Happy Earth Day 2024!

The apocalypse is not something which is coming. The apocalypse has arrived in major portions of the planet and it’s only because we live within a bubble of incredible privilege and social insulation that we still have the luxury of anticipating the apocalypse. - Terence McKenna

The current climate change narrative causes climate anxiety in many people, especially among the younger generation. Unusual weather patterns, instant reporting and the 24/7 news cycle are not helping at all. Manufactured fear is counterproductive.

On this Earth Day 2024 I do not want to talk about the climate change preaching hypocrites flying from one conference to another in their private jets. I also do not want to talk about the very profitable carbon emission trading. Instead, I'd like to talk about the destruction of nature and the scandalous abuse of people and resources happening every day behind our backs.

Some of my readers might be aware of child labor in African lithium mines. Some may even know about the child labor in the carpet industry in Nepal or Pakistan, or the children working in the cotton industry in cotton producing countries. Many are aware of the slave labor in China and the human trafficking happening in so many countries. But did you know that children are being sold to farmers in West Africa to work on cacao plantations? Maybe next time you are buying a bar of chocolate you will make sure that the raw materials for the product come from fair trade with no child labor involved. 

To save the planet we are told that the animal farms must go because of the devastating amounts of CO2 and methane they produce, but did anyone tell you how detrimental to nature are the mono-cultures of soy or corn. Or how much water is being used to produce the almonds for your vegan almond milk or the avocados for your avocado toast? How about the tons of pesticides used in conventional farming that are destroying not only the fragile balance of life in the soil but also polluting our groundwater supply? 

Enormous profits are being made by the agribusiness conglomerates. At what coast? And who is actually paying the price? 

How about the fast fashion and the senseless mountains of textile trash and pollution this business model produces? What about the people working in the sweatshops to satisfy the ever growing demand for cheap goods?  

How about the built-in obsolescence that keeps the "engines" of capitalism running? It is actually scandalous that the products we buy "die" on us short after their warranty expires, forcing us to replace them with new ones. In many cases the new product is cheaper than the repair of the broken one. Worse even, in many cases the repair option does not even exist. On the other hand, it would be extremely naive to believe that we could slow, or even stop, the endless production of goods and return to the standards of the pre-industrial era.

I have no answers to these questions. However, I believe that each of us should do some research. We should take responsibility for our own actions, reconsider our choices, and hold the companies responsible for pollution accountable. We probably will never be able to stop the mindless consumerism so prevalent in our societies, but we could at least start in our own backyard and try to educate others. 

 

Burning issues such as the destruction of natural habitats, deforestation, topsoil degradation, environmental pollution, potable water scarcity on our planet, and the mountains of trash that we produce every day - to name only a few - should be our main concern right now. The Earth will survive without us but we will not survive without the Earth. Unless we increase our environmental consciousness, we as a species will not make it.

With this sentiment I wish you all a very happy Earth Day 2024!

By Dominique Allmon

Dominique Allmon©2024

Happy Earth Day

On the last day of the world I would want to plant a tree. 

- W.S. Merwin

 

Stop deforestation. 

Plant trees. 

Restore tropical jungles. 

Save the Earth!

Earth Day, Zero Waste And The World Without Us

As millions of people all over the world are preparing for the annual Earth Day celebrations, it is almost impossible not to notice that despite many nature preserving initiatives not much has changed on our planet since last year. The climate change debate goes on, resources are being mindlessly wasted, and the Earth population grows exponentially only to pollute and destroy what is left of natural habitats of so many endangered species.

"Human population growth is probably the single most serious long-term threat to survival. We’re in for a major disaster if it isn’t curbed - not just for the natural world, but for the human world.The more people there are, the more resources they’ll consume, the more pollution they’ll create, the more fighting they will do. We have no option. If it isn’t controlled voluntarily, it will be controlled involuntarily by an increase in disease, starvation and war." - Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

There was a poll on Tweeter some time ago: Participants were asked to vote on what was their biggest concern for planet Earth: 

• climate change
• wasteful use of resources 
• environmental pollution. 

