Friday. November 9. 1990 ~ North Shore News - 24 Nothing’s impossib e Everyone can learn to co-exist with nature THERE ARE two ways we can approach the cn- vironmental crisis. We can acknowledge that our industrialized, consumer societies have for the last few hundred years been leading us to the edge of destruction, and work to find another way of revisioning our fives, a way in which we learn to co-exist with our natural world in an environment of mutual respect. Or, we can cling to our current cultural paradigm, insist that it is ‘sight,’ and allow for the inclu- sion of environment-friendly ini- tiatives if, and only if, they can be tailored to fit in with our estab- lished world view. Adherents to the latter attitude are the people who tend 10 throw roadblocks up in the paths of people of the former viewpoint who are trying to effect. some changes, They are those who say ‘‘it can’t be done’’ because a) it’s not economically feasible b) we'll lose jobs or c) people aren’t willing to give up their car, reduce con- sumption, recycle, etc. They're wrong. It can be done. But it will only be done when we as a society are willing to see that our so-called cultural philosophies and institutions are not inviolable, to admit that we as a group over the past centuries have made our choices and estab- lished our priorities, and that we have the power to change them. Sure, it’s vital that we incur- Porate economics into any study of environmental initiatives. But it is short-sighted to ~*thumbs- down"? any ecological proposal solely on the basis that jobs will be lost. Or that recycled paper might cost a dollar more. The current-day ramifications of any decisions we make, positive or negative, are absolutely nothing compared with the effect they will have 25 years from now. When we have the ability. not to mention the responsibility, of making changes that could mean the life or death of the planet, ‘*it can't be done”’ attitudes should be tossed about lightly. When we hear ourselves, or others, saying that something’s impossible — whether it be taking the bus to work or revamping the Peggy Trendell-Whittaker ECOINFO entire B.C. economy — it’s im- portant that we re-examine our belief. Is it really impossible? We've proved ourselves wrong before. People sometimes insist that humankind is by nature ag- gressive, but the peace-loving. highly-advanced culture of Crete that’ existed harmoniously for 5,000 years puts paid to that idea. Nor is it necessarily ‘‘natural”’ for family tees to be traced through the male line, women to take their husband’s name or God to be represented as a male. Please. If you catch yourself scoffing at the latest environmen- tal proposal, stop a moment. Try looking at the idea through spec- tacles that haven’: been tinted by Western cultural norms that have been blindly accepted and_ inter- nalized for too long. Challenge your assumptions. Stretch your limits. See what happens. Lg MELISSA HOWARD, Devon Wilson, Ryan Shepherd, Rachel Hawkins, Laureen Dempsey and Michelle Price (counter- clockwise from left), ati of Lynn Valiey Elementary School, wiil take these coni- ferous seedlings to plant in their home gardens. All 230 Students at the school will receive seedlings and be en- couraged to take a part in helping conserve the environ- ment. This week, Ecoinfo discusses a new book that helps individuals, schools and other organizations plan effec- tive tree-planting projects. eee True adherents to the ‘‘we can do it’ school of thought are Andy See Tree planting page 23 IF YOU'RE AT SEA ... 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