Not An Environmentalist
I spent most of the holiday weekend on the road, quite literally. I drove about 1300 miles alone on the long lonely rural highways of Nevada, not seeing another vehicle or human presence for hours at a time. The intense chill made for crisp clean air, and I had to stop every so often just to soak in the peaceful silence and to observe the desert up close. This was a time to think, to cleanse the mind, to focus on exploring the most complex of concepts, unencumbered by the white noise and attention-deficit-inducing buzz of daily life.
I stopped somewhere along Route 375. I felt compelled to walk to an area of jagged rocks some 1/4 mile from the road, just to touch them. I needed to fully appreciate their sharp edges and smooth faces with more senses than just vision. I also wanted to feel the cold air on my face, to breathe in the faint perfume of desert brush, and to listen to the silent stillness. I wanted to complete the experience. I always find it so much more satisfying and “real” when fully immersed in the scene – an array of sensations I always wished I could better convey in a photograph.
I remembered reading that the mountain ranges around me were formed about 10 million years ago. This road can’t have been here more than a few decades. Humans didn’t inhabit this land until 10,000 years ago or so. Our own species hadn’t even been in existence for more than 200,000 years, and yet – here’s a view 10 million years old, still as vast and quiet as it had been for all that time. And who knows how many like it are out there, on this planet and others.
If you compressed the (presumed) time line of the known universe into a full-length movie, there’s a very good chance that humanity won’t even show up; our existence so brief it may well fall into a gap between consecutive frames. All our cultural heritage, all our arts, our religions, our creations, our wars, our epic stories, our cities, and our sciences, all occupying an almost infinitesimally insignificant amount of time and space in the grand scheme.
And yet, this microscopic blip on the universal clock is everything to each of us; our entire life, our chance to get a tiny taste of existence, and the most significant gift any of us will ever be granted. Each and every one of us is allowed a glimpse into a place of incomparable beauty, a celestial body of unique circumstances, grandeur, and complexity so much greater than anything we can hope to fully understand. For our short journey, we were each given the most advanced vehicle to ever exist in this unique place to roam around and explore with. How can one not feel profound gratitude in the face of such incredible realizations?
It saddens me sometime to think of the meaningless and unfulfilling ways so many choose, or are forced to, spend their individual blink of an existence, detached from the greater context of being, never fully grasping the possibilities, the incredible knowledge, and the powerful experiences to be had. Albert Camus summed it well when he said: “if there is a sin against life, it consists perhaps not so much in despairing of life as in hoping for another life and in eluding the implacable grandeur of this life”.
In the past, I tried to make the case for sustaining these ancient places in their wild state so that others like me may be similarly inspired by them. In expressing these thoughts I was often categorized as an environmentalist, or a conservationist. I am neither.
The original sin of the environmental movement is the very concept of The Environment: an amorphous entity that is separate from humanity. The word Nature is similarly implicated. These fictional entities persist in the minds of many as something outside of ourselves, something we are free to choose whether to protect, preserve, use, alter, or destroy at our whim and without consequence. The reality is there is only one existence and it encompasses humans to the same extent as it encompasses all other life and matter, knowledge and spirit.
The “environment” in the larger sense is not in danger. Human habitat is. We are so minute in the grand theme of things that if we were to disappear right now our very existence may never be known by another form of intelligence for the rest of time. Neither should we be concerned about saving the planet. As if we could! In about 900 million years (give or take) the Earth’s atmosphere will no longer be able to sustain plant life, followed by a depletion of oxygen and the end of most life as we know it. As the sun continues to expand, not even the most resilient will survive. This will happen with or without us and in all likelihood humans will be long extinct and our impact long erased by then.
What we should do is our best to sustain and protect the system we are part of: the biological processes that support our physiology, and the wildness that feeds our spirit; not because it’s a nice or altruistic thing to do but because – whether we like it or not – we are not bystanders and our very existence is tied to them. There is no “us” vs. “nature” or “the environment.” We are all the same stuff and should do the right thing by ourselves. The “environment” could not care one way or the other if we survive or that we ever even existed.
Category: Journal
Beautiful and eloquent post, Guy. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; I enjoy your writing as much as your photography. You’re gifted, my friend. Thanks for reminding us all of the delicate nature of our relationship with the environment.
I can’t think of a single thing I could say to add to that. Point, Set, Match.
