AFON
Bring It All Back to You (Don’t Stop, Never Give Up) – By Rebecca Broad
Welcome to our series of blog posts in the run up to the general election (7th May 2015). Over this month AFON members will share their own Visions for Nature: what they want the natural world to look like by 2050 and how they want to get there. We have created a hashtag on Twitter so why not join the conversation? What’s your #VisionforNature?
Firstly, life points if you recognised the S Club 7-inspired title. For all you pop group haterz, stay with me. These are lyrics ALL conservationists can take to heart – and here’s why:
The issues humans are causing the earth come right back down to our characteristics.(S Club 7 know that “things happen for a reeeaason…”) Habitat loss? We need places to live, crops to eat. Global warming? Our insatiable need for energy, travel, development. Wildlife persecution? Everyone has hobbies.
These aren’t necessarily avoidable qualities. All organisms need sources of energy, and all organisms produce waste. (The difference being that no other species does either in such huge, unsustainable quantities as humans.) Neither are they inherently bad characteristics – it makes us happy to have nice places to live, to be financially stable, and to do things we find enjoyable. So. What to do?
The way I see it, the human race must go back to the root cause – a phrase other Vision for Nature blogs have used. Alter the way we act on our desires, but not change the satisfaction reaching at the endpoint. Everything comes back down to us – to you.
We already have sustainable methods of attaining those humans needs – renewable energies, biofuels, agricultural advances, replacement sports. And everyone knows that they’re the right choice when compared to traditional methods. (Well, everyone apart from UKIP, who want to repeal the Climate Change Act, abolish the Department of Energy and Climate Change and whose energy spokesman stated that the relationship between global temperature and atmospheric CO2 levels is hugely open to question.)
However, it’s the decision making that’s the hard part.It’s like, yeh, I know I should have a side salad instead of chips. But unless I understand what lettuce is, and know that I like it, I won’t choose salad. In other words, we somehow have to give everyone knowledge and appreciation for lettuce/eco-friendly stuff. Because then they can happily commit to things that are good for the planet, and good for them.
So my Vision for Nature is a world that humans value, and are willing to make the best choices for. Politicians know nature is a priority, because their people told them so. It is infused into curriculums, healthcare systems and company policies. Global warming is stabilising, our energy demands are being met by sustainable methods, and wildlife persecution is at a minimum. Children and adults alike are curious for nature, and this leads to them loving and protecting it.
So that’s the Vision. How to get there? Gonna bring it all back to you, of course! Reading this, you probably already understand and like nature. (You appreciate lettuce.) It’s up to us who already value the environment to show others its delights and importance, so they too can start choosing lettuce.(And we won’t stop, we’ll never give up..)
Perhaps that’s not so much a Vision for Nature as a far-fetched daydream involving an overused salad metaphor. It’s certainly a lot of change to ask for in 35 years. But humans are incredible. We move fast. 35 years ago mobile phones were a rarity; now, over half the planet’s population owns one. And I think some of those changes are particularly possible when the advantages are so prominent. Pretty much everything natures provides us with has a benefit – simply being in green spaces improves our mental health, for example.
So my Vision for Nature is also an Idea for Society, a Hope for all Humans – whatever you want to call it. A Vision for Everything.
Now those were some profound thoughts. All brought about by S Club 7. You’re welcome.