The semester is done. I can't believe I am saying that already. It seems like I just got back to BC a couple weeks ago, but I've been back here longer than I was actually around Linden this summer. Crazy. Anyway, like I said, I'm finished my semester—exams and all. I must say, I don't get really stressed for finals. I look at all my friends back home and here and they're all stressed out about writing a test or paper or what have you, and I have never really been able to figure out why. Getting yourself all worked up isn't going to boost your performance; at best you'll have lapse in information recall. The way I figure, if made it to the end of the course you are equipped with everything you need to pass a test… you just need to muster the ability to reiterate it. But then again, I love school and am a very avid learner. I kind of have this desire to know everything.
That said, I can proudly say that I am sitting at a fantastic GPA and am the recipient of many A's this semester. I'm thrilled about my success not because I think good marks can be used to give me merit directly, but rather because I am taking course which I am passionate about—all somehow contribute to my goals of my future profession and self—and the fact that I am succeeding in them feels like a divine way of telling me that I am in the right place, doing the things I should be doing right now. I should also add that this semester was the hardest so far, and my efforts to excel at my classes came from deep within; my daily conscious thought revolved around what I had learned and ways I could apply it, constantly analyzing and thinking critically, and trying to find relationships in events. More than any time in my life thus far, I can knowingly contest that these past three and a half months have molded me, and remolded me, and shaped me into a more confident, peaceful, and aware individual.
Actually, something has been on my mind a lot these days and I ask that you, perhaps, bear with me as I try to put it clearly into words. I love this world. I think that it is such a gift, and I feel as though we are wasting it. I believe that we are killing the environment which we need to sustain ourselves and that something needs to be changed here rather quickly. Now, please don't take this to mean that I have bought into the Green parade and completely into climate change: Al Gore and David Suzuki and their army still annoy me and seem a touch contradictory as well. But the thing is, we are destroying our environments—the very same we are trying to live off of. In doing so, and this is where I become seriously irked, we are violating endless basic human rights! Environmentalists preach, above all, that we need to stop killing the environment...go green…so that there is something left for our future generations (ironically it is the American authors and figureheads who have spearheaded this Green Revolution), but what about the people we're killing now? I recently watched a movie and it revolutionized my life. It is called "The Refugees of the Blue Planet."
Did you know there are almost as many environmental refugees in the world today as there are political, religious, and ethnic refugees? Do you understand the scope of that statement? That statement means that there are more people displaced because of environmental issues than all of those refugees who have fled war torn nations throughout Africa, the Middle East, Europe, Latin America and Asia. The numbers are in the tens of millions! This was something I'd never really come to terms with or realized until this past semester. Even in my home province of Alberta, there are hundreds of environmental refugees simply in regards to the oil and sour-gas industry! All I can think about in regards to that is, "Boy, the government never brought that to my attention," and that just irks me because it just reinforces this stereotype that governments are in it for the money and could care less about social well being. But then again, our current government can't even handle a properly function democracy.
In Brazil, more that 100 villages were expropriated (bought out by a multinational country and then privatized) simply for the harvesting of eucalyptus trees. The company cleared the land of structures and living beings (except those used for laborers) to plant this foreign tree in a monoculture-type situation and you know what they harvest the majority of the trees for? Guess. Seriously, I dare you. Bet you didn't think toilet paper, but that is in fact what the majority of the trees are harvested for: the production of toilet paper for North America and Europe. Think about that next time you take a square! That square may have taken someone's LIFE away from them. They lost their homes, businesses, jobs…displaced against their will so that I can have the opportunity to flush something away after one brief use. If that doesn't strike you hard enough, think of this:
The Maldives. Now, I love maps. I love mapping things, studying maps, geography, cultures, languages—like I said I am in love with the world. There is not one place on this planet which is not beautiful in some way or another and the Maldives are no exception. Their white sandy beaches and crystal clear waters are popular vacation spots among our elite, and are idealized just as other places like Bora Bora and Tahiti. As series of coral atolls, the Maldives are at risk of disappearing. In fact, I believe that the highest point in the nation is not much more than a couple of meters above sea level. Most houses are suspended on stilts, and those which aren't are clustered together on the rare bit of land. As the ocean levels swell because of the melting ice caps, this whole country is about to go the way of Atlantis! The new President recently made an announcement that he will be saving money from the tourism industry in preparation for the need to purchase a new homeland for the 300, 000 Maldivians. We all know how the Palestinians and tribes of Africa are dealing with similar, homeland related issues.
I can't justify causing another person's suffering, nor can I feel right not being accountable for it. I hate what we have become! This is not about survival of the fittest; it's about survival of the wealthiest and in my mind that is a huge, incredible social injustice. I'm tired of being this mindless consumer, wasting the blessing of being born into a wealthy society and a gift for learning. My disposition for learning is a divine gift and ultimately not mine—what good is something if it isn't shared? I'm tired of supporting tourism and religious-contingent aid. For Pete's sake, if someone is hurting, help them by loving them, not shoving the Bible down their throats. And don't go into the world thinking that everyone one needs help because they aren't like us. WE are the problem! We could learn so much from the indigenous peoples of this world. I believe that the environment and mankind are intrinsically linked, and we need to start realizing the weight of our actions, or rather our inactions.
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