Human beings are intellectually capable of fooling themselves until hit with the hard reality of devastating bad news. Often that news is accompanied with no way out, such as a smoker being told he or she has terminal lung cancer or emphysema.

That news affects not only the patient but all around him. What about the second-hand smoke he or she denied was harmful, and the children, other family members, and pets affected? What about the workplace? What about the devastating medical bills that bankrupt?

 

Innocent people end up damaged. That, in a nutshell is what environmentalism is all about, innocent people being damaged by those who deny that what we are exposed to in food, air, and water will harm us.

"Growth" has become a battle-cry for those who would clear-cut most of our trees for a few years of jobs, allow industry to steal resources, pollute at will, and allow corporations to create disastrous dead zones on land and water where life can no longer survive, all for the sake of greed and profit. "Environmentalism" has become a denigrating term to these deniers of life, and those who fight for earth's (and hence, our own) survival are accused of putting plants and animals ahead of humans. No, we fight for our children's survival and health. We need plants and animals to survive ourselves. This is our only planet.

They encourage unlimited economic and community growth, a Ponzi scheme that will collapse environmentally just like Bernie Madoff's empire fell. Remember, in the human body, unlimited growth is cancer, literally immortal until it kills the body. Human greed is causing the cancer on planet Earth right now, and major surgery is necessary. Yet politicians are denying both causes and timely solutions. Average people are left to figure out how to deal with consequences. Community sustainability is all about our own local power to help ourselves survive these times.

Here in Mt. Shasta, the sustainability movement is going forward on many fronts. We have garden clubs, a community garden, gleaners who gather unused produce around the area for those in need, numbers of people who help new gardeners get started, environmental groups that guard and clean up the land and river watersheds, groups that care for abused and unwanted pets, and a good culture of arts for the sustaining of our souls. These people are the real 99%, who work quietly, unsung but heroic, as the community has this base to draw upon. We need more people to participate as you can, so ask yourself what you can do, what abilities you have to contribute. If you are homebound, how about writing, research, and phone calls? Go for it.

We have gone through an era of globalism and extreme consumption that is ending, and globalism is becoming more an ephemeral concept that will be internet or political and not have much to do with common man. We have the power to buy local, or at least territorial if you don't live in an area with resources. Territorial buying would be us in Mount Shasta buying from surrounding counties or states. It works and we can support each other and survive. We have the ability to relocalize. Let's do it.