I wish I could say that Earth is on a healthier trajectory.
Notwithstanding an atrocious war caused by a small, soulless man with dreams of empire building, humans are hell-bent on driving the planet over a cliff. We continue to mow down tropical rainforests to grow more food (even though up to 40 per cent of our current food supply is wasted), dump plastic waste in the oceans at a rate of a truckload every minute and drive countless wildlife species towards extinction. On top of all that we’re forced to confront the gorilla in the room; climate change and all its devastating effects. Those of us living in the rich West are a big part of the problem due to our conspicuous consumption. North Americans comprise only 5 per cent of the world’s population but consume 20 per cent of the earth’s natural resources. If all 7.9 billion people on earth lived like the average Canadian or American we would need five earths to support our lifestyles! Here is a suggestion that would help our ailing planet. Why not buy and waste less stuff and adopt the mantra “enough is plenty”. After all the most important things in life aren’t things.
P.S. I still remain hopeful that the global community will come together to steer earth onto a more sustainable path.
Gary Markotich
Napanee