Organic and synthetic in beautiful harmony

Satin Bower Bird: http://petcaregt.com/blog/bowerbirds.html

Following from Steve's post and my own on Germaine Greer's little book On Rage in which she describes past and ongoing destruction of the Australian environment by the White man,  I would like to add that I believe we have much to learn from Indigenous cultures, particularly in relation to how we might respect the environment. Steve  mentioned, at the end of his post the Norwegian philosopher Arne Naess. 

Naess coined the term 'Deep Ecology' in 1972 to express the ideas that nature has intrinsic value, namely, value apart from its usefulness to human beings, and that all life forms should be allowed to flourish and fulfill their evolutionary destinies.The term has since come to signify both its advocates’ deeply felt spiritual connections to the earth’s living systems and ethical obligations to protect them, as well as the global environmental movement that bears its name. (from Bron Taylor, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh and Michael Zimmerman, Tulane University essay). It should be noted with respect that Naess's Deep Ecology was highly influenced by Silent Spring a book written in 1962 by Rachel Carson.

The Australian Greens recognize that Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander Peoples have strong cultural and spiritual connections with the land and have for thousands of years cared for and protected  it. We would do well to listen to the wisdom of their elders in order to protect Australia, and stop the extinction of our flora and fauna, which is disappearing with unprecedented speed.  But having said that, no amount of negotiating and listening will remove our impact on the land for the past 200 years. I think that renewable energies, such as those garnered from wind, sunlight, rain and waves are only one aspect in the mix to reduce our energy emissions; but it will take more than that to 'save' our environment.

Ultimately, it must be a personal decision - use less, recycle and honor the people and environment around you, difficult I suppose in a society, which tends towards opulence, mass consumption and discarding the old in favor of the new! I liken humans  in a consumer society to the Bower bird who recycles things thrown away, whilst simultaneously being attracted by shiny things and other objects (bright colored pegs will do) to decorate its nest. The Bower bird shows us that the organic and synthetic can co-exist in beautiful harmony. If only we could achieve that.