In the Heart of our Nature

One night I got home after I had a serious conversation with some friends about climate change. Thus far it had felt like a very real problem to me, but it was something I could talk about on an intellectual level and then push away easily on an emotional level in order to continue my life in a convenient way. But that night something changed; I got home, laid in bed and suddenly it hit me. It felt like this nagging feeling that had been in my head for a while, found its way to my heart somehow. I cried, because of sadness: the ship we are on together, our beautiful mother earth, is going down, with me on it, and guilt: I am, actually we all are, the ones behind the steering wheel, and fear: what can we do, what should we do, what should I do?

Since then climate change has been a struggle of balance for me. A balance between sadness and fear about what’s happening on the one hand, and joy and love for our planet on the other hand. A balance between the rational aspect, understanding and discussing the facts, and the emotional aspect, accepting what those facts actually mean for me, for us. A balance between giving up everything I possibly can in order to help save the planet, and being “realistic” and continuing to live my normal life with slight adjustments without feeling guilty. Eventually: a balance between myself and the planet I live on and the other people that live on it.

I’m trying to find a place, both emotionally, personally and physically, from where I can help, do something, fight for a change. This summer someone inspired me saying: “We don’t have to be sad, to fight sad things”. I hope I will find a great love and deep appreciation in my heart for our earth, my home, and my fellow human beings, my neighbors, that I can transform into a joyful, positive power that can make a change; and in doing so I hope to inspire others so we can, together as one, change the direction of the ship once and for all.

Humankind is growing more numerous – in 2115 we’ll be a lot. But our numbers will stabilize in the end. Apart from inequality and global war issues it should be technically possible to survive with enough food for all of us.

There where the rivers flow,
And only nature hears you
There I come and go.

There where’s only glass and gray,
And everything controlled,
There I come and go.

Those who tell me,
All that will go wrong,
I see them and I hear them.

Those who tell me,
Things are really not so bad,
I see them and I hear them.

There where the rivers are,
There floods my zest for life,
There where’s only glass and gray,
I am controlled by haste.

Those who tell me ‘bout all what goes wrong,
They close me my ears,
Those who tell me it’s all a ballyhoo,
They open me my mouth.

Away with the problems! They make me tired and sick.
I don’t want to hear any more about the death of nature.
All I want is screaming, in the speed of the hours,
Listen, people, listen! And do, try it, do!

In Dutch (original language):

Daar waar rivieren stromen,
En slechts natuur je hoort,
Daar kom ik en daar ga ik.

Daar waar slechts glas en grijs is,
En alles aangestuurd,
Daar kom ik en daar ga ik.

Zij die mij vertellen,
Al dat wat mis zal gaan,
Die zie ik en die hoor ik.

Zij die mij vertellen,
Dat het heus zo erg niet is,
Die zie ik en die hoor ik.

Daar waar rivieren zijn,
Daar stroomt mijn levenslust,
Daar waar slechts glas en grijs is,
Daar stuurt de spoed mij aan. 

Zij die mij vertellen over al dat wat verkeerd gaat,
Die sluiten mij mijn oren,
Zij die mij vertellen dat er onzin wordt gepraat,
Die openen mij de mond.

Weg met de problemen! Ik ben ze beu en moe.
Niets wil ik horen over de dood der natuur.
Alles wil ik schreeuwen in de vaart van het uur,
Luister mensen, luister! En doe eens, doe!

First of all, climate change for me is an announcement of the end of the world. As it is said in the bible, at the end of this world many strange things will happen but as Christian what makes us feel insecure is faith in Christ. Therefore, even climate change nowadays is caused by human acts such us pollution, deforestation… It is part of the signals that we must get ready for the D-day. For sure I am afraid  but it warns me too that the worse is coming, so I have to be prepared.

Secondly, as I said before climate change is the result of human acts. So, in order to minimize those impacts I have my contribution starting from little things like not throwing my garbage anywhere.
At the last and not the least, we human being, to solve this problem or to reduce its progression, must stop considering us as much more intelligent that God. Stop inventing such sophisticate things which production give off harmful chemicals waste.

My primary reaction when I hear about climate change is, for sure, the fear of the unknown. Besides the complexity of our planet, from a (soil) scientist perspective, I believe that there are enough evidences of an anthropic influence on climate change. I also believe that strategies to prevent the worst scenario to happen are already available. However, politics (mainly through economy-based issues) plays an extremely important role when it comes to transfer what is possible to achieve through research and what is actually delivered to society in terms of policies and technologies. Consequences can already be observed (specially in delicate environments) and that brings urgency to the topic. But I am afraid that scientists and policy makers sometimes do not speak the same language and that miscommunication and conflict of interests slow down the whole process of changing global-scale bad habits. In this sense, I also believe that global-scale changing of habits can only be achieved by individual scale-changing of habits, mostly related to consumption habits and how people in general are aware of the cost of natural resources.

Carlos, Brazilian PhD student at the Soil Quality Department in the Wageningen University.

Koyaanisqatsi

Climate change – for me it is this nagging feeling that bad things are happening and I should do something about it. But can I make any difference? I am not going to be the one to save the world. No one is, obviously. When I continue thinking along those lines there is a concrete danger that I end up just being depressed about how my beautiful world will be destroyed and there is nothing I can do.

I thank God for the social environment I got. People who think like me surround me, and I strongly feel that those people are the reason I don’t despair. They inspire me to do the little things one can do. To just try not to be part of it, to be conscious of what I do, eat, buy, throw away. And yet, it is never enough. It is impossible to live in this world, in this time, and not be part of the forces that destroy nature and that cause dangers for our own future and the future of our children. At times I feel like moving somewhere far, far away. Surround myself with nature, instead of culture. Grow my own food and just stop being part of all that. But here I am, typing on my laptop – second hand, but I have no idea who made it, and where – drinking coffee that definitely didn’t grow in the backyard of this café, wearing clothes that were produced somewhere, by somebody. Consciousness is not enough. Nothing is ever enough.

“When I first found the call for personal sharings on the topic of environmental change I questioned whether or not I was someone who’s sharing would be of any interest for the project. I’m no one special. Just a ordinary human in uni trying to navigate through life in a meaningful way. Someone who’s impact on the world is so small and whom the world could easily manage being without. What is my role in this overwhelming and incomprehensible climate debate? How can I, with my lack of expertise, grasp and understand what is happening, if it’s happening, is it happening, it is happening, right?

I surrender to my own ignorance and think; “well, I might not know what to believe, I might not understand what is my role in it, I might not even have the time and space to research it (I do have a daily life to tend to), but a good life for me is a life where I contribute and where I can feel like I’m a part of something and where I’m connected with my inner self, with my human nature, with nature, and in that life I want to be a guardian of peace and a bearer of joy so that we can all be one, as sisters and brothers, sharing one world, living side by side in true diversity; and how could we do that if the world couldn’t feed us or quench our thirst; no, the only way to be a guardian of peace is to surrender to my dependence of the other and of nature, and in the same breath to see that it’s a mutual relationship where they equally depend on me; and how could I then ever want to fail that bond?”

I’m still just an ordinary person. No one special. I might not even be doing the right thing. I might not do enough. I do have a daily life to tend to. But the love and the respect I feel from and towards the world encourages me to try to live in simplicity and in harmony with my surrounding. Not beginning from a point of frustration, chock and overwhelming responsibility but rather from a point of shared joy of existence.”