Earth Day
World Earth Day is celebrated all over the world annually on 22nd April. Mother earth is a common personification of nature that focuses on the life-giving and nurturing aspects of nature by embodying it in the form of the “Mother”. The earth is our mother. It gives us life, food, water, shelter and therefore, we must take care of her like our biological mother.
What Really Happened to the Earth?
After the development of human culture, cities and modern life style, everything has changed. we proceeded to commodities and enslaved the land and everything in it: animals, furs, wood, oil, etc. People have become selfish and greedy and they are killing the beautiful forests, damaging the rivers and destroying food chain cycles and eco- systems. We don’t recognize that by doing this, we wipe out our own existence. We ignore the fundamental interdependence of living things on the planet. So long as we have this ownership-type mentality over the planet, we continue on a pathway of seriously damaging and reducing common resources. This is called “Tragedy of Commons” and we are hurting each other. We forgot that we are late comers to the earth. The world of nature, plants and animals existed billions of years before we came on the scene. Nature does not need us to rule over it, but runs itself very well. We are the sponger, consuming more and more, and putting too little back to restore and maintain the life system that supports us.
How Technology Affects our Planet
Going back to the industrial revolution, the idea that “we can, so we should, and we will” dominated, and still persists today- whether it’s the tar sands, the atomic bomb, nuclear power, or hormones used to grow animals. The idea that we are clever enough to create technology that will allow us to do as we please without caring about the outcomes, is an excellent example of how humans dominate nature in a perceived hierarchy that overlooks the inherent value of having a healthy and functional planet. As such, environmentalism as a movement shares common ground with the feminist movement, in that it seeks to give voice to an oppressed agent whose agency is not clear like our mother earth, which cannot say “stop doing this to me”. Eco feminists, or ecological feminism, goes beyond that and believes that social mentality that leads to the domination and oppression of women is directly connected to the social mentality that leads to the abuse of the natural environment.
Ctrl + click to follow link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaOJrJ_oqFU
What We can Do to protect our Beautiful Planet
We should always remember that we are part of nature, not its master. We should think about human life for generations ahead. We need to Respect, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Respond our mother earth that is suffering from different types of pollution brought about by us. What would you do if you found out that your city’s main water source was slowly being contaminated? Or your apartment sat atop a toxic waste dump? Would you move? Would you write to your representative in your city? Maybe you would organize a group to fight the problem and prevent more damage from happening. Do these things for your mother earth. Join the movements such as anti nuclear protests, environmental and animal liberation, or try to raise the consciousness of people around you. Use technology like Internet and educate friends and colleague that we should treat the earth as a community instead of commodity via social media.
I recommend some ways we all can contribute to the protection of earth and our own life, and I am sure that each person is able to innovate a new idea and solution for this dilemma.
1) As far as possible, try to avoid using your automobile for short distances.
2) As much as possible use cotton bags or paper bags over plastic bags.
3) If it is possible, try to grow a tree at your home.
4) Instead of running the water, use a glass full of water when brushing your teeth.
5) Turn off unneeded lights, even when leaving a room for a short time.
6) Always remember this slogan “Save the Earth, Save Ourselves” and “The Solution Is Less Pollution”
By: Leila Jafari Jebeli, GAT Volunteer
World Earth Day is celebrated all over the world annually on 22nd April. Mother earth is a common personification of nature that focuses on the life-giving and nurturing aspects of nature by embodying it in the form of the “Mother”. The earth is our mother. It gives us life, food, water, shelter and therefore, we must take care of her like our biological mother.
What Really Happened to the Earth?
After the development of human culture, cities and modern life style, everything has changed. we proceeded to commodities and enslaved the land and everything in it: animals, furs, wood, oil, etc. People have become selfish and greedy and they are killing the beautiful forests, damaging the rivers and destroying food chain cycles and eco- systems. We don’t recognize that by doing this, we wipe out our own existence. We ignore the fundamental interdependence of living things on the planet. So long as we have this ownership-type mentality over the planet, we continue on a pathway of seriously damaging and reducing common resources. This is called “Tragedy of Commons” and we are hurting each other. We forgot that we are late comers to the earth. The world of nature, plants and animals existed billions of years before we came on the scene. Nature does not need us to rule over it, but runs itself very well. We are the sponger, consuming more and more, and putting too little back to restore and maintain the life system that supports us.
How Technology Affects our Planet
Going back to the industrial revolution, the idea that “we can, so we should, and we will” dominated, and still persists today- whether it’s the tar sands, the atomic bomb, nuclear power, or hormones used to grow animals. The idea that we are clever enough to create technology that will allow us to do as we please without caring about the outcomes, is an excellent example of how humans dominate nature in a perceived hierarchy that overlooks the inherent value of having a healthy and functional planet. As such, environmentalism as a movement shares common ground with the feminist movement, in that it seeks to give voice to an oppressed agent whose agency is not clear like our mother earth, which cannot say “stop doing this to me”. Eco feminists, or ecological feminism, goes beyond that and believes that social mentality that leads to the domination and oppression of women is directly connected to the social mentality that leads to the abuse of the natural environment.
Ctrl + click to follow link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaOJrJ_oqFU
What We can Do to protect our Beautiful Planet
We should always remember that we are part of nature, not its master. We should think about human life for generations ahead. We need to Respect, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Respond our mother earth that is suffering from different types of pollution brought about by us. What would you do if you found out that your city’s main water source was slowly being contaminated? Or your apartment sat atop a toxic waste dump? Would you move? Would you write to your representative in your city? Maybe you would organize a group to fight the problem and prevent more damage from happening. Do these things for your mother earth. Join the movements such as anti nuclear protests, environmental and animal liberation, or try to raise the consciousness of people around you. Use technology like Internet and educate friends and colleague that we should treat the earth as a community instead of commodity via social media.
I recommend some ways we all can contribute to the protection of earth and our own life, and I am sure that each person is able to innovate a new idea and solution for this dilemma.
1) As far as possible, try to avoid using your automobile for short distances.
2) As much as possible use cotton bags or paper bags over plastic bags.
3) If it is possible, try to grow a tree at your home.
4) Instead of running the water, use a glass full of water when brushing your teeth.
5) Turn off unneeded lights, even when leaving a room for a short time.
6) Always remember this slogan “Save the Earth, Save Ourselves” and “The Solution Is Less Pollution”
By: Leila Jafari Jebeli, GAT Volunteer
