The environment is in trouble, we all know this. In fact, we don’t know how bad it is, though. And you know what? It’s not really our fault. Let me clarify- it’s not our fault we don’t know how bad it is- we’ve been raised with a way of doing things, the same way any culture or society raises the people within it to do things in the best possible way that works with their context. What we have to deal with is that the way we (and by we I am talking about the United States, and the rest of the developed world by extension) have been raised to live is inherently destructive. We do things well- we produce, move and supply the comforts that only kings and queens had in the rest of human history to even people without a dollar to their name. Think of how we manipulate temperature- making an entire room dozens of degrees warmer or cooler than the world outside is not something ANYONE has ever had the ability to do. Even something as simple as a slushee from 7-11 or something- you think any of the people in the history of the world could swing by the corner store and get a cup full of sweetly flavored ice on a hot summer day? And for 1/10 of a hourly wage? Or the change you can find on the street? Not a chance. We have figured out how to do so many things.

I bring this up because the core of the way we as humans relate to the environment and the world as a whole has dramatically changed. Here’s my rough timeline:

5,000 years ago to 150 years ago: Humans adapt to the world around them. Trying and sometimes succeeding to get the environment to do what we wanted it to.

150 years ago to recently: With the industrial revolution in full swing, we succeeded on a massive scale at more than adapting, we created our own environments, we manipulated almost all aspects, save weather, of the world around us, from HVAC to gasoline to genetically engineered seeds.

Recently into the future: We are having a major impact on the environment, a negative one, that we may say we want to change, but really have no idea how to do it. I read through the headlines today and they had several, maybe 8, about how the oceans are becoming dangerously acidified.

Remember that the ocean is where life began, and that it covers far more of the earth than land. When you consider the space we are talking about here, the fact that the little cities we have built can have a dramatic impact on the ph levels in the ocean and change the chemical composition of the other 9/10 of the globe to the point where we are damaging and endangering its existence, you realize how important it is that we do more than become aware of what we are doing. We have to change. We have to unlearn and relearn.

Photo Credit: woodleywonderworks