'Mother Earth in climate crisis' say indigenous people

[Turborama]

Source: Survival International

A statement by indigenous representatives from around the world describes ‘Mother Earth (as) no longer in a period of climate change, but climate crisis.’

The statement, known as the Anchorage Declaration, was released after indigenous people from the Arctic, North America, Asia, the Pacific, Latin America, Africa, the Caribbean and Russia met in Anchorage, Alaska for the ‘Indigenous Peoples’ Global Summit on Climate Change’.

‘We are deeply alarmed by the accelerating climate devastation brought about by unsustainable development,’ the Declaration says. ‘We are experiencing profound and disproportionate adverse impacts on our cultures, human and environmental health, human rights, well-being, traditional livelihoods, food systems and food sovereignty, local infrastructure, economic viability, and our very survival as Indigenous Peoples. ‘Mother Earth is no longer in a period of climate change, but in climate crisis. We therefore insist on an immediate end to the destruction and desecration of the elements of life.’

The Declaration lists fourteen specific calls for action. These include reducing levels of global carbon emissions; indigenous participation in climate change debate; the recognition of indigenous peoples’ rights in schemes to ‘Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation’ (REDD); the abandonment of ‘false solutions’ to climate change such as nuclear energy, ‘clean coal’ and agrofuels; the recognition by governments of indigenous peoples’ rights; and the return and restoration of ‘lands, territories, waters, forests, sea ice and sacred sites’ taken from indigenous peoples by governments in the past.

Read more: http://www.survival-international.org/news/4546

[ensho]

1. believe them

nt

[SpiralHawk]

2. It's not a matter of belief.

It's a matter of fact. A matter of reality.

Despite what the overpaid, draft-dodging, pill-popping republicon propaganda media corps -- led by Limbaugh -- have to bloviate on the subject.

It's a matter of fact.

[Baby Snooks]

3. A matter of reality the Democrats are ignoring as well...

And that's also a matter of fact. I know, it takes time. We have to allow Congress and the president time to get this country back on track.

We don't have time with regard to climate change regardless of what you want to call it. And sorry but the media has been reporting the seriousness of the matter. It has been ignored by the Democrats just as it was ignored by the Republicans.

We don't respect the Earth. The Earth in turn will not respect us. And will rid itself of us in order to protect itself.

The "smog basin" of Southern California now extends into Arizona and Utah. There are very few areas in the United States that have truly "clean air" and we need to sacrifice some convenience instead of sacrificing ourselves. Profit is not all.

We have polluted the air, the land, and the water. And we continue to do so. Saying that in time we will stop. We do not have time.

[Turborama]

6. Absolutely! Here's a video that adds a great deal of weight to your statement...

I've been trying to find out when the full documentary is going to come out, but haven't been able to get much info. Hopefully it won't be too long because this needs to be seen by EVERYONE!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbOXUza9ZeE

-- --- --

From the http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x281267">original post I made in Political Videos a couple of months ago...

JMO But I strongly feel that this must be one of the most important video clips ever uploaded to YouTube.


Documentary Film

Call of Life: Facing the Mass Extinction is a documentary film that explores the mass extinction, its six main causes, the cultural myths and values that drive it, the psychology that underpins it, and the latest insights into natural systems that could help us turn back the tide. The mass extinction is the cumulative result of many causes, all of which are related to human activity. In interviews with eminent scientists and field biologists, we present the facts and evidence of the shocking decline as we consider the six primary drivers of extinction.

In interviews with leading psychologists, historians and anthropologists we examine the inextricable links between the extinction crisis and our social and economic problems, and explore the ways in which culture and psychology have conspired to determine our collective and individual response to this situation.

The film bridges disciplines to weave science, psychology, and cultural history into a clear and accessible story of our changing world. The audience is taken into the depths of the human psyche, through the toughest problems of our times and into the cutting edge of what nature has to teach us. The mass extinction is possibly the greatest threat that humanity has ever faced, and it is those of us alive today who have been given the responsibility - and great opportunity - of stopping it.

