There are many things that can be done to begin the arduous journey back, towards a healthy planet. Nature will help us, but only if we are willing to meet her halfway. We can plant trees and re-forest areas that have been stripped bare. We can replace GMO’s and monocultures with native species and a diversity of plants. We can move away from factory farming and towards more sustainable agriculture. We can cease the use of herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides; and make concerted efforts to bring back keystone species. We can pass legislation to protect more of our wild areas. We can work towards replacing our dependence on fossil fuels with clean, solar energy. We can curb our use of plastics, implement mandatory recycling, and create more jobs where people can work from home in order to drive less. We can bring back the bicycle as a mode of transportation, rather than having it reduced to another competitive sport. We can teach our children to care for our planet by allowing them to spend more time outdoors, interacting with nature.
We can do all of these things, and much, much more; but what really has to change is our attitudes. Human beings must step down from their pedestal of self-proclaimed superiority. Humans must come to understand that we are part of nature – not separate from it. We must let go of hatred that we have harbored for anything that is unlike ourselves, be it a skunk, a bat, or another human being of a different color or sexual orientation. We must let go of greed. Most of all, we must release the fear that gives rise to hatred and to our propensity for war. Changing our attitudes and showing others the way out of ignorance, is what must first change before the other efforts can have any lasting effect. We must learn to care, above all, about the life that is all around us.
