From the Editor:
There isn’t much on the television these days that can make me feel awed, and put the light of hope on within me… but last night I saw a show that did just that…
The show was the Nature of Things with David Suzuki…
The show highlighted the two small nations of Ecuador and Bolivia… both of which have decided to take matters in their hands, Ecuador regarding the environment and Bolivia regarding taking charge of her future for the benefit of the people and not for the benefit of big companies… :)
Ecuador, has an amazing supply of that liquid gold we call oil, but a huge amount of it is buried underneath the fantastic rain forest within the nation… The rain forests around the world, as many of us now know are a big supplier of the earth’s oxygen and I would suspect also an effective cleaner of toxins within our air…The whole world’s air…. It’s hard to believe that something so far away from where we may live has such an affect upon our environment and consequently upon our health but it’s true..
The people of Ecuador have had a unique understanding and connection to Mother Nature for a long, long time… and it is this understanding and connection that has prompted them to protect their forest not exploit it… For now they are holding the big oil companies at bay and refusing then entrance… In fact the people are so passionate about Mother Nature that they have written her into their constitution . Yep that’s right… Mother Nature has rights… all that lives, is afforded the same right.. the right to live, produce and work within the cycle of life… :)
This is amazing, incredible, almost alien to a world that has been hell bent on growth and expansion, the economy has had centre stage and I never thought it would be otherwise, until now… The People of Ecuador have given me hope, and I pray that this concept will spread around the world like a plague… :) As those in Ecuador say… It is time to focus on happiness, real, true happiness, not growth… :) YIPPEE!!!
Bolivia is “fighting” back, her people are taking control of her resources and putting them to good use, they are working towards a better future for the general population, not just for the fortunate few… Many working class folks have it rough, they work long and hard for little reward… In the past Bolivia’s natural resources have been exploited by those who have a selfish agenda, leaving her barren and bare… Thank heavens this has changed…
Bolivia is home to the biggest salt flats in the world… (I think that’s what the show said) ;) and the salt has been a means of income for many years.. it’s hard work in gruelling temperatures, but it’s been a life line for many…
Underneath the salt flats is something even more valuable in our hi tech world… Lithium.. the stuff batteries are made out of… the stuff that power’s our cell phones and computers and numerous other electronic devices we have become addicted to… and this time around the people of Bolivia aren’t allowing “outsiders” to come along and take it.
The people aren’t even going to have outsiders in to build what’s needed to obtain and purify the Lithium for use the people of Bolivia are attempting to do it all themselves, they want to learn how to do it so they can be as independent as possible… It is likely they will need help from outside sources for some things, after all the country isn’t as hi tech as the rest of the world, and it may also be likely that they will have to “pay back” some of the assistance received over the years from countries such as China… but my hat goes off to the people of Bolivia for believing they can make changes and for taking responsibility for themselves… and by keeping control of the salt flats they have a much better chance of obtaining the resources they need in a more eco-friendly manner and hopefully the extraction of the Lithium will be done in such a manner and at such a pace that it won’t leave a huge whole in the eco system..
Happy New Year… And Bottoms Up to one that changes the way we think and view Mother Nature for the better… :)
Please Click the following link to go to “The Nature of things” website and the episode which aired last night.. (January 10 2013)
http://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/episode/david-suzukis-andean-adventure.html
01/11/2013: Greta McKenzie: SGC Admin
Serenity's Gift Cove (sgc) 