In a sense we can think of ourselves as weeds. We can thrive in about any environment we are put in, adapt to different enviros and ultimately change the environment to our requirements. Much of our world wasn’t meant for us in our primative state. So our footprint in the overall enviro can be significant to diversity especially as we adapt into the reaches. Such is change. Respect is good. Abuse is not. Extremes either way is not respectful nor intellegent. Capturing images helps us remember and honor the past and helps us know where we are, or will be going.
I’ve been saying the same thing for years, just not nearly as eloquent. Perfectly stated. Thanks.
If you haven’t read Ishmael by Daniel Quinn, you would be likely to find it very interesting.
Going to agree with Bret, Lloyd, Joe & Richard. Very eloquently written, and so true. Thanks for sharing this with us.
The vening Dunes Photograph is briliant
Beautifully written article. I am reminded of the biblical prophet who wrote, “What is man, that Thou art mindful of him?” To many of us, a deep appreciation of nature translates into a profound belief in the existence of God.
Eloquently argued, beautifully written, and… and I think I disagree.
Sure, even if we wiped out 90 percent of multicellular species on the planet, a couple dozen million years later there’d be diversity reborn. But I have some problems with advocating environmental protection based solely on our reliance on ecosystem services. I work these days to educate people about the ecosystems within the Mojave Desert, which are threatened with extermination before we even know what’s there. People are advancing enviro-flavored, ecosystem services oriented arguments for paving the Mojave with mirrors, and a couple dozen species poise on the brink.
There is no nature “out there,” to be sure, but there are millions of species in the world of which we are but one. The Joshua trees and bighorn sheep have an intrinsic right to exist, as much as we do. We have the perfect right as a species to drive ourselves to extinction. We don’t have the right to take anyone else with us. I know in saying that, I’m preaching to the choir. But there are things out there that are endangered that are not human habitat, that are in fact emphatically NOT comfortable habitat for humans, and the perspective of eons is cold comfort for seeing species in those places dwindle as a result of our hubris.
Absolutely beautiful writing, Guy! You put my feelings on the subject into words much better than I can ever hope to do myself! Thanks for sharing.
Food for thought! I too second Bret. Such deep thoughts and so beautiful translations of emotions to pixels is only possible by you. I admire your thoughts and words a lot.
I have to agree with Chris on this one.
I guess my opinion at this particular time is that earth has a virus, it’s “us”
IMHO nature and human are two discrete and separate entities, we’re the invasive, destructive, and short sighted ant colony (sorry ants)
I feel an obligation to create and spread positive change, but my USA lifestyle, consumption, and poor choices do much more harm than any vocal or other communication with noble intentions could offset
… back to wallowing in my 9-5 (6-4 actually) creating lust and greed with people and products all with the stroke of my digital air brush pen and camera. Working too much so I can consume and travel more and dream of working less and experiencing more nature. Then, in a blink, it’s gone…
What a gifted writer you are, being able to describe how brief our existence will be.
I have to disagree with what Matt said. Man is not a virus; he is a part of nature, as Guy states. It’s our values and practices that have caused problems; aboriginal inhabitants have lived well in their areas of nature for millennia.
There is nothing I could say in my clumsy way that could add anything to what you’ve so beautifully described.
>>The reality is there is only one existence and it encompasses humans to the same extent as it encompasses all other life and matter and even knowledge and spirit.
<>We are all the same stuff and should do the right thing by ourselves.
<<
Quite often when we are looking to inspirational words to relate our own existence and experience we go to the words of Muir, Thoreau, etc. It is nice to have someone of our own time and generation that can express such thoughts as eloquently.
Using labels that place us into categories in a system that really involves everything around us is perhaps just one conduit of our exploration in finding those connections that eliminate us as bystanders. I think it is quite easy to loose that sense of connection in a concrete jungle.
Thank you for your eloquence.
Nicely said up to a point, but environmentalists are people who are out there every day doing the hard work of trying to conserve biological diversity, preserve landscapes, and fight for clean air and water.
Guy, thank you for writing this. Your viewpoint strikes a resonant chord with my own thoughts on man’s relationship to the earth. Wandering alone and quietly in God’s precious creation and reflecting, as you have done here, has provided a gift for us all.
Guy, it’s very much how I feel and experience the world and our human “current affairs”. I was in fact expressing the very same views to someone a couple days ago, so I found some solace in your well-articulated post.
Beautifully written! Your words speak from your heart and touch others.
Guy
You have so eloquently communicated your deep thought and understanding of our significance and relationship to our environment in the time of the “moment” as compared to the much more significant long geologic time of earths existence. Time may tell how significant we really are/were.
