COP 15 - Not for the Environment … but for Man

Environmentalism Is Actually Humanism

One of my friends, Thomas Jude Barclay Morrison, has made a very clever argument against, among other things, perpetuating "… the divide (or rather the illusion of separation) between humanity and Nature." He argues that man's creations, buildings and cities are all part of Nature. "Nobody looks at a termite mound, ant-hill or bird's nest as "unnatural" - and until we, as a species, can look on New York, Los Angeles, London, Lisbon and Delhi as a product of Nature, we have not overcome the illusion of our separation from Nature. I believe humanity to be a part of Nature, and this means that city streets, cars, aeroplanes, subways full of jostling commuters and gridlocked motorways are all part of Nature, because they were made by human hands, and human hands are part of Nature."

To be honest, until I read his note and thought about this whole divide, I used myself to make such distinction, even unconsciously, between the a state of natural beauty and another where man-made creations interfered in my eyes with such beauty. But once I thought about this whole thing, knowing that I had always thought of Man as being one with Nature, it then follows that whatever Man creates is also a product of Nature.

No Threat To Nature, Just To Ourselves

According to this logic, it can be argued that nuclear waste, pollution and economic greed for continuous growth are also a part of Nature, since it is a product of humanity. But why do I naturally dislike these things and consider them unbeautiful?

I then realized the obvious! That Man can never destroy Nature or end existence of the universe. Man can just destroy the conditions which permit Man to continue being a part of Nature. Man can destroy the manner of Nature which supports Man's existence as a species.

Everything indeed is part of Nature. Nature is the existence and manner of the universe. Man's existence is what we should really worry about now. It just so happens that the Nature of the host of our existence, Planet Earth, is such that it deteriorates, in terms of suitability to sustained existence of Man, by Man's own hand, or on the hands of super-structures, such as State, Corporate and Economy which Man created or which "naturally" evolved with Man's existence so to speak.

We talk about the environment all the time, and some ask, is the environment more important than Man? In all selfishness, I say, that when we talk of the environment, we really mean the environment which supports and sustains the continued existence of Man and Man's healthy habitat, with all the natural diversity which has so far encouraged and supported our existence.

So, we are no threat to Nature at all. We are just a threat to ourselves, or to be optimistic, we are just a threat to our children and grandchildren.

Environmentalism Is Actually Humanism.