Blindness and ignorance veil the realities of modern impacts on the environment perpetrated by our daily choices.
We see it on the news, we hear it on the radio, we read it in the paper. Yet we continue to ignore the warnings. It’s as if we don’t care. We all care, we just choose to do otherwise. There are several names for this. Agency. Free will. Ignorance. Selfishness. The modern condition.
Money, wealth, greed, power. Selfish corporations continue to drill and frack the earth in the relentless pursuit of profit despite the obvious fact that the source is destined to run dry, perpetuating one of the most destructive industries in the history of the planet, with detrimental impacts that have been forecast for decades. We allow it implicitly through our own inaction.
Every week more and more SUVs and gas-guzzling plant-chokers roll off the production line, stripping the planet of even more precious metals, natural resources and raw materials. Advertisements reduce us to automatons forever in search of the newest shape, that perfect statement that personifies us and perfectly encapsulates our personality in five doors, 3500lbs, that lovely engine sound and the purr of the exhaust just spitting out happiness (which money does buy).
Each week these endangered species can be seen by the dozens, growling their way to the next shopping destination or boozy chin wag.
It’s near enough every decision we make, nearly every day, that makes the difference. And this isn’t going to come about by legislation or public awareness alone. Every single person must come to the decision on their own terms, in a change of circumstances tantamount to an epiphany.
Image adapted from badattitudes, with thanks to Jdoolittle. http://badattitudes.com/MT/archives/2010/07/