This short-lived poll was freshly published when I saw it. Most participants worried about the climate change, naturally, since this is all they hear from the media and public figures. Hardly anybody bothered about the pollution caused by the ever expanding humanity or the wasteful use of resources. In the world that uses the right to pollute as tradable commodity, nothing will ever change for the better. 

We are like the passengers on an overcrowded ship of fools drifting to our own destruction. The unfortunate thing is that at the same time we are taking so many other species down with us.

Environmental pollution, systematic destruction of ecosystems, shrinking habitats of countless species, unsustainable living, mindless ab-use of resources, and uncontrolled population growth, left many parts of the planet in a pitiful shape. In my own lifetime Earth population almost doubled and it is going to double again before this century is over. So, is it a wonder that some people envision Earth without humans?

In the past, wars, natural disasters, famines, genocide, and virulent diseases decimated Earth population over and over again keeping the numbers in check, but thanks to technological advances, people are now healthier and more affluent than ever, and there hasn't been a major war for a long time. Small, local conflicts do not cause enough damage, and most diseases do not kill quickly enough to have any impact on the world's population.  

At some point the Earth will become completely uninhabitable to the ever growing population and we will finally see the Malthusian law in action. Our numbers will decline rapidly and we will eventually vanish leaving this beautiful planet to recover from the devastation caused by us.

“The world today has 6.8 billion people. That's heading up to about nine billion. Now if we do a really great job on new vaccines, health care and reproductive health services, we could lower that by perhaps 10 or 15 percent.” - Bill Gates, in 2010

"The World Without Us" is a title of a highly readable, intelligently written, and well researched book by Alan Weisman. Published in 2017, this books touches many aspects of our existence on Earth and invites readers to a deep reflection.

Mr. Weisman presents a population model where every human female is limited to bearing one child only. In this model, by the year 2100 world's population would drop to the levels of the 19th century or ca. 1, 6 billion. Such drastic reduction in population will allow all the other species still existing on our planet to recover and repopulate the wasteland left by the departed billions of humans. 

In 1960s James Lovelock proposed his now slightly forgotten Gaia hypothesis. He envisioned Earth as a living organism that is currently under assault. If we disappeared, the Earth would recover. Things are not that simple, though, since what we are going to leave behind will take ages to dissipate. 

 

“Without us, Earth will abide and endure; without her, however, we could not even be.” - Alan Weisman, The World Without Us

Alan Weisman presents various scenarios, from the restoration of the changed pH of farmland soil, to the cleanup of water pollution, urban wasteland, and the nuclear waste deposits. Evolution will take its natural turn. The fittest species will survive and adapt to new conditions. New species might evolve and repopulate areas that are today almost devoid of life. Without humans life on earth will go on no matter what damage we have done here. The Chernobyl disaster zone is a clear proof to it: Life has returned and genetically altered or damaged species thrive there now despite all odds. 

Earth without humans may seem like a nightmare to most, but it is most probably an inevitable if not welcome, scenario. And while we are still here, we could start taking better care of the environment we live in. The piles of garbage that we leave behind are more than just embarrassment.

The time before every Earth Day is filled with activity and fills every environmentally conscious  human being with hope. In March thousands of school children all over the world demonstrated against the climate change. This demonstration of environmental awareness was followed by a large scale clean up of beaches, national parks, and other areas where people left trash.

More and more people are embracing an ecologically sustainable lifestyle. Some  propose radical  Zero Waste solutions; many more try to at least recycle and reuse whatever they can. At consumers demand, single use plastic packaging is gradually disappearing from the market, and researchers are coming up with new, biodegradable packaging materials.   

 

Earth Day gatherings and rallies are perfect for the exchange of ideas and implementation of new solutions. Without a doubt, our existence is toxic to the planet and we must clean up our act whether we believe in climate change or not. Mindless consumption and careless use of resources must stop. Instead of trading in carbon credits, we should allow innovation and try to collectively reduce our carbon footprint. And last but not least, we must respect other species and acknowledge their right to existence on this planet.

Happy Earth Day! 

