‘The most important … problems are selfishness, greed and apathy.’ Gus Speth
You can fill in the blank as you wish. It fits well with many of the problems we face today.
But, Gus Speth said this about ‘environment’. He is right! Unfortunately, there are human-based issues at the root of almost all environmental problems we experience today.
There is a fundamental difference between nature and man. Nature has no hidden agenda. But man is not like that. He has advanced manipulation skills. The developed brain does everything necessary for an indifferent life to live in completely opposite behavior and thought patterns instead of rational and rational decisions based on facts.
Nature is not like that. Consistent and clear. Not ok for too heavy interventions, changes at such a speed that it will not allow it to adapt, endless consumption and thus the deterioration of its entire balance…
Today, the disasters we experience on earth; fires, floods, droughts, and unprecedented storms are caused by the disruption of the balance between nature and human being in favor of humans and in a very distorted way. The climate crisis is not responsible for this disturbed balance; on the contrary it is the result.
Human is at the heart of an existential problem. Human is in a brutal effort to bring the end of the planet lives on. But he doesn’t realize that he is actually going towards the wall at such a great speed and that he will inflict the main damage himself.
Or actually aware. But it doesn’t do anything about it. Either he still has trouble understanding and accepting these issues today, or worse, he thinks these issues are not true despite all the scientific facts. Another option is to dismiss the issue outright, seeing it as a bigger issue than itself. That is, not knowing what to do about it or not seeing any responsibility in yourself. Addressing the issue to other places, institutions…
The source of the problem is the key to the solution!
The climate and environmental problems we are experiencing today and will witness more and more severe consequences are human-induced. The solution is in humans.
Of course, states, policy makers, major institutions and organizations must take sincere, constructive and transformative measures regarding these issues.
But let’s not forget that there are many things we can do individually as well.
We all have a responsibility to take action, even in small steps, for a healthy and sustainable future.
Let’s say you are also a responsible person. You have a desire to create a better world, to help society, to fight environmental problems. But if you’re feeling small, weak, and defeated before you even try, remember this: You don’t really need perfect, spectacular results to take action and trigger change. When you feel down, remind yourself of Adrienne Maree Brown’s immediate strategy principle: “Small is good, small is everything. First, we must believe that our individual involvement is valuable.”
Yes, the bigger the problem, the less solvable it appears to us, and therefore the more likely we are to do nothing – rather than do something. So, we’ll finish before we even start. To fix this, we need to constantly remind ourselves that action, no matter how small, is everything and that’s the main thing.
Don’t expect heroes!
‘The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.’ says Robert Swan.
So true! Superheroes will not come. Or when we wake up one day, we will not see that a discovered technology solves all these problems quickly and in one go.
We will solve the problems we created ourselves. Change will start from us, even with small steps.
We all have a responsibility to take action, however small, for a healthy and sustainable future. So now is the time to act even with small steps…
