Teaching Sustainability - Part Two
Give historical context:
For millennia humans lived sustainably - up until the onset of the industrial/technological revolution.
For many thousand years
We made everything by hand
Then came industrialization
Marching through the land
Now we could make and do things
Much easier and faster
No one thought this revolution
Would lead to such disaster
The demand for resources increased
With the demands of growing populations
Robbing the planet’s trust and bounty
From future generations
Give perspective:
For millennia human population increased at a sustainable rate - up until the ‘population explosion’ of the last 200 years, bringing the numbers from 980 million or so in 1800 to 6.5 billion in 2009.
It wasn’t long ago that 85% of the demand and exploitation of the Earth’s resources came from the U.S.A. That demand alone was unsustainable (not to mention unjust, undemocratic and inhumane). Now however, to add to the perspective, North American demand pales in comparison to the global demands projected as China and India industrialize in 21st century terms.
Give remedial ways and means:
It starts with how we think……..
A long, long time ago
We were people of the planet
Who walked and worked this land
With respect for the Lady who ran it
But now we’ve forgotten how
To live in natural balance
So now we face the future
With a mighty challenge
Rise up and get yourself a natural education
We are the changing tide and the bridging generation
Mother Earth’s our teacher and our inspiration
We come from deep inside a love for all Creation
We learn from Mother Nature
To grow the food we eat
The most important grocery store
Is the soil beneath our feet
Plants and trees and thriving seas
Provide the air we breathe
Hydrogen, Hydrogen, Oxygen
Brings life to everything
We learn from Mother Nature
To take only what we need
There’s no place for selfishness,
Dishonesty or greed
Rise up and get yourself a natural education…
We learn from Mother Nature
Conservation of energy
Nothing wasted, nothing lost
Symbiotic reciprocity
We learn from Mother Nature
To love bio-diversity
The greater range and variety
The greater productivity
We learn from Mother Nature
To be a generous community
Winning back the planet’s trust
And natural immunity
Rise up and get yourself a natural education…
