Check out this TED talk by Wade Davis about the pristine wilderness that will be in jeopardy if the tar sands industry has it’s way. There are some very beautiful images.
Sadly, if people don’t wake up soon, there won’t be a place on the planet that will go untouched. There are diseases ravishing northern forests, as those diseases migrate north with warmer temperatures. Permafrost is melting, glaciers are disappearing, and polar bears are starving. And that is before the miners and oilmen arrive to decimate the landscape.
Yet, there are people living near me, on the beach, who don’t believe the sea level is rising. I understand why people are skeptical. These changes are happening over decades, and short term cycles often mask the long term trends. Unfortunately, if we wait until we can see the tsunami coming, there will only be enough time to run for our lives. There will be no time to save our homes and our homeland.
If we do leave some natural resources in the ground, and take a more conservative approach to life, and we discover that there is no global crisis, after all, what did it hurt? Where is the harm in preserving our beautiful planet? Why must we blow the tops off of mountains, dump our waste in every river, and drill for every drop of oil? Can we never be satisfied?
Sustainable Living 