Hope Beneath Our Feet_ Restoring Our Place in the Natural World - Martin Keogh [13]
Wishing to sustain this situation leads me to keep sparring with the local despoilers. Unable to really stop them, I try to slow them down as they plunder Jasper National Park, my home, for money. I keep on keeping on, and perhaps you should, too. Why?
First reason: The world is worth it. Our species, remarkable and admirable in so many ways, is worth it. Mostly, though, Mother Nature is worth it. No matter how beleaguered she is, there is always beauty to be found in her. If I can help to preserve little bits of the natural world, those places will provide pleasure to anyone who goes there, including me. And as the extinction event comes on more strongly, protected areas may make all the difference to the survival of species other than our own.
Second reason: An irrational but compelling sense of duty. Thus did the firefighters rush into the flaming towers of the World Trade Center. Thus does the conservationist take on the coal companies. (I did so and lost.) Sometimes the lone good guy wins. And win or lose, good guys inevitably receive awards—sometimes posthumously—for trying.
Third reason: Liberal guilt. It’s not fair that my species is wiping out so many other species. It’s not their fault that our private party is ruining the planet. And that grieves me. I owe it to the wolverines to give them a chance at survival.
Fourth reason: Wolverines have rights. This is an argument I’m still wrestling with, but if the wolverines ever get lawyers I’d rather be on their good side.
Fifth reason: Encouraging people to protect the environment and have fewer children can’t hurt. It’s bound to be doing some good, because it’s keeping the earth a little greener. The more wildland we can keep intact—and Canada has the most in the world—the better the chance that at least a few human beings will survive the disaster ahead. Perhaps they will be within procreating distance of one another.
Sixth reason: There is always the possibility, remote but still there, that governments may come to their senses and try to turn things around. If so, they will be looking for help. Those of us who have been engaged in eco-related stuff for many years, whether as scientists or activists (or both), have acquired some expertise. We could be useful. In the meantime we can be working on the long list of things that need to be done for planned population reduction to work. These ideas are worth promoting for their own sake, anywhere and everywhere, because they will improve our lives. We can keep pointing to that list every time a politician might be looking.*
Seventh reason: Enjoyment of the game. Taking on the developers can be entertaining. I’m in Canada, where the people across the table are usually polite and do not attack you in the parking lot after the hearing. It’s fun to go picketing every now and again, to be on television, and to provide sound bites for the media. Builds poise and self-confidence. Keeps one’s protestation skills sharp. And if we don’t exercise our right to protest, we will lose it. (Of course, if we do exercise that right in substantial numbers—such that we represent a genuine threat to the established order—then we will lose it, too.)
Eighth reason: The environmental movement has brought some wonderful people through my door. Some have become my friends for life.
Ninth reason: When things get really bad, we eco-buddies can help each other. All those survivalist types squirreling away canned food and guns in their basements are just going to wind up shooting each other. During the worst of times—I’m reminded again of conditions during the great European wars—the key to staying alive has been to surround oneself with trusted family