“Here’s to the bridge-builders, the hand-holders, the light-bringers, those extraordinary souls wrapped in ordinary lives who quietly weave threads of humanity into an inhumane world. They are the unsung heroes in a world at war with itself. They are the whisperers of hope that peace is possible. Look for them in this present darkness. Light your candle with their flame. And then go. Build bridges. Hold hands. Bring light to a dark and desperate world. Be the hero you are looking for. Peace is possible. It begins with us” L.R. Knost.
In The Sustainability Revolution part 28, I used David Suzuki’s quote “The way we see the world shapes the way we treat it. If a mountain is a deity, not a pile of ore; if a river is one of the veins of the land, not potential irrigation water; if a forest is a sacred grove, not timber; if other species are biological kin, not resources; or if the planet is our mother, not an opportunity — then we will treat each other with greater respect. Thus is the challenge, to look at the world from a different perspective”. This is as true for ourselves and the world. Look at the cartoon link and consider how you think about a tree? Do you see it as having merely utility value or does it have an innate value in itself? This isn’t a ‘tree-hugger’ question. I ask this question because it frames how we see value outside of mere utility benefit.
Swedish Media specialist Varushka Franceschi makes a utilitarian appeal for trees, but what is important is that even in seeing utilitarian benefits, there accrues benefits for the planet as a whole. It allows one to see the beneficial wholeness of a planetary system. This is as true for ourselves. Once we become authentic we benefit each other in ways that overrides the negative social conditioning so common within our global cultural.
“The felling of a tree should be carefully considered, whether it is to build a road or a house or because the leaves pollute the roof and block the drainage system. Trees offer numerous benefits that should be considered:
- CO2 absorption and oxygen production: One tree absorbs about 22 kg of CO2 per year and produces enough oxygen for two people. This contributes significantly to improving air quality.
- Soil stabilization: With its deep roots, a tree stabilizes the soil and prevents erosion. The roots improve the soil structure and increase the water retention capacity of the soil.
- Climate regulation: Trees reflect and absorb some solar radiation, which helps to cool the environment. A single tree can have the cooling effect of ten air conditioners.
- Cloud formation and precipitation: Through evaporation, trees contribute to cloud formation and thus have a positive influence on the local microclimate and precipitation.
- Soil fertility: Leaves that fall to the ground decompose and serve as food for the soil. This promotes soil fertility and supports the growth of other plants.
- Nutrient cycling: Trees provide sugars to the mycelium in exchange for nutrients, which promotes soil life and supports ecosystem health.
- Air purification: Trees absorb dust and pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide, which significantly improves air quality.
- Habitat: Trees provide habitat and food for a variety of animals, including birds, insects and rodents, thus promoting biodiversity.
- Sound and visual protection: Trees can act as a natural sound and visual barrier, which is particularly beneficial in urban areas.
- Shade and protection: Trees provide shade and protection from UV radiation, which pleasantly cools the local microclimate.
Additionally, it can be mentioned:
- Economic benefits: Urban trees can increase property values and reduce energy costs by providing natural cooling.
- Health benefits: Spending time near trees and green spaces reduces stress, improves mental health and promotes physical activity.
Conclusion: Trees provides freshness, water and oxygen. Trees are an indispensable technology that can save us! Plant trees, plant hedges.” And if that isn’t enough consider how the root structure of a tree benefits the whole soil environment (see picture link).
When we rethink trees, we can start to rethink other aspects of the natural world that benefit both us and the global ecosystem. Consider the hemp plant that is so maligned because of the Cannabis drug connection. Even if you cannot accept Cannabis, we have hemp plant strains that do not have the Cannabis bolus. The phenomenal utilitarian benefits of Hemp include: One hectare of hemp produces 25 % more oxygen than one hectare of forest and guarantees a cellulose supply that is approximately twice as high as that obtained from equivalent wood; One acre of hemp grows within 6 months, while a forest grows for decades before it is harvested; By making hemp paper, we could save millions of hectares of forest every year; and, hemp can be used in textile production, construction and even as biofuel.
So far, I have covered only the utilitarian benefits of cellulose. In the cartoon link in paragraph 2 above, one of the options was simply about the psychological (and health) benefits of trees merely being present. This is crucial to understand as medical science has documented this through a practice known as ‘Forest therapy.’ “It is rooted in the Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku, which is often translated as “forest bathing.” But it’s not a literal bath. The term refers simply to immersing yourself in the atmosphere of the forest” (see links 1 and 2).
Once we become authentic in ourselves, we align with each other and as importantly, we align with the natural world. We become spiritually connected without having to design and build a new religion. It simply becomes a way of living – alignment.
Consider how the rest of the natural world benefits us. Once we become aligned, all the world’s problems diminish both physically and socially – a transformation without any need for conflict. Of course, as our global society currently exists, this goes against the economic and hierarchical structure that dominates how we live. The ‘sustainability revolution’ and hence ‘the great healing’ means moving out of fear and competition, and into a heart centered cooperative way of living.
We have this myth of scarcity and so see nature as also in hard-competition, and consequently we have modeled out global society around this idea. Being aligned within yourself means seeing life through different eyes. Spiritual teacher Matt Kahn says; “Being happy for other people’s happiness is how any degree of unworthiness is healed. If unable to be happy for others, more time and attention is given to those aspects of shutting down, lashing out, feeling left out, or needing to hide as the only choices available. It is why all parts of self deserves more love — not less.”
In Colorado at this time, it is fall (autumn) and the aspen trees are changing to gold before the cold nights make their leaves fall. A curious thing about these large swathes of aspens is that while above ground they all appear unique and individual, their root systems are all intertwined. Not only intertwined but interconnected (see link) – not a bad model for us to consider in building new communities in which all humans and natural systems thrive. That would mean a radical change in how we think both economically and socio-culturally to create a better world. But isn’t that what I have been going on about within this whole blog.
Came across this interestingly done You Tube with a ‘protest’ song by Pink Floyd from 1987 (see link). ‘It’s on us’ to create these changes to create a new and better world.
To Be Continued ……………..
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