Public Relations Campaign

The feature length documentary film Call of Life will be submitted to major festivals and be made available for theatrical distribution. Comprehensive press packages, including DVD's, CD graphics and photographs, reviews, and feature story possibilities, will be distributed to national and regional newspapers, media trade periodicals, news magazines, wire services, and syndicates as well as to broadcast and online news outlets.

From: http://www.speciesalliance.org/projects.php

• If current trends continue, one half of all species of life on Earth will be extinct in 100 years.
(E.O. Wilson, The Future of Life, p. 102)

• For every person in the world to reach present U.S. levels of consumption we would need 4 more planet Earths.
(Wilson, http://www.lectures.org/wilson.html & The Future of Life p. 23)

• Humans currently consume 50% of the Earth's available freshwater, leaving what's left over for all other species.

• Humans currently consume 40% of all organic matter produced by photosynthesis on Earth, leaving what's left over for all other species.
(E.O. Wilson, The Future of Life, p. 33)

• Every species of great ape on the Earth (gorillas, orangutans, chimpanzees, and bonobos) is in imminent danger of extiction.

• On or about October 12, 1999, the world population reached six billion. It has continued to climb at an annual rate of 1.4 per cent, adding around 200,000 people each day or the equivalent of the population of a large city each week. The rate, although beginning to slow, is still basically exponential: the more people, the faster the growth. During the 20th century more people were added to the world than in all of previous history. In 1800, there had been about one billion; and in 1900, still only 1.6 billion.
(E.O. Wilson, excerpt from "The world is not enough", full article: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/the-world--is-not-enough-655035.html )

• Human population is expected to increase by at least 50% over the next 75 years.
(United Nations Population Division, http://www.enviroliteracy.org /)

From: http://www.speciesalliance.org/facts.php

[CrispyQ]

14. We are consuming our ecosystem for the profit of a few.

I watched a couple of shows on HGTV the other night. Holy shit, I can't believe how spoiled Americans have become! First time home buyers - young people - buying bigger, newer, nicer houses than what my husband & I live in, & in almost every case, the couples see the need for upgrades. Many had already completed their upgrades when the show visited them again after a few months. And it's not just the younger generation. The older folks want even more upgrades & fancier stuff. "My Big Amazing Renovation" was sickening.

David Brin, a science fiction author, wrote a book that takes place on Earth, but in the future. One of the main characters' family owned landfills & made a decent living reclaiming our trash. The character makes the observation that even though paper is biodegradable, if it's buried, not exposed to the elements, it remains remarkably intact. He had piles & piles of magazines & newspapers to read. It was a testament to the quantity of stuff we throw away. I believe in the same novel, people lived on artificially made islands. The artificial islands are already here.

Thanks for posting these links. I will check them out & the video too.

[Turborama]

16. Thanks for putting me onto David Brin

I've just been having a look at http://www.davidbrin.com/">his website and he seems like a very interesting guy. Can you remember the title of the book? Sounds like a good read...

[CrispyQ]

18. I think it was "Earth."

http://www.amazon.com/Earth-David-Brin/dp/055329024X/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1242152927&sr=1-4

I think I'll pull it out & read it again. I barely remember it, but remember it was good. Thanks for linking to his website. I didn't realize he had written non-fiction.

[Turborama]

26. Reading the reviews on Amazon, he seems similar to Philip K Dick (who I'm a great fan of)

Thanks again, I've put it on my wish list and will order it shortly...

[Delphinus]

28. I know what's going on

and that's still a hard thing to watch.

[Turborama]

32. I can totally relate

I wonder what impact the full documentary will have when it's (finally) released...

[ensho]

10. that's what I meant - believe them, they are telling the truth

nt

[GliderGuider]

4. It's time to change the dream

The Pachamama Alliance:

The Pachamama Alliance is a U.S. based not-for-profit organization that was born out of a relationship developed between a group of people from the modern world and the leaders of remote indigenous groups in the Amazon region of Ecuador. This relationship was actually initiated by the indigenous elders and shamans themselves who, out of their deep concern for the growing threat to their ancient way of life, and their recognition that the roots of this threat lay far beyond their rainforest home, actively sought the partnership of committed individuals living in the modern world.

has created the Awakening the Dreamer, Changing the Dream initiative:

The "Dream of the North," or, the Dream of the Modern World, is our culture of consumption and acquisition, where our latest purchases devastate the land and exploit the less-privileged, where our waste poisons the rivers and skies, where injustice, warfare and terror are systematized by corporations, sanctioned by our elected officials and then taken by us to be normal.