By Dominique Allmon

Dominique Allmon©2019

The Morning After The Earth Day

Each Earth Day celebration fills our hearts with hope as ordinary citizens, nature conservationists, NGOs, and businesses all over the world gather together to clean up the environment and discuss the badly needed change. Every year, countless communities and businesses do their best to implement the environment friendly solutions to minimize pollution and minimize waste of resources.

Much will be done between now and the next time we get together to celebrate the Earth Day, asses the results of our strategies, and admire the changes visible everywhere. But the change has to start with us! Unless we critically review our shopping habits and understand that our behavior has consequences, nothing will change.

The morning after. How many of you forgot to take your reusable travel mug, your reusable aluminum water bottle, or your reusable shopping tote bag with you this morning? Another plastic cup, another plastic bottle, another plastic straw, another plastic bag that could have been avoided. Well, tomorrow is another day and we can certainly do a bit better.

Those who travel learn to see the world with different eyes. Take the coffee habit in Vienna, Austria, for instance. The coffee to go found its way there as well, but the Austrians still love their traditional coffee shops where they can sit quietly, read the morning news, and enjoy every sip of their coffee, served in cups with saucers and spoons, in a less hurried manner; Visit a grocery store in Germany. Many chain supermarkets there do not use plastic bags anymore. You can buy a paper bag at checkout if you did not bring your own and you are expected to reuse and recycle it; You see recycling bins everywhere you go in Europe. In many cities you even find recycling bins in hotel rooms. Most people in most European countries recycle as much as they can and yet, even Europe cannot completely avoid the pollution and waste problem.

Hikers and skiers in the Alps or the High Tatra dump tones of plastic bottles, bags, and containers every year. And every year around the Earth Day or during the so called Plastic Free July, volunteers gather to clean up the mess. Many forests, beaches, and cities all over the world go the same way. It makes you wonder, do tourists even care for the places they visit?

Many communities in the US have implemented ambitious recycling programs. The situation varies from state to state and from community to community. Much has to be done, but there is hope. Yet recycling alone is not enough. The packaging industry will most probably not disappear like the once popular horse and carriage, but it definitely has to change its ways. New bio-degradable packaging materials must replace plastic. But unless consumers demand such change, no much will happen. If customers collectively refused to buy anything packaged in plastic containers, the industry would have no choice but to adapt. Not that long ago milk, for instance, came in glass bottles. Why cannot we go back to bottling milk again?

Old habits die hard, but with a little patience and determination, we can learn new ones and change the ways we live our daily lives. And the best thing is, we will see the change next time we gather to celebrate the Earth Day.

By Dominique Allmon

Dominique Allmon©2018

Green Tips And Two Green Earth Day Recipes

As people gather to collectively celebrate the 47th Earth Day in America and elsewhere, many take time to review their own lifestyle strategies. recycling, reusing, reducing household waste and the use of plastic, chemicals, and ecologically unsustainable products. 

Much has to be done to protect the environment, but instead of waiting for the politicians to change things, each of us can start taking steps in his or her own home, office, school, or town. One of the simplest, but maybe not the easiest, thing we can do is to change the way we eat and obtain food:

• buy organic
• buy locally grown or produced
• buy seasonal
• grow your own
• forage
• make your own food

For many people this might be easier said than done, but lack of time or lack of money are not really good excuses. 

Organic food might be expensive at the first sight, but consider the increased nutrition fresh organic food provides. Less chemicals in your food also means less hazard to your health and possible reduced future health care coasts. Local farmer's markets are full of bargains.

Locally grown, seasonal produce helps reduce your carbon foot print, and once again, provides fruits and vegetable at its peak nutritional value. Many local farmers resorted to organic farming at some point in the past, but cannot afford the incredibly expensive organic certification. Visit such local farm to find out how food is grown or produced. Smaller farmers seem to have a very different set of ethical values than the food industry. Profit, while incredibly important, is not necessarily on top of the list. 

Grow your own! In 2017 a perfectly manicured 1950s American Dream style lawn looks a bit outdated to me. Some communities or residents' associations may not permit you to have a vegetable garden on your property, but you can still grow herbs and vegetables in decorative pots on your porch. Big city dwellers can easily create a container garden on their balconies or terraces. Those who only have a windowsill can at least grow fresh kitchen herbs. If you have never done this before you can take gardening courses. Many master gardeners offer gardening classes for beginners. Once you've got your fingers dirty, you will never want to buy another carrot or tomato. There is nothing more comforting than to see your food grow. 

