The Disconnect of Our Impacts – Are You Contributing To The Problem? Halloween Issue

Last updated on: December 18, 2016 at 5:21 pm by Rua Lupa

The Disconnect of Our Impacts – Are You Contributing To The Problem? Halloween Issue 2016-12-18T17:21:47-04:00 Rua Lupa

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

A few years back I was at a retreat on a mountain sacred to the Anishinabe (Ojibway) called Thunder Mountain and a couple of us wanted to go see the water falls in the area. In the same area was a forestry operation harvesting the trees, so there were patches of cleared forests on our way to the falls. The person I was with had remarked on how horrible that was. I myself, had grew up harvesting trees on our property, had been in logging work parties with relatives, our town was a paper mill town, and when I went to college we had some forestry courses as part of the Wildlife Technician Program I was in. So the subject was close to home for me. The person making the comment hailed from southern Ontario, Canada, where it was mostly urban and suburban and had stated that they haven’t seen this sort of destruction before.

I almost laughed. I decided the better of it and pointed out how this was what a sustainable harvest looked like. “See the single standing trees marked in blue? Those trees are intentionally left to propagate the open areas and as habitat, and see how there are patches of intact forest within the cutting area? Those are doing the same thing but allow it to happen faster, otherwise its keeping special habitat areas intact. Its essentially mimicking a wildfire.”

The response was that there is no need for cutting these trees. I then asked if they use toilet paper, notebooks, writing/printing paper, read books/magazines, have wooden furniture, and so on. They, like most of us, did and still do. So I told them, “then you are a part of this.” It caused a bit of a shock and concern. The ride to find the falls was quite for a time after that.

This is the sort of thing I continually find when people get angry about “the destruction” they see. Sometimes its not as bad as it looks because the process is so foreign to them – they really don’t know how the things they use get made and there had been leaps and bounds in progress in sustainable resource harvesting. Other times, it really is as bad as it looks. But the truth is, you are a part of it. Wearing jewelry? Thank the people digging in mines with no safety regulations, no living wage, using child labour and are in life threatening conditions. Eating chocolate? Same thing, the difference is that it is in a cocoa plantation instead of a mine, using extremely toxic treatments. With workers having no protective gear inhaling and absorbing these toxins it is not uncommon to see workers seizing in the fields and get no compensation. Both have had kidnappings and forced labour. And the same sort of thing can be found in most things commonly used in conventional society. You buying something because it is cheaper than the competitor? Question why it is cheaper.

Many people don’t even want to know that they are connected to these atrocities – out of sight, out of mind. So its business as usual. But guess what that means? It means that it keeps happening and with increase demand comes increase in this kind of resource extraction. The only way to stop this sort of thing is to take a serious look at what you are buying and using – are you encouraging this sort of resource extraction? If you really want to know what your impacts are and how to improve them, here is an article that has the questionnaire you need. By seeing our interconnections laid out in front of us we can see how we can make it better and put public pressure on the right points to get it going in a better direction. The easiest is making fair-trade Eco-conscious decisions – by buying Halloween candy from business that uphold these practices. Unlike Nestle, Mars, Ferrero, Hershey, and Cadbury (US division). If we choose to willfully ignore our interconnections with harmful practices, we are no better than the people committing it on our behalf.

Previous Post

October 1, 2014

Wordless Wednesday: Alien Forest

Next Post

October 6, 2014 To Live Without Fear

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Crafts Creating Connections Cultural Quandaries Earth Matters Earthly Rites Ecopsychology Fur and Feather Guest Posts Look & Find Natural Reflections Nature in the News Nature-based Holidays Nearby Nature Permaculture Quiz & Questionnaire Rituals & Ceremonies Science & Spirit The Sacred in Suburbia Uncategorized Wordless Wednesday

Select a Month January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 June 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz