Purpose of Connecting

Blog Reflection: Is a deeper connection to nature likely to influence our decisions? Management? Resource use? Waste generation? Values?

Let me first say that all humans have a deep, vital connection to nature. The real issue at hand is whether or not this connection is realized. Humans need to be made aware that literally every second they completely rely on the cycles and systems of the environment.

Our decisions will be influenced. Imagine if with every breath of air we took, we understood our personal, one to one relationship with it. Would we continue to betray that relationship every day by, for example, driving our cars in a place where there are greener alternatives, such as taking the bus or carpooling? The fact is, we need the air...and it needs us too. Automobiles, through us...and perhaps through YOU...create 1.5 billion tons of CO2 annually.(Natural Resources Defence Council, 2009.) There is no excuse to take your relationship with the air and the rest of nature very personally.

Imagine if, on a trip to the grocery store, we stopped and considered how and where those apples came from, instead of mindlessly putting them in the cart. How was it grown and how does that affect me? Is it's blemish free skin due to the spraying of pesticides? And how does that connect to me and the rest of the environment? The pesticide may have left residues on the apple that are harmful to me as a human. Thinking beyond ourselves, we can consider the effects on the insects that are killed, impacting the food chain and all the other birds and animals within it. We can consider the soil and water when the pesticide leeches into the ground...and on and on. This could lead to a decision that we insist on knowing more about current farming practices, perhaps encouraging/insisting on a switch to organic farming methods.

Our management of wilderness areas would be undertaken with a new philosophy behind it. People often retreat to their "cabins" for a taste of nature and the "simple life." What they don't realize is that a relationship with nature can be incorporated into their everyday lives in many different ways. Some could be cultivating a garden, spending more time outdoors instead of watching TV, or living outside the city. Once we see that we don't need to "escape" to nature we can manage the wildlife reserves in a different way - keeping them more undisturbed by pollution, noise, etc. that comes along with vacationers.

If we realized how connected we are to nature our resource use would also be quite different. Instead of considering only what is good for us as human beings, we would consider the good of the whole system. It might be difficult at first but we would really have to separate our needs from wants, allowing much of the strain on the environment due to our relentless consumerism to be lifted.

We would be much more mindful of how we do waste management. When I do the waste audit assignment I am sure I will be shocked at how much goes straight to the landfill from my own home. Most people never have the chance to get an eye-opener like this. But if they did, and realized all the negative effects, there would certainly be more recycling and reusing going on.


When we come to understand our connection with nature our values will drastically change. People will value and admire a stand of trees for the oxygen, homes (for people and animals), food, and beauty...each breath of air or drink of water more precious than any ipod or pair of fuzzy boots...every animal, insect, fish (etc) and every human being no matter the race or religion, just another citizen of the world!







*Natural Resources Defense Council. Global Warming Basics. Available from: http://www.nrdc.org/globalWarming/f101.asp Retrieved on Jan.30, 2010