The invitation to The Pachamama Alliance from our South American allies was clear: if we really want to help them, we needed to go to work in our part of the world. But how do we change the Dream of the Modern World? How do we shift an entire worldview? Big questions for sure... It will be accomplished by committed individuals working in concert with one another, tens of millions of us, each willing to think and act in a whole new way.

The Pachamama Alliance's response to the request from the Achuar is the Awakening the Dreamer Initiative, which aims to wake people up from the destructive dream in which we are currently devouring the planet, and to inspire us then to step consciously into a new dream, the pursuit of an environmentally sustainable, spiritually fulfilling and socially just human presence on this Earth.

Get involved. Now. You mother says you have to.

[Overseas]

5. K&R !! //nt

[blueclown]

7. 'Mother Earth not in climate crisis' say idiot people

Read: conservatives and Republicons.

[Baby Snooks]

12. Apparently it's not according to Mother Oprah either...

http://blogs.wsj.com/wealth/2009/05/11/oprah-its-great-to-have-a-private-jet/

No doubt tomorrow she will issue a press release trying to describe her jet as "eco-friendly" when in fact it is not.

Oprah is one of the best examples of what's wrong with out society.

[Baby Snooks]

8. 350

http://www.350.org/

This is the "politically correct" movement. The current level is 387 yet they propose reducing it to 350. It needs to be cut in half.

But no one wants to give up their cars and their planes and their refineries which not only produce our gasoline but all the lovely things in our kitchens to make our lives prettier and all the lovely things in our bathrooms that make us prettier. Such pretty world we have.

Brazil went to biofuel. While it allowed the Amazon rainforest to be destroyed. Solving one problem while creating another.

We must stop polluting the Earth. We must stop destroying its lungs - the rainforests. We must put the Earth before ourselves finally.

[rrneck]

9. The planet is not in crisis

The people living on it are in crisis because they screwed with everything they touched. We've made a helluva mess for ourselves here. We may not get it straightened out.

[GliderGuider]

15. It's more than just the people that are in crisis

It's virtually all life on the planet, from the ocean fish, the amphibians,the birds and large mammals to the tropical rain forests and the boreal forests. That's pretty much "the planet" in my books.

Life on this planet is screaming in pain, but those faint voices can scarcely be heard over the triumphal roar of human civilization.

[rrneck]

20. We're just another species

that's grown too big for its britches. True indeed we will cause a lot extinctions with our tomfoolery, but in the end, the planet will keep going and barely notice us.

But I appreciate and applaud your feelings there.

[GliderGuider]

33. We're a paradoxical species for sure.

On one hand we are a species just like any other. Our behaviour is strongly shaped by our evolutionary history. We are subject to physical limits to our actions, from forces as diverse as thermodynamics, chemistry, gravity and the resources available to us. In this sense we have much more in common with amoebas and meerkats than most of us (especially economists) can accept.

On the other hand we are truly transcendent creatures. Our consciousness (whatever that is) has given us capabilities that far outstrip those same amoebas and meerkats. Sometimes, to some degree, we can overcome our purely instinctive behaviour and achieve true magnificence: in art, philosophy, science, in acts of breathtaking empathy and altruism.

The evolutionary psychologists are right when they say that we often use our rationality to conceal from ourselves the base instinctive nature of our actions. On the other hand they are wrong to deny the phenomenological importance of our consciousness, and the fundamental role it can play in overcoming our instinctive past.

So while we are a problematic species, we are by no means fatally flawed. We carry within ourselves both the seeds of our own destruction and the seeds of our own healing.

[Uncle Joe]

21. Yes but on the positive side, I believe some bacteria which feed on sulfur and a few microbes

around the heated ocean floor vents will make it, so we have that going for us.

[Turborama]

23. Well, there is that, at least.

Other than that, the way we're going, earth could be the next Mars.

[glitch]

24. Just another billion year reboot

Planetary Do-over. Thank God for infinity, plenty of time to get it right.

