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Green enough for what?
Green enough for Mother Nature to enable us to survive and thrive as a species.
Since posting that piece in December, I have been thinking a great deal about what changes we must make in our lives in order to earn Mother Nature's favor. In wrestling with this thorny issue, I prepared this slide that I am now using in my public talks:
I keep going back to the words of Dr. James Lovelock, the "big picture" scientist who summed it simply.
If the Earth improves because of our presence, then we will flourish. If it doesn't, then we will die off.
That's a powerful statement that concisely describes the challenge we face. And the more I think about it, the more difficult I realize it will be for us to truly live in harmony with nature - because so many of our favorite things are harmful to the biosphere that gives us life.
Here are a few of them to mull over and decide if we can live without these indulgences which we all know well.
In consideration of this week's Open Championship in Northern Ireland, I will start with one of my favorites - golf.
Golf is no ecological bargain.
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The beautiful Royal Portrush Golf Club
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- We consume 840 million golf balls per year in the USA
- Worldwide, golf retail sales topped $13.4 Billion in 2018
- In the USA, there are over 2.2 million acres for golf (Space for 14 million to live in that first AGRA corridor)
- Is the Earth improving because of our golf?
And smoking is even worse.
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What a nasty habit! For us and for the planet
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- Annually, smoking costs the USA over $300 billion in health care and productivity
- Global consumption is 6.5 trillion cigarettes per year
- Worldwide, 4.5 trillion cigarettes are littered each year, the most littered item on Earth.
- Is the Earth improving because of our cigarettes?
Most of us have far more shoes than we need.
Including many we haven't worn in years
- The average man in the USA owns 12 pairs of shoes
- The average American woman owns 27 pairs of shoes
- Like the automobiles in America, over 90% of our shoes are not in use at any given moment.
- Is the Earth improving because of our shoes?
Now here is the really tough one...
Many love their animals more than life itself.
- The total pet population in the USA is 393 million
- 68% of American households own at least one pet
- According to the American Pet Products Association, we spent over $69 billion on pet products in 2017.
- Much of the 11 million tons/year of dog waste in the USA goes to landfills and the rest is left on the ground.
- Is the Earth improving because of our pets?
The Bottom Line. My primary purpose today is simply to spark the conversation about many of our lifestyle habits and pleasures that are not compatible with living in harmony with nature in the long run.
Eventually, we're going to have to make some hard choices about some of our favorite things. And I don't believe that the vast majority of our populace will ever willingly choose to make those choices on their own.
As such, they will probably need a horrible EMERGENCY to get their attention.
That's why I envision GRATOLA, in the beginning, as being by invitation only - requiring that all invitees agree to abide by the lifestyle guidelines shown here:
As for the hugely emotional decision regarding our pets, I am thinking that all newcomers to GRATOLA might be limited to bringing in no more than one pet per household - which is similar to policy #8 listed above.
The difference is, that when that one pet goes to doggy heaven, their owners will not be permitted to replace Fido.
If we're serious about living in a manner that will cause the Earth to truly improve because of our presence, then we've got to be ready to consider some very tough choices - as we totally reinvent the way we live on this planet.
I have posted another 43 blogs on my Gratola topic since 9-21-18 and you can find all of them at
this page on my website. Here are five of them:
As always, I will continue to focus on this crucial topic - in my research, my writing and my speaking.
As for speaking, I continue to search for mainstream audiences who may have an interest in learning more about a realistically hopeful vision for our future - and their role in making that vision come true.
As such, I will travel anywhere for an opportunity to speak to one or more groups in each city that I visit. I only ask for travel expense reimbursement and a modest honorarium.
As for the specifics of my topic, I invite you to
contact me directly
about how I might tailor my presentation to best suit an audience you may have in mind:
Universities,
churches, think-tanks, legislative bodies, environmental
organizations, alumni associations, leadership clubs,
and/or civic groups who may appreciate a message of reality and hope for our future.
What else can you do to help?
Three things:
1. Live as greenly as possible while doing all that you can to raise the awareness of "big picture" solutions that are crucially necessary for saving our civilization.
2. Share this BSB and my
"Mama Ain't Happy" BSB with prominent journalists, thought leaders and/or elected officials whom you respect. They need to learn a lot more about the many reasons why
Mama ain't happy.
3. Here are a few more GRATOLA-related blogs that you can share with your most powerful friends, leaders, journalists and movie producers.
Until next time, just remember...
Humanity is on a collision course with Nature.
A damaged Nature will survive. We may not.
We must change course to avert an ecological disaster.
Be well,
J. Morris (Jim) Hicks
CEO, 4Leaf Global, LLC
In the past 12 months, I have spoken at a
VegFest in
Promoting health, hope and harmony on planet Earth
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