WAKE UP WORLD-OUR FUTURE IS AT RISK!
I continue to search for the facts and truth about mankind's
destructive impacts on the natural world, by searching for recent
scientific literature and study results. I am frequently amazed by the
number modern scientists that are beginning to recognize the value of
the traditional knowledge our indigenous people have developed
about the natural world and the dependency life systems have upon
that world. Father Thomas Berry, a scholar of world religions,
frequently referred to the need to understand our indigenous
people's wisdom on natures connections to life systems. My wife and
I have been introduced to this traditional knowledge by several
friends of Native American heritage, that have shared their wisdom
passed down from their ancestors. The major difference between the
two society's is the view of how humanity relates to Earth. lndigenous
people see themselves as a small part of the natural world, while our
western society sees Earth as belonging to us and our divine right to
dominate, control and change.
Recently, I encountered two very interesting authors, Mary McAleese,
the first woman President of Ireland, and Ben Rawlence, founder and
director of Black Mountain College in Wales. Mary McAleese remains
active with the United Nations Committee on Climate Change and
published an excellent book of real-life stories of people who live and
depend upon nature to sustain their families. Many were women.
These people have minimal incomes and depend upon the land and
climate condition to provide food and shelter for their families. lt is
amazing that some of these people have become international
spokes-persons involved in alerting the modern world to the climatic
conditions resulting from human demands upon natural resources
and the land. The author points out how people living in these under-
developed situations, are already experiencing devastating adverse
impacts on their ability to sustain their life-styles and traditional ways
of life.
ln Africa, farmers are experiencing flooding followed by long periods
of drought, which has eliminated the successful growing of crops, plus
washing away valuable top soils. ln Alaska, rising water levels and
warming water temperatures, along with increased tree cover from
warming atmospheric temperatures, is causing erosion along streams
and rivers. This is resulting in loss of agricultural lands, top soil and
even necessitates annual moving of houses and structures away from
the rising water levels. This is devastating many local communities,
but it will eventually affect all people as the loss of land surface
worldwide continues. I am encouraged that people living close to
nature and experiencing these unacceptable climatic changes, have
stepped out of their comfort zone to help alert the world to the truth
about climate change impacts.
Ben Rawlence published a book entitled, 'Tree Line- The Last Forest
and the Future of Life on Earth". His book describes his studies,
findings and knowledge of local indigenous people, that live in
extreme northern locations, are experiencing with life-changing
effects resulting from changing climatic conditions. Boreal forests are
the second largest biome after oceans, and encircles the planet in a
continuous green ring and is essential to the health of our planet. The
past 50 years have seen the trees of the boreal forests, moving north
with serious consequences for the future of life systems on Earth.
THE TREE LINE, takes us into this critical frontier where warming
temperatures are causing major geological changes for the
environment and the people. Rawlence, visits this frozen frontier
from Norway to Siberia and Alaska to Greenland. The author points
out that today the term "Tree Line" has come to mean a line on a
map, indicating the growing limits of trees, and evidence of the
narrow time horizons of humans. The environmental changes in
nature demonstrates how humanity has come to take present
habitats for granted. Although we experience limited changes in
climate over an average human life span, tree growth is limited by the
environment that produces them, such as soil, nutrients, light, carbon
dioxide and temperatures. The gradual movement of the tree line has
been constantly advancing or receding, and is an excellent indicator of
climatic condition changes.
The author begins by establishing the importance of trees in
sustaining life on planet Earth, and the fact that only 26% of Earth’s
original forest cover remains. He points out that fifteen billion trees -
thirty million hectares of forest - are cut down every year globally,
and about the same amount is lost to wildfires.
We are then introduced to the indigenous people of the circumpolar
region from Finland to Russia, known as the S'ami. The S'ami once
migrated across the land unhindered, but now are citizens of Norway,
Sweden, Finland or Russia. They have occupied the land, once called
Lapland, for millennia subsisting by hunting and reindeer herding.
Their rock art, depicting their way of life, has been carbon-dated back
to eight thousand years ago. With warming temperatures, the perma-
frost is melting and the lichen rich tundra is slowly being destroyed by
the encroaching trees. After thousands of years, reindeer herding is
becoming a dying life-style, and many of the people are forced to
move to villages close to the sea and convert to the fishing industry.
The adverse impact of climate change is real to these people as they
experience day to day changes.
Moving east into Siberia, we find shocking changes occurring as a
result of warming temperatures. Temperature anomalies for Siberia in
2O2O are frightening at four times higher than global averages,
becoming the highest in the world. There are only four land-based
monitoring stations in Siberia and we need at least ten years of data
collection to make realistic assessments of climate impacts,
consequently we have little information about current conditions. We
do know that there is twice as much green-house gas stored in the
permafrost as currently exists within our atmosphere. Science, also,
projects that 40% of the permafrost will be gone by the end of the
century. The release of greenhouse gases from the permafrost has the
potential to accelerate global warming and effectively end life on
Earth.
We are introduced to the Koyukon people, who have lived as a part of
nature in the frozen tundra of North American, from Alaska to
Greenland. ln the Koyukon tradition, trees can never be cut without a
reason, as they provide so much to life on Earth. The land is the basis
for their worldview. These people have occupied this frozen territory
for thousands of years, and have experienced significant change in
climatic conditions. Canada was once primarily forest covered, but is
currently less than half forest covered.
Climate change continues to impact the land and the sustenance of
life on Earth. The facts are visible for all to see, yet the unnatural is
becoming natural and the unacceptable acceptable, as we continue
our focus on our everyday needs and desires. Fortunately, there are a
few people that refuse to give up the fight to redeem our
responsibilities to care for the land and humanity's future. Ignoring
the facts and truth will only lead to the demise of the human species.
