This is the Ho Rain Forest. It's part of the largest temperate rain forest in the world, which stretches up from northern California to the southern end of Alaska. Having moved here from the East Coast, I had never seen anything so awe-inspiring like this in my life. My girlfriend and I spent some time walking around part of the Ho Rain Forest last fall and it is humbling to say the least. If any of you are ever in the NorthWest for a period of time, I highly encourage you to vist this National Park. It's worth your time and energy, now more than ever.
See, I've spent the last few weeks fighting off the feeling of desperation. There are a lot of things I see wrong with the way we live our day to day lives. The products we purchase, the food we eat, how we get ourselves from place to place, how people interact with each other, or the growing lack there of. It seems as if we're intentionally working towards our own end. I am by no means perfect, so this is not me pointing fingers without pointing one inward as well. I try to do the best with what I have and work with the tools I'm afforded. And through it all, I have always been able to cling to the hope that we can and will turn things around. Collectively we'll work towards a common good. We'll consider the impact we have on the world, the people around us, and most importantly ourselves. Then the "oil spill" happened in the Gulf of Mexico. At first I didn't pay much attention to it because things like that happen from time to time. Not that I chose to ignore it, but I wasn't in a position to do much about it and while it would have a lasting effect, overall it'd get "cleaned up" and "taken care of." So here we are, almost 2 months later and the oil is still pumping into the Gulf with little to no signs of stopping and it just continues to grow. To put it in perspective,
the spill would currently cover a large percentage of the state of Washington, the Ho Rain Forest included. How do we turn around from this? The hope that I cling to is quickly fading and I'm terrified. Will it stop? Even if they can get it to stop, what effect is this going to have on the oceans, let alone the rest of the planet? I can live as positive and least damaging a lifestyle as I want, but is it really going to matter? I know I can't change the way people live, but will others see that our never-ending demand for oil and getting what we want when we want it is part of the reason this happened? I'd be lying if I said I didn't believe this disaster is a direct result of our lifestyle. The cars we drive, this computer I'm using, the records we all know and love . . . all made with some sort of petroleum product. Could we live without all those things if we HAD to? What about the environment, can we live without that? Is the trade off worth it?
Again, I'm not trying to sit on my high horse looking down on how everyone else lives. I know I can be better, and I do legitimately try to make better choices every day. Choices that I hope will make it easier for others to live. But is it enough? I'd like to think it is, but as I said, for the last month I've had this overwhelming feeling that this is the beginning of worse things to come . . . I hope I'm wrong.
/apocalyptic live journal hippy rant.
"Live how you wish, just consider the impact."
- John
NSC
