I’ve been going through some of the boxes we had in storage after our renovation. Books take up a lot of that box space. One of the books I came across has been my reading the past week – Earth Time by David Zuzuki. It must have been just published when I bought it back in 1998. It’s moved with me at least five times in that period and has been read more than once but it still provides lots of inspirational motivation. Last night I came across a section which discusses that we can’t save the environment until we confront the heart of the problem – our demand for more. We can recycle and conserve all we like but ultimately we continue to go on consuming. The challenge is this: “If you’re like me and would like to avoid looking like a monster to your grandchildren, then I suggest you stop being silent about our plan to go on consuming the world until there simply isn’t any more there to consume (Quinn. D, cited in Suzuki, 1998, p.101). The silence might not be a conspiracy, but it may be just as effective” (Suzuki, 1998, p.101).
I like that challenge – not only reduce my consumerism but also don’t stay silent about society’s over-consumption. Question what I see and hear and believe and try each day to get others also thinking about the way they live.