I believe this is the most heartfelt post you’ve written yet. You said it well! It’s not nature or us against each other. Nature was here before us and it doesn’t care less if we don’t exist in the future.
Great post!!
Great post, Guy.
I found this posted on facebook by the Prana team.
“We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.” – Aldo Leopold, from A Sand County Almanac, 1949
I am reminded of hardships humans have went through in our brief existence as if they matter. Only hardships, for our only triumph is procreation of our specie and that is now possibly one of our greatest liabilities when compared to the “existence” of life.
The best we can hope is to serve and keep that that we hold dear and sustains our life. Plant and animal. We move towards an existence of need, humans have grown to believe they “need” monetary, artificial stimuli in order to have happiness while growing further from true existence of life. Of the 6 plus billion humans on planet earth how many regularly watch the sunrise or sunset for no other reason than inspiration. I dare think a small percentage. Not environmentalist or conservationist.
Very eloquent and I agree with much of it, but the whole thing left me feeling very uncomfortable. Eventually I realised it is YOUR definition of the environmental movement.
I couldn’t drop it until I found my problem…
“The original sin of the environmental movement is the very concept of the environment – an entity that is separate from humanity.”
NO!!!
Even a populist definition, like one from wikipedia defines the “environmental movement” with “In its recognition of humanity as a participant in (not enemy of) ecosystems, the movement is centered on ecology, health, and human rights.”
I think you’ll find that they need to be explicit about ‘environment’ because the majority of humanity is too self absorbed to care. With TV shows like “Man v. Wild” the attitude is pretty clear.
It sounds to me like most people here are in fact environmentalsts, depending on their own definitions of course.
Guy,
I think you struck a chord with many of us and voiced something that we most definitely. I have been saying and wrting the same sentiment for years, and I think what pains me most is that these words fall on deaf ears. It is not about “nature” as much as it is the relationship we have with it and the realization that WE and not nature are the ultimate losers if we don’t care for it and protect it. Thanks.
Oh, wow… this is such a good read. Guy, this is one of your best.
As much as I dislike labels for the stereoptypes they embody, I’ve been proud to call myself an environmentalist for all of my adult life. Maybe that’s because I came of age in a time when to care about the world in which we live stemmed from being a part of nature, not apart from it.
The notion that environmentalism means putting “nature” or “the environment” apart from or before “us” simply wasn’t part of the debate, because it wasn’t what the movement was about. Instead it was about dousing the flames on burning rivers, closing the ozone hole, preventing human disasters like Bhopal and Chernobyl, recognizing that other species have as much right to be here as we do, and all manner of inter-related issues. It wasn’t about setting ourselves apart from nature, it was about doing the right thing by ourselves and by the system we are part of (though I’ll be the first to admit original efforts were piece-meal at best and are still lacking when it comes to understanding the complexities and inter-relationships of the entire system). I don’t think that’s changed, but the assertion it has (or, as you say, was the original sin) seems to be a recurring theme on photographer’s fora and probably other fora I don’t visit. Can you point me to documentation of this original sin or philosophical change?
I love your writing Guy, and often agree with your philosophy, but in this case your eloquence only leaves me confused. Maybe that’s because by my definition you’re an environmentalist, too. But who likes labels?
Lori
Eloquently written, but I’m not completely on board with your take on this Guy.
There are two assumptions being made that I think are faulty.
1. “Existence” is philosophically different to different people. The notion that heaven awaits people reinforces the detachment of responsibility that people have to live responsibly versus my non-spiritual believe that heaven is here on earth. Of course I’m not even diving into the believe by people that our planet is only 6000 years old and was made in 6 days.
2. As has been noted humanity is seemingly unique in that we can perceive ourselves separate from nature, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have the means or responsibility to limit our impact to other living creatures on this planet regardless of our place in geologic time. Having talked to you about this tangentially in our last meeting I know you see this the same way if not partially.
Yes from a Nihilism perspective we are but a speck of dust with little to no meaning in the big picture, but it would be counter productive to think that because of this there is no merit to making our world a better place. Environmentalism provides us that opportunity no matter what the 10 million year view might be. Environmentalism is the reminder to everyone that we are indeed part of nature and our place in it is beyond just existence, even if for a blip in geologic time. While I can respect your viewpoint and have shared in similar moments of bliss extracted from the noise of civilization I am an environmentalist, but beyond that I am an environmentalist that embraces personal responsibility to ensure what time we have on this rock is as good to us as it is to other living creatures and our land.