Mkaram Hinawi - Ecological Footprint

           Ecological footprint computes the resources that the population consumes from the earth, and the way they dispose their waste (Globe). Can the earth really sustain amount of garbage that is being faultily stored? People must start asking themselves such questions in order to be aware of the problem they are involved in.

           Wendell Berry, one of the most popular writers, poets, and novelists in America, discusses the issue of the Mankind Ecological Footprint. He suggests an adaptation that must be taken by every individual citizen in order to provide a better environment for the whole universe.

           Berry’s adaptation has seven steps. First, “we must not think or work in a heroic scale. In the age of global industrialism, heroes risk the lives of the people, places and things. We must work on a proper scale to our limited abilities, and must not break things we cannot fix”. Second, “we must abandon the empathetic delusion that the damages done by industrialization can be corrected by more industrialization”. Here, Berry strikes a chord on a very prevalent mistake done by the mankind, which is that people tend to fix their mistakes by getting involved in bigger ones. For instance, the wastes that are collected from all types of chemical subjects are being dissolves by using the burning-machine, which creates more damages for the earth by harming the ozone atmosphere. Third, "we must quit solving our problems by moving on, and try to stay to learn where we are geographically, historically and ecological”. We should have some figures on the amount of the damages that we as humans have brought to the planet. This would be our first step into making a huge difference. Fourth, “we must learn the sources and costs of our economic lives”. Fifth, we must stop thinking that we are too good to do our own work and clean up our own messes, and it is unacceptable for this work to be done by the wage slavery or by enslaving nature. Though the epoch of slavery has vanished, some people still control some people’s lives in one way or another. For example, a manager can force his or her employee to do his own work, and obviously the employee cannot refuse in order to keep his position. Sixth, “we must make locally adapted economy based on local nature, intelligence and work. Seventh, “we must understand that all these steps are radical, and they must be performed by every citizen”.

            Each city can be measured to its ecological footprint through its citizens’ behavior towards the environment. Therefore, each individual should be responsible to the amount of stuff he or she consumes that can lead to a massive un-recyclable waste; hence, it leads to a pollution that harms the planet. In order to keep the earth safe, people must follow a specific patterns of life that Berry has discussed in some of its stages.
　
           I have gained a tremendous information to my knowledge from this search, and I am looking forward not only to post it like any blog, but I will do my best to keep posting my newts updates that I will do towards our planet. My start will be humbled, because I do not want say something and not do it. So, first I will start using cotton bags or paper bags than plastic bags. Second, I will grow a little planet in my room. Third, instead of start using rechargeable batteries. After all, I hope these steps can be really affective and make a change.
　

　

Work Cited

Globe. Mail. " Overactive appetites leading us on path to chaos." Toronto, Canada, 2009.Custom Newspapres.Web.21, May 2011
Poet Wendell Berry on Mankind’s Ecological Imprint. By Wendell Berry. The Washington post. 5, May 2011.Web.11, May 2011