Sustainability and peace? You might ask what the connection is. If you don’t believe in global warming and the resultant climate change then the answer is simple, none. But you might want to move to higher ground, take a kayaking class, and learn to swim if you don’t know how to yet. But if you believe the vast amount of evidence that supports the fact that human activities are the cause of accelerating climate change then we can have a discussion. One of the places to start is a research paper, “Quantifying the Consensus on Anthropogenic Global Warming in the Scientific Literature” published by John Cook and several others in 2013 stating that there is 97% consensus in the literature that global warming is being caused by human activities. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/8/2/024024/meta.
Another article worth reading, can be found at:
https://www.climatecentral.org/news/study-97-percent-agreement-on-manmade-global-warming-15998.
The majority of the countries of the world believe that global warming is real, caused by the activities of humans, and that we need to intervene now to limit the damage occurring due to climate change. There have been several articles published over the last several years about the threat global warming poses to national security not only in the U.S but globally. In a Pentagon report from October 14, 2014 US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel called global warming a “threat multiplier,” saying rising seas and increasing numbers of severe weather events could exacerbate the dangers posed by threats ranging from infectious disease to terrorism including food and water shortages. https://unfccc.int/news/climate-change-threatens-national-security-says-pentagon. This could lead to the collapse of social systems and entire governments. The report also emphasizes the need to be proactive in our planning for the impact of climate change. There is a clear relationship between preserving our environment and building a more peaceful world.
The U.S., with the recent change in Administration, has done exactly the opposite denying global warming and climate change and withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement. This position is a combination of suicide and homicide, not just for the human race, but for all the other species that inhabit the earth. It is a terrible act of violence. I am reminded of Erich Fromm’s description of the necrophilic character and malignant aggression. The urge to leave one’s mark destructively, the extreme manifestations are sadism—the passion for unrestricted power over another person—and necrophilia—an attraction to all that is dead. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/shadow-boxing/201308/lust-the-dead.
Our media, in this case films and books, often reflect both conscious and unconscious concerns that a culture is experiencing. I have not spent much time addressing the popularity of Vampire and Zombie movies but I wonder if they are not a reflection of who we have become, the undead; sucking the lifeblood out of each other and the planet and consuming each other, that is turning each other into lifeless creatures devoid of awareness or responsibility for the solving the problems we have created. That thought brings to mind an unusually grim and what I initially thought was an “out of character” excerpt from the book: “The World We Have: A Buddhist Approach to Peace and Ecology” by Thich Nhat Hanh. It was a story told by Buddha where two parents decided to cross the desert with their son. As they progressed they realized that they were in danger of dying in the desert so they made the horrifying decision to kill and eat their son. Every morning they ate a little morsel of his flesh and carried the rest on their shoulders to dry in the sun. Every night the couple looked at each other and asked, “Where is our beloved child now?” And they cried and pulled their hair and beat their chests with grief. Finally they were able to cross the desert and arrive in the new land. The Buddha, upon completion of the story asked his monks, “Do you think the parents enjoyed eating their son’s flesh?” “No” the monks replied. “These parents suffered terribly when they had to consume their child’s body.” The Buddha then said, “We have to practice eating in such a way that we will retain compassion in our hearts. We have to consume with mindfulness. Otherwise we eating the flesh of our own children.”
Initially I had some trouble getting past my visceral reaction to the story but the message soon became clear. We are consuming in a way that is harming us and others and if we continue to do so we will, in essence, be consuming our children by leaving a world that is uninhabitable. And it is not only the food that we consume but the violence around us, including structural violence, that we are exposed to each day. We have to change our “diet” on many levels. That is what the book addresses and despite the one gruesome story it does so with insight, compassion, and offers some meaningful paths out of our destructive behaviors.
So rather than waiting for some divine intervention, or in the U.S. a new election cycle that will bring sanity to the Administration’s present position on global warming and climate change, what can we do? We can become aware of what is actually happening and the many ways we can get involved in supporting sustainable lifestyles. A fantastic start is getting a copy of “The Better World Handbook: Small Changes That Make a Big Difference” by Ellis Jones and Ross Haenfler. It’s an easy read with practical applications. I would also like to share some writings by Thich Nhat Hanh that address the issue of living sustainably and supporting a more peaceful world. And remember you don’t have to be a Buddhist to do it. I’m not one but I have found his writings to be valid and readily available to be put into practice. Here is a good place to start: https://www.lionsroar.com/the-world-we-have/. If you decide to read the entire book by Thich Nhat Hanh you will understand the desert journey a lot better. Remember, you don’t have to save the planet yourself, each of us can do our part and together can make the changes needed to live together in a sustainable manner and a more peaceful world