Shame about our kids and grandkids though.

[Nihil]

29. "... faint voices can scarcely be heard over the triumphal roar of human civilization"

I think that it would be fairer to say that those faint voices
can scarcely be heard over the sound of an uncontrollably obese
"civilisation" that is stealing the planet's resources, stuffing
them into its maw then indiscriminately shitting out its waste
across the globe.

"Triumphal roar" has an implication that is flattering (at best)
the true situation.

[GliderGuider]

31. I agree with your formulation as well,

although "triumphalism" has a decidedly negative connotation to me -- "Mission Accomplished" and all that...

[Frank Cannon]

27. This planet will do just fine for about another four billion years

Human beings, not so much.

[Gregorian]

11. Population must be addressed.

This is about unconsciousness and greed. People just want a child or two or three.

There must be limits. It is obvious that people are not conscious of limits, or not responsible in the face of them.

We either place a moratorium on breeding (for lack of a better term), or face extreme consequences.

I notice the Declaration doesn't address this. It must be explicit. It is an integral part of this two part equation. It's very simple. And since we cannot go back to nature now, we can only decrease our impact by increasing efficiencies (which are exponentially becoming harder to increase) and decrease our population. The later being the biggest contribution to the equation.

I haven't met more than a couple of people in my life who are willing to sacrifice on this bigger issue, in order to benefit the human race, and the planet. This doesn't bode well for humanity.

[Baby Snooks]

13. But birth control is a sin....

Just ask the pope. The Catholic Church has done more to add to the problem than anyone else. By promoting large families in Third World countries. Dooming most to live in misery their entire lives. Just because the pope says birth control is wrong. A sin.

The United States added to the problem by insisting that "abstinence only" be the preferred program for AIDS prevention in these countries. That and executing homosexuals. Women who manage not to contract AIDS will still have their lives shortened by having ten or more children. But, well, jeez, you know, what were women put on the earth for anyway?

Read your Bible said the president. Or talk to god the way he did. He should have been locked up just for claiming he talked to god and god talked to him. But the crazies loved it. After all, they talk to god and god talks to them. The crazies including the pope. Who hailed his "abstinence only" program as the only "moral" approach to AIDS.

Reality is that as the planet warms there will be dormant bacteria emerging and viruses mutating. One or two of which will most likely take care of the problem of overpopulation.

And the pope will tell everyone to have more babies afterwards. If the pope survives. If not then no doubt his successor will. But then there may not be anyone who survives.

Not sure about the 2012 prophecies. But am sure about the climate change prophecies. We are headed for self-extinction.

[cpompilo]

17. I agree. Humans have a breeding problem.

And the consequences of over population are piling up into a train wreck for humanity. I don't think the earth cares, the earth will recover once we parasites are gone or mitigate our global pollution.

[GliderGuider]

19. There are those who say, "It's not our numbers, it's our consumption"

To them I say, "Well, actually it's both". There is one aspect of ecological damage that is directly tied to our numbers: the damage caused by food production. Here's an article with some thoughts on that issue: The Ecology of Overpopulation.

[Gregorian]

22. The conclusion of your article spells out something that is on my mind.

When I posted above, I had the Bosch-Haber cycle in the back of my thoughts. We use approximately one percent of our energy on manufacturing nitrates that enable us to go above and beyond what the earth can produce, in order to sustain our food supply.

Your conclusion brings up a very important point. One that I can't stop worrying about. It is why I am concerned that people having even one child are now being irresponsible. The rate at which population declines to a sustainable size is critical right now. Especially with more carbon emissions being introduced every moment. I sometimes think about how quickly the planet would be devoid of humans if no one were to reproduce. About one century. That's a blink of an eye. But that really has little to do with your conclusion, or anything for that matter. Just a thought. But having two children keeps the population at it's present size, pretty much. Having one, even, decreases the population at a rate that I believe is not quick enough.

Sigh. We seem to be moving in the wrong direction. More wars, more cars, and almost no discussion of this highly important topic.

[dgibby]

25. Well, when Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.

I think Mama is getting ready to slap us up side the head. Personally, I think we're not going to recover from this mess we've made.

[Wednesdays]

30. K&R

:kick: