Like many others who have signed up to Blog Action Day I have agreed to highlight the environment on my blog today (October 15th).  You can check out resources in the Blog Action Day Resource Section.

So what does this have to do with health and wellbeing?

There are a number of answers:

1. If we keep trashing the planet as we are there will be no health for ourselves or our children.  When there are more severe weather events and less water available to drink this has huge implications for our wellbeing.

2. When the climate shifts so that growing our food crops needs to move locations this has massive impact at many levels (how will land now used for other things be converted to agriculture?  Who will pay?  How will people be helped to move?

3. The environment provides many ’services’ to us humans ‘for free’ eg air and water filtration.  If we need to build infrastructure to do these things the cost will be astronomical - and almost certainly diverted from other things which we take for granted (schooling, health and so forth - though I doubt it will be diverted from the ‘defence’ industries).

4. Having trees and nature around us increases our enjoyment of life.  Having beautiful living things around us makes us healthier and improves our wellbeing.

The good news is:

  • the argument is won.  (Not everyone is convinced, but then there are people who are still convinced that the world is flat.)
  • It is widely recognised that the economy is a subset of the environment.
  • There are few people who doubt that our way of living is unsustainable.
  • There are few people who doubt that we need to change.
  • Change is happening.  And it is largely business taking action.  As a citizen of one of the two environmental vandals that didn’t sign the Kyoto Protocol (Australia and the US) it is good to know that business is doing what our governments should be.  In Australia our government is promoting clean coal and nuclear - neither of which has a hope of being viable for years.  From the position of a world leader in alternative technology Australia has, under the current short sighted and vision less government, fallen well behind.  That the corporations - some of them the most powerful institutions on the planet - are taking leadership is a sign of hope.
  • We have the technology.  Available and ready to go, right now.  It is entrenched vested interests, not the environment, that is the problem.  This means that it is a human and social challenge, not a technical problem.
  • There are things we can do to prepare for what will be some unpleasant living conditions.

    Support local production.  From plating a vege garden, to joining or starting a community garden to community supported agriculture: all deserve our energy.

    Support lighter tech health.  Going for a walk.  Taking time to nurture good relationships.  Maintaining our sense of agency.  Learning light tech health care (acupuncture, herbs, massage, yoga, tai chi and qi gong, and many others besides) that can be done easily at the local level.  This will relieve the pressure on our health care systems.

    Signing up for the option to get our power from renewables.

    Installing rainwater tanks.

    If we are building a house, ensuring it is as well designed as our budget will allow.  Something as simple as insulation can make a big difference.

  •     Even if we won’t have as much stuff we won’t miss it much.  Our enjoyment of life is mostly tied to our relationships - having stuff doesn’t have much to do with it.  In our current crazy society sometimes we use stuff to numb the pain, but this is only a symptom.  If we have more time for people the desire for stuff will diminish without much trouble.  The need to scale back could lead us to feeling enriched and happier rather than deprived.

The Motivation

Sometimes environmental concern is called ‘radical’ or ‘Utopian’ - as if this meant that were bad, or unachievable.  I have a way to counter this.

I like to ask people what sort of world they want for their children.  The answers that come easily and spontaneously fall into the ‘radical’ and ‘Utopian’ categories.  When we are concerned for those we love, most of us turn out to be both radical and Utopian.

To Do:
Ask myself: what kind of world do I want for me and my children, or other loved ones?
What one thing can I easily do to bring this world closer?