Foraging is becoming more and more popular. If you do not have much experience with wild herbs, berries or mushrooms, you may have to take a class or attend a foraging workshop. The abundance of wild food is unimaginable, but you have to be very careful as there are herbs, berries and mushrooms that look like the good thing, but are often extremely poisonous. 

Last but not least, make your own food! If you are a working adult with kids and family on your head, this can be difficult. You may not be able to do it during the week, but you can certainly make a ritual out of family cooking on weekends. Weekend is also a good time to prepare some healthy food for the coming week:

• salads in jars, that you can make ahead
• smoothies or smoothie combos that can be made ahead - simply chop the ingredients and freeze them in small portions so that they are ready for blending during the week
• soups can be cooked ahead and frozen, or fresh soup ingredients can be chopped, portioned out and frozen for later use
• stews can be made ahead and frozen
• bread baking on weekend can be a real fun

I hope that these few suggestions will help you get better organized. If you have tomatoes, peppers or herbs growing in your backyard you do not even have to drive to a store to get the salad ingredients.

 ~ Green Sauce Recipe ~

This is a variation of the famous Frankfurt Green Sauce. It can be used as a condiment for roasted meats, cold cuts, steamed, stewed or roasted vegetable, baked potatoes, and egg dishes; as a deep or a salad dressing; and in soups. It has a very green, almost grassy taste and may remind you a bit of the Argentinian chimichurri.

Ingredients:

• 2-3 cups of mixed garden and wild herbs, roughly chopped (parsley, chives, arugula, sorrel, dandelion greens, ground elder, chervil, Sanguisorba minor or salad burnet, borage, ramsons)
• 2-3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 1 medium large purple onion, peeled and roughly chopped
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp grated horse radish root (optional)
• 1/2 cup virgin olive oil 
• 1 cup natural probiotic yogurt
• 1 tsp Celtic sea salt
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Method: 

• In a food processor pulse blend herbs, garlic, onion, and lime juice until they turn into a green coarse paste. Do not over process.
• Add all the remaining ingredients and blend until all is well combined. The sauce should not be too thick. Add more lemon juice or a bit more yogurt to achieve a nice consistency. 
• Adjust the taste to your personal liking and serve with your favorite dish. The stores well in the fridge for two to three days, so it it quickly. It can also be frozen and used in soups.

~ Ground Elder Pesto ~

Ground elder, also known as bishop's weed, is a rather underestimated herb. When it shows up in your garden you will treat it as an unwanted weed, but the more you learn about it, the more you will come to love it. It also grows in the wild and can be foraged, but you must be careful as it resembles the highly poisonous hemlock. Both plants look almost the same when flowering. A simple test will help you distinguish ground elder form other plants: simply take a single leaf and rub it between you fingers. The aroma will remind you of carrots. Best time to forage for leaves is from May till July. This herb has many health benefits. It has a very high content of vitamin C and is good for gout, scurvy, digestion, and piles.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup ground elder leaves, packed
• 1/4 cup pistachio nuts, raw or roasted 
• 2 large garlic cloves
• juice of medium large lemon
• grated peel of 1/2 organic, untreated lemon
• 1/4 cup virgin olive oil
• Celtic sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Method:

• In a food processor pulse blend ground elder, garlic, pistachios, lemon peel, and lemon juice. Do not over process. The mixture should be nicely coarse.
• Add olive oil, salt and pepper and whiz again. Serve with pasta dishes, as a dip, soup or salad garnish. If you like cheese you can add crumbled Pecorino  or Parmigiano reggiano cheese, as you normally would if you made a classic basil pesto. 

Both recipes may sound slightly unusual, but if you can get the ingredients, give them a try.