We can still make a difference!
I continue to search for the facts and truth about mankind's
destructive impacts on the natural world, by searching for recent
scientific literature and study results. I am frequently amazed by the
number modern scientists that are beginning to recognize the value of
the traditional knowledge our indigenous people have developed
about the natural world and the dependency life systems have upon
that world. Father Thomas Berry, a scholar of world religions,
frequently referred to the need to understand our indigenous
people's wisdom on natures connections to life systems. My wife and
I have been introduced to this traditional knowledge by several
friends of Native American heritage, that have shared their wisdom
passed down from their ancestors. The major difference between the
two society's is the view of how humanity relates to Earth. lndigenous
people see themselves as a small part of the natural world, while our
western society sees Earth as belonging to us and our divine right to
dominate, control and change.
Recently, I encountered two very interesting authors, Mary McAleese,
the first woman President of Ireland, and Ben Rawlence, founder and
director of Black Mountain College in Wales. Mary McAleese remains
active with the United Nations Committee on Climate Change and
published an excellent book of real-life stories of people who live and
depend upon nature to sustain their families. Many were women.
These people have minimal incomes and depend upon the land and
climate condition to provide food and shelter for their families. lt is
amazing that some of these people have become international
spokes-persons involved in alerting the modern world to the climatic
conditions resulting from human demands upon natural resources
and the land. The author points out how people living in these under-
developed situations, are already experiencing devastating adverse
impacts on their ability to sustain their life-styles and traditional ways
of life.
ln Africa, farmers are experiencing flooding followed by long periods
of drought, which has eliminated the successful growing of crops, plus
washing away valuable top soils. ln Alaska, rising water levels and
warming water temperatures, along with increased tree cover from
warming atmospheric temperatures, is causing erosion along streams
and rivers. This is resulting in loss of agricultural lands, top soil and
even necessitates annual moving of houses and structures away from
the rising water levels. This is devastating many local communities,
but it will eventually affect all people as the loss of land surface
worldwide continues. I am encouraged that people living close to
nature and experiencing these unacceptable climatic changes, have
stepped out of their comfort zone to help alert the world to the truth
about climate change impacts.
Ben Rawlence published a book entitled, 'Tree Line- The Last Forest
and the Future of Life on Earth". His book describes his studies,
findings and knowledge of local indigenous people, that live in
extreme northern locations, are experiencing with life-changing
effects resulting from changing climatic conditions. Boreal forests are
the second largest biome after oceans, and encircles the planet in a
continuous green ring and is essential to the health of our planet. The
past 50 years have seen the trees of the boreal forests, moving north
with serious consequences for the future of life systems on Earth.
THE TREE LINE, takes us into this critical frontier where warming
temperatures are causing major geological changes for the
environment and the people. Rawlence, visits this frozen frontier
from Norway to Siberia and Alaska to Greenland. The author points
out that today the term "Tree Line" has come to mean a line on a
map, indicating the growing limits of trees, and evidence of the
narrow time horizons of humans. The environmental changes in
nature demonstrates how humanity has come to take present
habitats for granted. Although we experience limited changes in
climate over an average human life span, tree growth is limited by the
environment that produces them, such as soil, nutrients, light, carbon
dioxide and temperatures. The gradual movement of the tree line has
been constantly advancing or receding, and is an excellent indicator of
climatic condition changes.
The author begins by establishing the importance of trees in
sustaining life on planet Earth, and the fact that only 26% of Earth’s
original forest cover remains. He points out that fifteen billion trees -
thirty million hectares of forest - are cut down every year globally,
and about the same amount is lost to wildfires.
We are then introduced to the indigenous people of the circumpolar
region from Finland to Russia, known as the S'ami. The S'ami once
migrated across the land unhindered, but now are citizens of Norway,
Sweden, Finland or Russia. They have occupied the land, once called
Lapland, for millennia subsisting by hunting and reindeer herding.
Their rock art, depicting their way of life, has been carbon-dated back
to eight thousand years ago. With warming temperatures, the perma-
frost is melting and the lichen rich tundra is slowly being destroyed by
the encroaching trees. After thousands of years, reindeer herding is
becoming a dying life-style, and many of the people are forced to
move to villages close to the sea and convert to the fishing industry.
The adverse impact of climate change is real to these people as they
experience day to day changes.
Moving east into Siberia, we find shocking changes occurring as a
result of warming temperatures. Temperature anomalies for Siberia in
2O2O are frightening at four times higher than global averages,
becoming the highest in the world. There are only four land-based
monitoring stations in Siberia and we need at least ten years of data
collection to make realistic assessments of climate impacts,
consequently we have little information about current conditions. We
do know that there is twice as much green-house gas stored in the
permafrost as currently exists within our atmosphere. Science, also,
projects that 40% of the permafrost will be gone by the end of the
century. The release of greenhouse gases from the permafrost has the
potential to accelerate global warming and effectively end life on
Earth.
We are introduced to the Koyukon people, who have lived as a part of
nature in the frozen tundra of North American, from Alaska to
Greenland. ln the Koyukon tradition, trees can never be cut without a
reason, as they provide so much to life on Earth. The land is the basis
for their worldview. These people have occupied this frozen territory
for thousands of years, and have experienced significant change in
climatic conditions. Canada was once primarily forest covered, but is
currently less than half forest covered.
Climate change continues to impact the land and the sustenance of
life on Earth. The facts are visible for all to see, yet the unnatural is
becoming natural and the unacceptable acceptable, as we continue
our focus on our everyday needs and desires. Fortunately, there are a
few people that refuse to give up the fight to redeem our
responsibilities to care for the land and humanity's future. Ignoring
the facts and truth will only lead to the demise of the human species.
We can still make a difference!
