eco-religion

rules

struggle

us/them

good/evil

promises of salvation (from apocalyptic climate change)

blissful eternity (sustainability of the natural environment)

spiritualism

damnation

commune

suffering

prophets

nature

rules

The UK judiciary agrees:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/nov/03/tim-nicholson-climate-change-belief

 

eco-guilt

I am not a
veggie eating, bike riding, homespun wearing, social activist.

The guilt I feel is awfully similar to the accusations often levelled at Christianity: Christians invent rules, invent guilt to keep the flock in check by keeping the power of "forgiveness" in the authority of the Church.

I don't
follow a 100 mile diet, have a veggie garden, compost, or buy organic.

Where do I go for forgiveness?

ticks from space

a long time ago an alien species crafted a interstellar space cannon that could fire projectiles containing entire communities of it's people across the galaxy in hopes of finding place where they could settle and thrive.

one of those projectiles would arrive on earth and after the impact a vast community of the alien species would set out in search of food and a good environment within which they could survive.

those species are now commonly known as ticks and as they have discovered that we are at war with them they are using biological warfare themselves to keep us within our cities and away from them and the hosts that they live off of in the wild. they have a happy existence feeding off the blood of animals and they will not tolerate our chemicals and concrete.

it is an ugly war, we cannot intercept their strategic plans or use our spy technologies to track them. we cannot use economic power to turn their own species against themselves or easily manipulate their supply chain without hurting ourselves more. what is more, their attacks on us are done with ghost like stealth with a time delay that leaves us guessing at where the attack occurred. we are left wondering if they have leadership or is every last one of them a trained attack weapon with the knowledge to survive alone or in community with little more than a blade of grass until their next unsuspecting supply of goods comes by.

So, what do we do?

do you have a destiny?

is there a hidden agenda embedded in your DNA?

is there meaning in your actions without you knowing it?

are seemingly routine events in your life that seem boring actually making micro-payments into a greater good?

are some people craving anarchy because they think that they are independent or because they feel hopeless?

do you think that "the system" limits your success or reinforces it?

if we found out that we were not alone in the universe, what would that change?

if we stopped using force to influence and dominate the capitalist system what would change?

if McDonalds had never existed would the world be any different?

do you like to do the things that you do or do you do them out of routine and fear?

what would you say differently if you had a billion dollars?

if you could finance a self sufficient energy system and pay it off in your life time would you buy it?

would you work from home if you could?

would you go into space if given the opportunity?

would you planet a garden if you had time?

do you like green eggs and ham?

do you have hope for future generations?

do you like your way of life?

why do you drink milk?

why do you stare at the stars?

why do you speed when you drive your car?

why do you want to stay up late?

why do you want more?

what is your favourite colour?

what is your quest?

is the glass half full?

zeal and truth

C.S. Lewis writes:
"[We always] will be exposed, in an aggravated degree, to that temptation which the Devil spares none of us at any time - the temptation of claiming our favourite opinions that kind and degree of certainty and authority which really belongs only to our Faith" (From "Meditation on the Third Commandment")

climate change and atheists

can you both believe in climate change and be an atheist?

if atheists don't believe in something they cannot see or find evidence for, then how could one believe in climate change which is based on a future state of the earth?

hope

it would be interesting to know if any other life form on our planet experiences hope.

I think we assume we are the only species so lucky but I wonder if instinct is the only driver or if there hope in the mind of the great majestic whale or in the hovering hummingbird.

hope keeps us curious, keeps us interested, driven on a pathway without knowns, alive?

I assume that every day I will get the next and hope encourages me to make the most of the time I am given. It excites me to see my kids grow, my relationships with others develop and my understand of the world stretch and expand.

I think I have come to accept that with each day I am not becoming smarter but rather my base of knowledge grows, my ability to process logic gets more experience and my emotional side gains further examples of the human experience.

I can't imagine what it would be like living in a war torn time or place, I assume I wouldn't have these same luxuries and I am so grateful for my situation.

I hope that somewhere in our future we find a way for my priviledge of knowledge, experience and human experience can be the minimum for all humans on the planet. what would it take to channel our greed to something less destructive and harmonious with all humankind?