This year Earth Day falls on weekend. Take advantage of it and go on a hiking trip, ride your bike, start a garden, or meet friends and family over a healthy, home made meal. Reach out to your community and see if there is anything you could do collectively to reduce your carbon foot print. The climate change may be real or perceived, but the environmental pollution is not. Many things must be done so that the generations to come can enjoy the beauty of our planet.

~ Happy Earth Day 2017 ~

By Dominique Allmon

 
Dominique Allmon©2017

Happy Earth Day!

Those who contemplate the beauty of the Earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.
Rachel Carson

Wishing everyone a very happy 45th Earth Day! ~ Dominique 

Image source here

Eco Snobbery

"For as long as only the affluent can afford organic food on daily basis, many people will have to maneuver between the supermarket aisles trying to find food that is relatively safe." - Dominique Allmon

I heard it more than once: Organic food is too expensive; Only idiots and snobs spend money on organic products; There is hardly any difference between organic and conventional produce; etc, etc.

So why buy organic? Why bother? 

Organic products are made from natural materials that help us minimize the exposure to toxins and carcinogens, be it in personal care products, household cleaners, wall paint, carpets, furniture, or garments.

Organic foods are produced with traditional organic farming that relies on ancient farming techniques such as crop rotation, natural pest control, compost, and green manure.

Ideally, everything we buy should be chemical free. No one consciously decides to buy produce laced with cancer-causing chemicals, but if produce is so expensive that only very few can afford it, is "conscious" living only for the rich? Is "organic" the new label for social distinction? 

Many people who have never been to stores like the Whole Foods Market would be surprised to find there aisles filled with junk food. Yes, junk food. But it is organic! Organic potato chips made with organic potato. Only for the "enlightened" ones while the ignorant crowd shops at Walmart or some other conventional store.  

The original organic movement was not a fad. It has its roots in an almost mystical reverence for Nature. It began in early 1900s as a response to emerging industrial agriculture and ever growing use of chemicals that resulted in increased occurrence of cancer and other diseases.

Today we somehow assume that organic companies are more ethical than the conventional ones. We want to believe that business decisions are motivated by reverence for nature and not by greed. This may not always be true. Sometimes it looks as if the "organic"  companies venerated the green buck more than anything else. The products are overpriced and the organic certification may seem dubious. Who cares? The snobs would always buy the stuff no matter how expensive it is. They will buy it. If not from a genuine concern for the planet than at least to prove that they are better than anyone else. 

We are living in strange times. We worry about the climate change, we worry about the melting ice caps, we drive electric cars, but we still waste our resources and produce enormous piles of garbage. Our toxic waste ends up in the third world countries where it is conveniently out of sight. 

We may have reached the turning point, but for as long as there is a choice between conventional and organic we will be tapping in the dark. There should be no question of whether the thousands of chemicals we are exposed to daily cause cancer or not; or how much money could be made or saved if the shelf life of a produce was increased to months, years or decades. Things would only change if the right to clean food, clean air and clean water was as important as the right to vote.

Wishing everyone a consciously peaceful and happy Earth Day - Dominique 

 

By Dominique Allmon

Post Scriptum

I buy organic products whenever I can. I recycle. I try to minimize my ecological footprint. And I do it out of respect for myself and out of respect for the Nature. 

I still remember the time when you could go to a store where everything was safe to eat. I remember the time when you could turn the tap and drink a glass of water without fear that you would get poisoned with countless chemicals. I remember the time when we recycled paper, glass and metal. I remember the time when everyone had a shopping net or a basket and plastic bags were a rarity. I remember the time when milk and mineral water were sold in glass bottles. I remember all that as if it was only yesterday...

I decided long ago that I will support honest business practices and a hard work of people who dedicate their lives to organic farming and the manufacture of products that last for more than one generation. I hope you would, too.

Image source unknown, but greatly appreciated

Celebration of Nature - Andy Goldsworthy

Andy Goldsworthy - Happy Earth Day!

