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Dancing at the Dead Sea
is the award winning journalist Alanna
Mitchell's 2004 survey of places around the globe of special interest
for the environment. What she emphasizes that is unusual is the role
that myths and legends play in determining our behavior.
The book begins by showing how an 1830's voyage to the Galapagos
took the world through Darwin to a place beyond the static creationism
that grew out of legend. Over 5 decades in a world where slavery and
racism were the norm, the concept of life as constantly changing and
evolving took root over much controversy.
During Alanna's year at Oxford she had the privilege to work with
the first person to speak of the 6th extinction, Norman Myers. Her
favorite question to the eminent scientists she works with is, " Is the
human species a suicidal species?" Norman's answer is no just
inertial, adding that unsustainable use of resources is a waste which
is destroying living standards for the future.
In Madagascar we see the role of the myth of the tree that always
grows back in having pushed deforestation to the brink of no return.
In Alberta we examine the nature of the 5th extinction through the eyes
of a paleontologist in the dinosaur beds. In Jordan we see the decline
of the oasis due to modernism as a cautionary tale of unbridled water
usage. In the Canadian Arctic we meet Rosemarie Kuptana who has been
documenting ice loss since 1998. In Surinam we join Russ Mittermeier
of Conservation International, a Washington D.C. based group working to
build local economies on conservation principles. He searches for a
sighting of the rare harpy eagle, and examines the pros and cons of
opening caves inhabited in ancient times to eco-tourism. In Iceland we
see the use of geothermal power to produce a modern economy which emits
no greenhouse gas through the use of hydrogen fuel.
Back in Canada at the site of her childhood cottage in the boreal
region of Saskatchewan she ponders the need to rewire our thought
processes from the hand to mouth pattern we inherited from our cave
dwelling days to long term thinking which holds the promise of altering
our current behavior towards the planet. behavior which could be
described as neanderthal.
The book ends with the hope that the World Wildlife Fund in
conjunction with logging and mining interests can hammer out as deal
to preserve the majority of the Canadian boreal forest in perpetuity.
As a good journalist Mitchell simply chronicles the realities we
all face, while avoiding the pitfalls of blame, fingerpointing and
preaching. This reality is that our environmental situation is deeply
embedded in culture as it instructs our daily habits. This book is an
attempt to widen the dialog, which in the end may lead to our possible
salvation. What appears from reading the paleontological record to be
leading to our demise as a species is our incredible success as a
species.
Jim Keullmer

Newsflash!...This culture and most of its members are insane.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007. Today Daimler-Chrysler announced that it was cutting 13,000 jobs from its operations, or 1/6th of its workforce, due to changing consumer demands spurred on by higher fuel prices. Chrysler’s traditional money-makers were vans, trucks and sport utility vehicles. Despite decades of warnings of a coming oil crunch, the big North American auto makers have once again failed miserably to supply the market with smaller fuel efficient vehicles. GM is soon to fall behind Toyota and Honda in market share, Ford is on the verge of bankruptcy, and now Chrysler is slashing thousands of jobs. If I had the power, the people running these companies would be charged and prosecuted with wilful negligence and crimes against the environment. Instead they will be rewarded with huge salaries, pensions and stock options. This culture is insane.

All the while we must endure the corporatists and several big labour unions whinging and complaining that Canada surely cannot meet its Kyoto Protocol targets because it will hurt the economy (this economy is hurting our planet) and cost thousands of jobs. I may be a simpleton but it appears to me that not meeting our Kyoto targets or ensuring our industries are producing efficient products and vehicles is hurting our economy and costing thousands of jobs. This culture is insane.

What do our domestic auto makers plan to do to regain market share?? Believe it or not all three have announced plans to resurrect muscle cars. Yep! Big, heavy, fuel drinking, rear wheel drive (ridiculous in snowy Northern climates) behemoths are to be a part of their salvation. The upcoming 2008 Dodge challenger will have a 6.4 litre engine producing in excess of 500 horsepower. If that isn’t to your liking how about “green” hybrid trucks and SUV’s like the new Chevy Silverado hybrid? These babies get a whopping 17 (city)19 (highway) mile per gallon rating from the EPA, although an independent testing agency I found tested a model that got 13 miles per gallon over 150 miles of urban and suburban driving and 17 miles on level highway driving. Just for comparison, a 1982 Honda civic got between 55 and 60 miles per gallon and my 1994 Ford Taurus Wagon gets around 30 (hwy) miles per gallon and it ain’t no hybrid.
The game is up people. We are in a de facto “war” for the future survival of our species, this planet and its non-human inhabitants. If we view our present situation as a war then to my mind, the people behind these vehicles are guilty of war crimes not to mention gross deception, crass manipulation and sheer stupidity.
As if this were not enough, today the Federal Government announced a multi-million dollar fund to assist car buyers to buy these crazy hybrid vehicles. What it should be called is the fund to subsidize incompetent, backward auto makers and their easily duped moronic customers. This culture is insane.
So, you think this culture can be remediated? Do you think the traditional political parties will do what is necessary to address the climate change crisis? Do you think big business and their frat boy mentality will finally come around and do the right thing? Do you think if we just all hold hands and write our letters and vote in this f****d up electoral system and sing Kum Bay Ya, everything will be alright? Sorry! It ain’t going to happen. This system and those who run it and those who drive it would rather wrap their greasy, oil soaked hands around your ankles and drag you over the proverbial cliff with them than change the way they do things or admit they were wrong or misguided. What are you going to do about it? I think I know what needs to be done but I am scared sh**less to do it. I too have been entrapped by this system and would have too many “comforts” to sacrifice.

As I said earlier, we are essentially at war with those who would rather destroy the earth than live on it, or allow others to live on it. War is a dirty, messy, and deadly pursuit, but in this war only one side been inflicting damage and casualties. We who oppose this mindset have not even begun to effectively fight back. What does fighting back look like to you? I know what it looks like to me: an insurgency to maintain the integrity of our land base and to wrest control from those whose aim it is to destroy nature for their own pleasure and personal aggrandisement! In the coming conflict bringing your groceries home in a cloth bag will not be enough. Everyday I ask myself, how much of this culture’s insanity can I endure before I begin to take meaningful action? As Winston Churchill said, “I never worry about action, but only inaction”.

I hope everyone noticed the information sheet included with your property tax bill recently sent out by North Bruce. It contains a page and a half of 'recycling depot rules' telling you how and what to place in the bins and is worth checking out. I was surprised to discover that milk cartons are okay and here I've been tossing them in the garbage. Useful info and let's hope it's a step toward cleaning up that Ferndale mess.