The catastrophe we thought impossible has already happened
What the ecological crisis can teach us about hope
Extreme weather caused by climate change has hit every corner of the world.-Photo: flipboard
As the world digests the recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, I refuse to give up hope. Now is no time to throw in the towel, as I firmly believe that when it comes to the planet, no matter how bad things get, our humanity will never lose its ability to make them a little less bad, or indeed to make them better.
All said and done, although, at this moment in time, we, the older generation, have collectively failed to protect, nurture and nourish our Mother Nature, nonetheless, this isn’t a death sentence. It’s a call to action.
‘Caring for the Earth and for our environment seems to have been a notion dear to humankind since the dawn of time.’
‘Earth Is A Mother that Never Dies’-New Zealander Proverb
When facing the abyss, we, the people, have shown again and again that our true humanity, spirituality, resilience and moral compass will ensure that we will rise to the challenges confronting us, ensuring our collective survival. This is the hope that keeps me going.
‘The land is a chief; man is its servant.’
‘Land has no need for man, but man needs the land and works it for a livelihood.’-
`Ōlelo No`eau: Hawaiian Proverbs and Poetical Sayings
Mural attributed to Banksy that appeared by Marble Arch, in London, during the Extinction Rebellion
protests in April 2019. (Andrew Davidson/Wikimedia),
The catastrophe we thought impossible has already happened: what the ecological crisis can teach us about hope
Light at the end of the tunnel is the Flame of Hope
Light at the end of the tunnel.- Ryan Engstrom
‘When There is Hope in the Future,There is Power in the Present’-Zig Ziglar
Today must be the Day We begin to Reimagine and Hope for a Better World
‘It is hope that can give meaning to life and which will give us the courage
to continue on our way into the future together.’
We must remain positive. We must remain hopeful. Don't Despair Walk On
‘The IPCC’s latest climate report is dire. But it also included some prospects for hope.’
‘The striking thing is not the bad news, which is not really news for those who have followed the science closely. It’s the report’s insights on possibilities for cautious optimism.’
Yes, we will be able to save our beautiful world. Hope is my inspiration
Tarn Reflection, Mt Taranaki/Egmont, Egmont National Park, NZ.-Dave Young, Creative Commons
What the ecological crisis can teach us about hope
‘The first response many of us have to a cancer diagnosis is terror, horror and the conviction that we’re doomed. For those who haven’t been paying serious ongoing attention to climate chaos, reminders that we are facing catastrophe can bring the same kind of response. But if you’ve been through cancer or been close to people who have, you know that the usual next phase is figuring out what the treatment options are and, in most cases, going all out for them. The good news is going to be that you got approved for a promising new treatment, are responding well, you are in remission, feel healthier, have a good prognosis. That there are things worth doing that make a difference.
Climate change is a nightmare, and this summer’s floods, fires and extreme heat, from China to Siberia to British Columbia, are reminders that the problem is rapidly growing worse. Yet the striking thing about the IPCC report released earlier this month is not the bad news, which is not really news at all for those who have followed the science closely. It’s the clarity about possibilities, which I found hopeful…’ Continue to read
Rethinking Our Approach to Economic, Social and Environmental Justice
The Time is Now for a Visionary Leadership
World Transformation and the Youth: Youth to Make the World Great Again
Photo:theatlantic.com
This is why I am hopeful for our world. This is why I am hopeful that we will build a better world.
Because, the agenda, policies, dreams and ideas are more and more formulated and suggested by the youth and not my generation that by and large have been found guilty as hell.
Furthermore, everyone, everywhere, especially the youth, are discovering that the current education on offer, divorced and seperated from nature, needs to be overhauled. They are now demanding that the time has arrived to rethink education and to explore the benefits of nature-based education in our teaching methods and models.
All in all, they have realised that the neoliberal education has destroyed the heart and soul of teaching and learning, and wish nature to be our wisest teacher.
This understanding, in due course will lead to a better environment in which mother earth and environment will be respected, valued, protected and nurtured. See the links noted below for more details.
Greta Thunberg attends a demonstration calling for action on climate change, during the
"Fridays for Future" school strike in Vienna, Austria. (Reuters File Photo)
Greta Thunberg and Fridays for Future receive Amnesty International’s top honour
…’Over 50% of the global population is under 30, and with the global population at over 7 billion - that’s a lot of young people. Young people are incredibly important in bringing about change, they are generally less afraid to speak out about what they believe in than older people, and they are the ones who are going to be affected the most by the decisions made today. If we effectively harness the leadership and potential of young people around the world then together we can empower youth for the common good.
We must realise that what the young lack in experience they make up for in courage and vision, dreams and hope for a better, more sustainable future.
In the words of Sir Winston Churchill:
“Come on now you young, all over the world. 'The earth is yours and the fullness thereof.' Accept your responsibilities. Raise the glorious flags again, advance them upon the new enemies, who constantly gather upon the front of the human army, and have only to be assaulted to be overthrown. You will make all kinds of mistakes; but as long as you are generous and true, and also fierce, you cannot hurt the world or even seriously distress her. She was made to be wooed and won by youth.”