My art is an attempt to reach beyond the surface appearance. I want to see growth in wood, time in stone, nature in a city, and I do not mean its parks but a deeper understanding that a city is nature too-the ground upon which it is built, the stone with which it is made. - Andy Goldsworthy

Stick path by Andy Goldsworthy

"Andy Goldsworthy is known for his outdoor sculptural interventions and indoor installations that transform nature's most familiar elements into graceful designs. Using color and geometric form to order found materials - such as stone, trees, mud, grass, snow, ice, and leaves - he creates art in which the changing nature of the materials is as much a part of the work as the design itself. His creations impart a sense of wonder, drawing attention to the inherent power, beauty, and mystery of nature." 

What is a better way to celebrate the Earth Day if not to talk about a remarkable artists whose work lives in a symbiotic embrace of human creativity, aesthetics and nature.

To visit the artist's website, please click here

A Brighter Shade of Green

 Happy Earth Day!

Rebooting Environmentalism for the 21st Century
by Ross Robertson

I have always been a somewhat reluctant environmentalist. I was practically weaned on John Muir’s Yosemite, and as a kid growing up in the suburbs of California in the last decades of the twentieth century, I fell fast in love with the depth and space and beauty of the mountains. They were everything my world of clay lots and cement and computer technology was not - cool, silent, elemental, rich with unquestionable mystery. They were every bit as spiritual as church, minus the dogmatism and the bake sales. The forest wilderness of the Sierra high country made a green romantic out of me, and when I got to college in Atlanta, I became concerned enough about the fate of nature to do something about it. I organized river cleanups and letter-writing campaigns, studied the classics of American nature writing, and sat on the environmental committee of the university senate. I lobbied on Capitol Hill in Washington and protested chip mills and nuclear reactors in Tennessee. I even intercepted a Brazilian merchant ship on its way into Savannah harbor and blocked it from unloading its illegal cargo of Amazon mahogany, which was still wet with the blood of indigenous tribes.

I’ll always remember the incredible sense of purpose I felt that day as our small skiff shot over the waves at sunrise, the righteous, lawbreaking freedom of putting my future on the line for what I believed in. Even more than that, however, I’ll never forget the confusion and the strange unease that came over me when the action was done and we headed for home through the twilit forests of coastal Georgia. It had been the ultimate statement of “us versus them,” but somehow it left me feeling at odds with myself. Less than a week from my twenty-first birthday, I was frightened to realize how far I’d already come from love and idealism and the will to change things to anger, frustration, and a cynicism that increasingly bordered on desperation. I saw this in my friends, also. It cut us off from one another, and when the urgency of our common mission brought us together, it set us in opposition to the rest of the world.

I knew my days as an eco-extremist were done. What I didn’t know then was that I was coming up against a shadow so basic to the character of modern environmentalism, it would take me more than a decade to find my way out from under it. That everywhere my path would take me as a young activist in the coming years - from a lonely bio-dynamic cooperative in the farmlands of rural Missouri to the networked high-rises of the San Francisco nonprofit world - I was walking down a well-worn track toward a dead end. It was only one day last spring, in fact, that I finally figured out what was wrong and what to do about it. That was the day a book called "Worldchanging" came across my desk and made me proud to call myself an environmentalist again.

If you bleed green like I do, you may also be under the wings of a shadow so close to you, it’s difficult to see. This blind spot has less to do with the environment and more to do with how we perceive it - and how we perceive ourselves. To me, the most pivotal environmental issue we’re faced with is not climate change or hunger or biodiversity or deforestation or genetic engineering or any of those things. It is an issue that is going to determine what we do about it all: our deeply felt ambivalence toward the human race and our presence here on planet Earth. 

To continue reading please click here 

About the author:

Ross Robertson, Senior Editor, joined EnlightenNext's editorial staff in 2003. With a BA in Creative Writing and Ecology from Emory University and an MFA in Creative Writing from Naropa University, he brings with him a studied dedication to the art of the written word. But perhaps more significantly, he adds the perspective of an observant and insightful Gen-Xer to the editorial team.

Before joining EnlightenNext Magazine, Robertson worked for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) in San Francisco, applying his study of conservation biology to various environmental projects. As part of his tenure there, he helped produce the proposals for the Giant Sequoia National Monument proclaimed by President Clinton in 2000, preserving 328,000 acres for these three-thousand-year-old trees and other wildlife.

Image source unknown but greatly appreciated