Environmental Messiah

Zee purpose of this blog is to chart out my thoughts on how to save the World, mainly environmentally, but in terms of world peace as well.

Today we were having a great discussion on one of the population lists I'm on about how stupid humans are. A colleague described humans as cells in a cancerous tumor. Of course, a lot of people don't like it when we talk that way -- and yes, maybe that kind of language is a little too dark.

Anyway, my activist brother Michael shared an idea that I've been thinking about for a while -- what we need is an Environmental Messiah. I know that person won't be me, and I know that's not my role in life. However, it would be an incredible honor to learn that the Green Messiah was someone I encouraged, mentored, or somehow inspired. As silly as it sounds, I feel like this is my main mission in this crazy Game of Life.

So, at the gym tonight I continued listening to the audiobook "Collapse" on my iPod. Tonight while I was working the stair climber and pumping some iron, I enjoyed a great discussion. The author, Jared Diamond, provided a fascinating comparison between Haiti, a land and society on the verge of collapse, and the neighboring Dominican Republic, which has a good chance of actually achieving sustainability one day.

There are many factors that explain how two nations in extremely different situations can share the same island. But what is most noteworthy is that the Dominican Republic has an impressive public park system and a strong environmental tradition. Haiti has hardly anything to compare with this. One country actively planned for its future while its neighbor has destroyed its future out of desperation to survive in the present.

I'm really wondering if the United States will become like Haiti or the Dominican Republic. With the Bush Administration attempting to sell our public land, combined with a long list of other violations against the environment, my firm bet is Haiti. I'm not a pessimist, just a realist, and I'm beginning to better understand human nature. Thus, my bet is that the entire Planet will become a giant Haiti, certainly by the end of this century. But, despite my lingering gut feeling, I have to try to make this world be more like the Dominican Republic.

Whew.