Whilst evoking Jefferson, Luther, Alexander and Joan of Arc, Robert Kennedy once declared that:
"The answer is to rely on youth. Not a time of life but a state of mind. A temper of the will. A quality of imagination. A predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease."...In Praise of Youth on International Youth Day- Monday 12 August 2019
‘Youth climate activists are to advise the UN secretary general on the climate emergency as part of a new effort to bring young people into decision-making and planning on the crisis.’
“We need urgent action now, to recover better from Covid-19, to confront injustice and inequality, and address climate disruption.
We have seen young people on the front lines of climate action, showing us what bold leadership looks like.”- UN secretary general, António Guterres
‘What is the unfolding story of the next decades?
The rise of today’s youth, leading the world, with hope, inspiration, commitment, imagination and wisdom in the interest of the common good, to change our troubled world for the better’- Kamran Mofid, Founder, the GCGI
Photo:Poem: Have you heard their voices?
World Transformation and the Youth: Youth to Make the World Great Again
The Youth of the World: Their voices will be heard
The Youth for the Common Good to Build a Better World
Nature the Best Teacher: Re-Connecting the World’s Children with Nature
In Praise of Youth on International Youth Day- Monday 12 August 2019
In Praise of the Economic Students at the Sorbonne: The Class of 2000
The Youth of Wales Message of Hope to the World at the Time of the Coronavirus Crisis
Anthea Lawson, We Owe it to Our Humanity to hear you, to emulate you
Dr. Larch Maxey, We Owe it to Our Humanity to hear you, to emulate you
Brexit, Trump and the failure of our universities to pursue wisdom
Britain today and the Bankruptcy of Ideas, Vision and Values-less Education
Neoliberalism destroys human potential and devastates values-led education
The rise in global fascism: A failure of education?
A timeless reflection on two types of teaching and learning
A Sure Path to build a Better World: How nature helps us feel good and do good
Economic Growth: The Index of Misery
Happy Teachers, Happy Pupils, Happy Schools, Better Education, Better Lives, Better World
This is the Path to Make the World Great Again: A Path Envisioned with Hope and Imagination
Illustration: Nathalie Lees/The Guardian
To reverse the current destructive path we need a different model of education and we need a different economic value and economy. However, these are not possible to achieve so long as The Fraudulent Ideology reins supreme. Full stop. Carpe Diem!
Why Love, Trust, Respect and Gratitude Trumps Economics
Nature the Best Teacher: Re-Connecting the World’s Children with Nature …
On the 250th Birthday of William Wordsworth Let Nature be our Wisest Teacher …
4000 Weeks To Live: Let's Live it Well
Do we love the world enough to look after it, to save it?
‘Nature and Me’: A Beautiful and Inspiring Path to repair our relationship with life
‘Nature and Me’: Realigning and Reconnecting with Mother Nature’s Wisdom- A Five Part Guide
Detaching Nature from Economics is ‘Burning the Library of Life’
And Finally, lest we forget
Photo: Twitter
‘Beauty Will Save the World’
‘This famous and much discussed phrase from Prince Lev Nikolyaevich Myshkin in Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s The Idiot is that beauty will save the world. Alexander Solzhenitsyn wrestled with the enigmatic idea in his Nobel Prize acceptance speech in 1970. It is the title of numerous books and articles on classical art, theological/religious aesthetics, and the natural world. Many are mesmerized with this phrase, idea, image, or desire. Beauty will save the world. Hard to believe, yet is an intriguing union of ethics and aesthetics.
‘My interest here is not about art, philosophy, or religions. It is not particularly lofty. It is about beauty, mostly in the natural world, and how it transforms the self. Throughout my life, from a young child to now, (just a few years) the intricacies of nature—the incredible presence(s), and dazzling, deep, vibrant, and dynamic beauty—have often seized my attention and time. I have had remarkable, profound, and transformative experiences within nature. I have trekked to mountain vistas, caves, canyons, and waterways; sailed for weeks in the wind, waves, and silence of the Atlantic ocean; watched whales and swam with sharks; studied elephants in South Africa, Botswana, and Kenya; camped in the African bush and Canadian forests; and canoed wilderness waterways. I am acutely cognisant of these incredible privileges. Further, such experiences are the energy, and companions, and often reasons, that have propelled and sustained over thirty years of environmental work…’- (Prof. Heather Eaton, Saint Paul University, Canada): Beauty Will Save the World
‘Beauty Will Save the World’
Photo:IMDb
Experience nature's art as filmmaker Louie Schwartzberg highlights the beauty
that lurks in oceans, forests, deserts and flowers.
Photo:Ecsite
‘Our Planet is a groundbreaking, four-year collaboration between Netflix, Silverback Films and WWF. It explores the rich natural wonders, iconic species and wildlife spectacles that still remain, and reveals the key issues that urgently threaten their existence. Today, we have become the greatest threat to the health of our planet.
‘Our joint mission is to inspire people over the world to understand our planet - and the challenges it faces. If we can truly understand why nature matters to us all, and what we can do to save it, then we can create a future where nature and people thrive…’
The Path to Protect, Restore and Save Our Planet
Photo:YouTube
Greta Thunberg and George Monbiot make short film on the climate crisis