Wade-ing In On Climate Change
Yesterday was one heck of a day:
After calling myself to action on the Percy Schmeiser treatment, I FINALLY just sat down and pounded it out. Although developing this script has been a frustrating process, every time I return to it I’m reminded about what a meaningful and important story Percy’s is. (More about this in future posts…)
A man named Cory came to the house in the afternoon pedaling investments; oil fields, annuities, life insurance, housing developments, land banking, etc. Despite my initial skepticism, the conversation, which lasted more than two hours, was fascinating. The schemes that have been developed (because really, that’s what they are), to expand personal wealth at the expense of the welfare of our planet and its inhabitants are really quite mind boggling. In one example, you, as the investor, are encouraged to buy out the life insurance policies of the infirm. You buy the policy and the sooner they die, the more money you make… Life Settlements, as they’re called, are Cory’s favorite investment product. Apparently Warren Buffet is into them big time.
Attending Wade Davis’ book reading was an ironic (yet very appropriate) followup to Cory’s investment presentation. Whereas Cory unveils how we may benefit from the death of our fellow humans, Wade passionately reminds us of the intrinsic value of human life. Chosen for this year’s Massey Lecture series, he is National Geographic’s ethnobotanist-in-residence and one of the most articulate voices for the preservation of indigenous cultures (and their lands) around the world.
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A riveting Q&A followed the reading, and, of course, central to the discussion was the question, “what can we do to stop cultural extinction?”
Wade explained that these cultures do not disappear on their own accord, but rather, that there are clear, discernible forces causing their collapse… greed and corporate interests (expressed through land development, resource extraction, cash crop farming, ect.) being the most predominant.
Climate change, of course, is having a huge impact. Already, there are hundreds of thousands of ‘climate refugees’, people forced to leave their lands, as a result of flooding or desertification caused by the changing climate. As Wade so poignantly describes, land and culture are inseparable and with the loss of one, the other is sure to follow.
He explained that perhaps the most frightening example of this is the loss of the Himalayan Glaciers, which regulate the water supply to the Ganges, Indus, Brahmaputra, Mekong, Thanlwin, Yangtze and Yellow rivers, and are the major source of water for hundreds of millions of people. As the planet heats, and the glaciers melt, the rivers will first begin to flood, but ultimately recede to the extent that it is predicted, in 30 years, the Ganges will become a seasonal river.
What will happen to these hundreds of millions of people when the water runs out? Hopefully, we will never find out. Hopefully, we, as a global community, will get our act together and stop climate change. Hopefully.
After the Q&A, there was a book signing with Wade and I had an opportunity to talk with him briefly about Down 2 Earth, the web/TV project I’m currently working on about indigenous solutions to environmental problems. He generously said he’d be happy to help in any way he could, either personally, or via access to his extensive network.
Joseph Roberts, founder of Common Ground magazine was also there, and afterward, we went to The Naam to eat and process everything we had learned. If any magazine carries this hope for a better, more peaceful world, it’s Common Ground. Joseph, who still personally runs it after 27 years, shared with us his exciting plan to take it international. This is great news. As the people of the Ganges will attest, the world needs such voices… more now than ever.
After that it was back home to bed, my head spinning with ideas and ideals.
I lay there thinking about all that had happened during the day — and then suddenly an image struck me – something that had somehow got lost between the financial adviser and the ethnobotanist. In our back yard we had had a visitor that evening. I managed to grab my digital point and shoot and get some video.
The video doesn’t show the bear cub that was hiding in the trees. Seems mama and baby were filling their bellies for the winter to come, and had chosen our yard as their buffet for the evening. It was a very cool sight, and yet another reminder of how close and intrinsically connected we are to the natural world.
This post is a part of Blog Action Day
