12 bar rise 30.37 0mph NNE windchill 12
New Moon (of Winds)
When I was young, I visited my mother’s parents in Morristown, Indiana. My grandpa Charlie Keaton was a character and grandma, his wife Mabel, was a bit loony. She had some very cool children’s books though and one, the title I can’t recall, involved a Weatherman who somehow let loose all the winds at the same time. The book had pictures of him flying the skies trying to rebag the winds. The bags had colorful ribbons and he was an old, gnarled white-bearded man. March always reminds me of the Weatherman. And Mabel.
Watched an hour’s worth of “Aftermath: zero population” on Nat Geo. Kate has the book The World Without Us which has the same premise. Both imagine the world if humans just vanished, what would happen. Toxic chemicals would release, zoo animals and pets would escape or die, nuclear reactors would melt down and so on.
The concept has me riveted right now, but as I watched the program I began to feel uneasy. Granted we are anthropocentric. Granted that anthropocentrism has caused a hell of lot of problems for the planet and especially other animal species we eat. Granted that we could and must find a way to flow with the movement of nature rather than push against it. Having stipulated all that I can’t help but stand up for my species. Humans are a successful animal. That may not be all we are, but it is certainly what we are.
These programs feel anti-human to me and that steps over the line. We have a responsibility to ensure our own survival just like every raccoon, cockroach and hippopotamus. With our level of consciousness and awareness of our impact on our environment we have a positive ethical responsiblity to live with rather than against the planet, yes; but, we need to eat and breed and grow, too.
The Great Work is not to eliminate humans, but to figure out a way for us to turn ourselves in alignment with Gaia rather than against her.
