The Last Hours

"In the 24 hours since this time yesterday, over 200,000 acres of rainforest have been destroyed. Fully 13 million tons of toxic chemicals have been released into our environment. Over 45,000 people have died of starvation. And more than 130 plant or animal species have been driven to extinction by the action of humans. And all this just since yesterday."*

In The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight,* Thom Hartmann explains how the current environmental crisis is the product of an inherited human culture that has led us to increased acts of violence towards each other and to the Earth herself. The rise of 'dominator' (militaristic, hierarchical, consumerist) societies coupled with advances in technology have created a world where competition for resources prevails and where Nature herself is exploited, abused and contaminated in order to obtain or consume them. These resources, however, especially fossil fuels like coal and oil, are on the point of exhaustion. What happens when the oil is gone in forty years time? What happens when the climate is no longer capable of sustaining human life comfortably? Action needs to be taken now to preserve the environment upon which we all depend. There are a number of concrete actions that can help.

• Reduce, reuse, recycle

The number of simple, cost-effective steps that can be taken to reduce our impact on the environment is legion and plenty of tips may be found at the Friends of the Earth site (for example, recycling one aluminium drinks can saves enough energy to power a 100 watt light bulb for 20 hours, a computer for three hours or a television for two hours). Remember, Nature does not produce waste so why should we? Where exactly is the 'away' in the phrase 'let's throw it away'?

• Offset your carbon dioxide emissions

Make a donation to a charity or company, such as Climate Care or Carbon Neutral, which works in the area of conservation and renewable energy. Your money funds projects that help reduce the amount of carbon dioxide pumped into the atmosphere. These organisations offer simple calculators allowing you to see how many tons of greenhouse gases your activities generate in a year. They then suggest a donation in proportion to this rate. Small donations don't cost the Earth but they certainly help to save it.

• Plant (or, at least, dedicate) a tree or two

The importance of trees to the environment cannot be overstated. They soak up carbon dioxide, the principal greenhouse gas; they exhale oxygen, the gas animals need to breathe; their roots break rock into soil; they draw water up and release it as vapour into the sky from where it falls as rain. The equations are simple: no trees, no air, no life; no trees, no water, no humans. The Woodland Trust (United Kingdom) is one of many organisations that will plant, dedicate, and maintain a tree on your behalf.

• Use renewable energy

Coal, oil and gas are finite resources. They will soon be gone. And yet demands for energy are rising. Alternative sources of energy need to be found and ones which are themselves clean and renewable. Instead of supporting electricity companies to mine coal to extinction and pollute the atmosphere by burning it to generate power, why not support those who generate electricity from clean, renewable sources such as wind, sea and solar power? Good Energy, for instance, provides 100% renewable electricity to home and business users (in Great Britain).

• Invest ethically

Consider putting your money to good use building a sustainable future by investing in financial institutions that sponsor environmental protection and conservation work. The Ecology Building Society, for instance, provides mortgages and savings accounts for ecology minded customers in the United Kingdom.

As worthy and as helpful as the above actions might be, though, as Hartmann points out, they must also be accompanied by a change in humans' attitude, a change in human culture. Humans must once again adopt the mindset of our ancient ancestors: we must learn the secret of enough, taking from Nature only what we need; we must, as natural beings, compete with each other and other life forms but not utterly destroy them and the environment in the process; we must recognise that we are part and parcel of Nature not dominant over it; we must accept that all life has its own purpose and value within the ecosystem that links all life together; we must acknowledge that all living beings are worthy of respect and compassion, that we and our non-human relations are all integral components of Nature's sacred circle.

In this light, one final action: turn off the computer (but do not turn on the television) and go outside. Look at the clouds, touch the grass, hear the birds, smell the flowers and, yes, why not, hug a tree! Experience the power of life in the present, experience the presence of the natural world all around, experience the sacred spirit of Nature.

* Hartmann (2001). See the resources page for full details of all sources.

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