What does one think about the future?
“Your blog is reading well. Do you see themes emerging? Are the answers to be found in grass roots movement or from the top down? Have we overstated it that humanity is at risk? How do you FEEL about your world and your future in light of what you have learned?”
The other day I received this as an email from The Canada Expedition’s founder, Dr. Ben Hoffman. These particular questions are of great importance to The Canada Expedition’s mandate, to my job as the Expedition Navigator and to Ben, personally.
They are also questions that I have stealthily avoided writing about, despite Ben’s encouragement.
For the past year and a half the issue of “sustainability” has become my main preoccupation: breakfast, lunch and dinner. And while I’ve been waiting on a break-through moment, my eco-epiphany, the journey has been rather prosaic.
There is an expectation, I feel, that comes along with the Expedition Navigator title. I was hoping to have gained some important insight at this stage, some steady and rigorous advice, at least. But everything I’ve learned about the road to sustainability is simple, and intuitive, the stuff of life.
So, Ben, to answer your first question:
Yes, I do see themes emerging, lots of them. I see the theme of corporate and industrial abuse. I see the theme of mass disillusionment and disempowerment. I see the theme of disinformation, of maintaining the status quo, of corporatocracy, greed, destruction and violence.
I also see the theme of human resilience. I see the theme of leadership and initiative, of tirelessness and bravery and insistence. I see the theme of creativity and heroism.
There is the overall theme of hopelessness too, which weighs down the hope of progress. But for every shard of hopelessness there are already a handful of citizen-led initiatives formed in positive response.
Which leads me to your next question: “Are the answers to be found in grass roots movement or from the top down?”
This is a difficult question and the answer is bound to reflect the experience of the speaker. I would suggest that it is important to engage on both levels.
However, the grassroots movement is vibrant, quick to respond and flexible in a way that politicians, bureaucrats and policy makers cannot afford to be. That is not to discredit the hard work of the good leaders we have out there, but these figures are expected to act in response to public demand and political will, which I think can be powerfully expressed and generated at the grassroots level.
There has been an unprecedented rise in the non-profit, non-governmental sector as people look to find venues other than the traditional political sphere to enact change. The momentum is great in these movements with better organization, networking and coordination than ever.
Because these movements are largely altruistic and not profit-driven, I would look to them for the answers for our future. My vote is with grassroots involvement with a mind towards politics; to use this movement, its creativity and passion, to effect real political change,
Grassroots activism is like eating your organic vegetables: just plain good for you.
To the question of humanity being at risk: Ben, I don’t think we have overstated this. There are a range of opinions on this topic, one suggesting humanity has about 100 years left before extinction (thanks Renee Gendron for that article). And while I don’t agree with this forecast specifically, I do think that we are facing an affront to some of the things we hold most dear about humanity.
The Canada Expedition chooses to view sustainability not just as an ecological movement, but as a holistic guidepost that we can understand or measure humanity’s success with. We value the aspects of our social, political and environmental existence that sustain us and some of these have come under threat.
The glaring problems associated with climate and water are two obvious examples. And certainly these issues have immediate consequences for the future of humanity. Even if we don’t heed the worst predictions regarding climate and potable water, we still can imagine the relevant impact of both issues on our global health and security. The immediacy of these issues is of special concern to the global south and developing nations.
So while the sustainability of humanity is perhaps less easy to speak to when we imagine something as extreme as extinction, the general complexities, dangers and insecurities associated with unsustainable living are unavoidable. What is our aim, to survive, or to thrive?
Ben, your last question was “How do you FEEL about your world and your future in light of what you have learned?”
In all honesty, I feel like I live on a pendulum, wavering constantly between optimism and pessimism. And I feel like my generation has its work cut out for it. I would describe this era as a dirty slate. It is difficult to maintain one’s optimism when each new direction, all progress and evolution, requires a tremendous un-doing of the inadequacies of the past.
It is a sordid inheritance no doubt. I’ve had a good deal of frustration at this arrangement. I have felt the exhaustion of this burden, as I know others have as well.
I wonder if it might be easier to forget it all, the problems of deforestation, global warming, poverty, racism, plastic pollution in our oceans, fossil fuel dependency, political corruption and violence, and the toxification of drinking water to name a few.
But, really, in the moments when I have truly considered if it would in fact be easier, I recognize that the difficulty of ignoring these issues is far greater than facing them. And so I carry on, comforted in knowing that doing something requires more bravery and artistry than doing nothing.
I must say, however, that the greatest source of encouragement are those around me and especially the amazing individuals I have had the opportunity to meet and interview for The Canada Expedition. Many of them have been at it a lot longer than I have and, with a veteran’s charm, they tell me to keep at it. And so I do.
These people, Dr. William Rees, Jim Hoggan, Jan Vozenilek, Milt Lauenstein, Erik Assadourian, Kevin Vallely, and many others remind me that I don’t have to wait for a better future, but that I can actively create that for myself now. If I doubt the integrity of that statement I can just look up and see what others are doing around me.
Perhaps that has been the most valuable lesson of all: surround yourself with good people.
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