In the postscript, there was a question that really stuck out to me. "Are we, the overconsuming ecoterrorists, willing to change our ways so that we could preserve what is truly significant and extend it to all humans? Once again, Kohak goes back to the idea of overcomnsumption in the American population and once again he pin points us (humans) directly as the problem. Kohak states that overconsumption is the first ecological danger and overpopulation is the second. With these two "ecological dangers" continuing to increase, then the answer to the question above is a NO.
The answer of the question above comes from Kohak describing his experiences with nature that shifted him to his "flannel" ecology. Kohak states that "an intimate encounter with nature opens a person to it, teaches empathy, and so provides motivation for ecological activism. Kohak mentions numerous occurrances where his intimate experiences with nature helped shaped his ecological beliefs to this day. He describes his days when he lived in a house and only used what was needed. He states that he remained in his tight budget, yet lacked nothing that he needed to survive.
In relation to the situation above, I believe that most American individuals are too comfortable today to consider cutting back. We are so used to the idea of having anything and everything we want, that we do not think about our actions and the harmful results that could occur. As said above, Kohak believes it takes an intimate experience in order for any change to our norms to be altered. However, for most of us, that will never occur because we are too busy to take the time and admire the beauty of nature because that is just the way of life in this day and time.
No comments:
Post a Comment