control over our day to day lives, and much political rancor arises from this. (After all, one person’s preferred way of being is another person’s nightmare, making sane collective decision making very difficult.) The problem is that in a system as complex as the Earth, the variables quickly overwhelm our capacity for control.
This is the bane of politicians who encourage various pipe dreams of control, only to have the chaotic nature of systems destroy those dreams, creating voter rage and payback. Too often, even the semblance of caring about people and planet is only for show, obscuring the greed driving decision making and the conundrum that greed and stewardship are incompatible; even stewardship smacks of our desire for control.
I sometimes suspect that those in power hope to squeeze maximum profit from fossil fuels now, then profit from environmental cleanup later. Maybe they figure most people in the future won’t notice they are living in a barren, silent, lonely world. Then again, maybe they will.
Please share your thoughts and join the conversation!