At 03:10 PM 15/03/99 -0000, Susan wrote:
>One of the results of this crowded, history-crammed environment is (I
>suspect) a very different attitude to ecological matters in the UK. The
>preservation of wilderness is just not on the agenda, although of course
>there is great emphasis on the preservation of this or that habitat; but
>there is also a lot of interest in urban environmental action--and I am not
>sure that this preoccupation is reflected in US or Canadian (or Australian
>or NZ) activism.
>
>Does this strike any chords?
Oh yes, Susan, it certainly does. Most of humanity, after all, live in
cities, and if we wish to change the environmental destruction going on all
around us, we must change the attitudes of those living in cities.
I live in Canada (Toronto), so yes, urban activisim is a part of what I do
here. Working for cheaper public transportation -- and more of it, along
with fewer highways -- bicycle lanes to encourage their use in all parts of
the city (including the downtown core), reduction of pollution levels,
encouraging use of organic pesticides/herbicides and other alternatives for
gardening -- the list goes on and on!
I suspect many of us tackle these issues all the time, but don't label them
seperately from the other acitivities we engage in (as in "this is urban,
this deals with wilderness"). Because the issues are so huge, some of may,
however, choose to concentrate on a particular aspect of the environment --
species protection, for exampe, would qualify as "wilderness" protection,
yes? Whereas what I tend to focus on are issues of pollution and health,
which involves both "wild" and urban environments.
So many of us tend to think of the environment as something "out there" --
where we go on holiday, not something we live with everyday. Cities have
environments as well -- we just need to become more aware, or perhaps aware
in a different way.
To this end, I am finding bioregionalism to be very helpful in connecting
city dwellers with the land they live on and from.
Long ramble . . . thanks for bringing this up.
Maureen
