Pearls and Irritations

What are the five most precious things in my life?

I have wondered often lately what might catch the attention of those who are busy despoiling our planet, and cause them to reflect on what they are destroying, and whether that matters to them. What if they asked themselves ‘What are the five most precious things in my life?’

I say ‘five’ most precious things to get past the obvious: my kids, partner, close friends. Of course they are precious to most of us. But beyond them, what, out there in the world, is also precious to you? Architecture (Taj Mahal, Notre Dame Cathedral), art (Mona Lisa, Picasso), music (Beethoven’s ninth, Paul Simon’s Sound of Silence, Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven), words (Shakespeare, Tolstoy’s War and Peace), nature (deep forest, the sea shore, dolphins, wild horses, moonlight, the Great Barrier Reef)?

A next question is ‘What if they were totally, irretrievably destroyed? What would that mean to me?’ If we care deeply about some such things, then presumably their loss would trigger grief, perhaps profound grief.

And a final question: ‘Do you realise our collective lifestyle is destroying many of these things, perhaps all of them?’

The obvious answer to the last question, for some people, is simply ‘No, we’re not destroying them. If some things are being damaged then science, or something, will take care of the problem. We don’t have to change our lifestyle.’ I don’t really have an answer for how to reach people who resolutely and simply deny that there is any problem with how we live, and with how they do business. But I wonder if this kind of appeal might reach a few of them at least.

So I recently had the idea to make a shortish documentary simply portraying, visually, many such treasures of humanity and of the planet, accompanied simply by sad music (Chopin’s Prelude in E Minor, Op. 28 No. 4, or Albinoni’s Adagio for example). Visual imagery and music go deeper than words. Perhaps that would reach some people.

For me one of the most imminent and grievous losses is the Great Barrier Reef. Already it has been seriously damaged. Never mind what ignorant news reports say about breeding coral resistance to warm ocean water, or how this or that patch is ‘recovering’. There are hundreds of species of coral, will we breed tougher versions of all of them? There are many thousands of other creatures that depend on them, creatures that spread through the world’s oceans.

The loss of most of the Reef would be not just a tragedy of abundant and unique life and beauty lost, it would rebound on many ecosystems, and on us in ways we very likely don’t understand. Yet most of the world’s reefs are doomed because of the global warming that is already in the pipeline, which will not peak for another two or three decades, even if we stop stoking the fires tomorrow. So I grieve the loss of the Reef, and of our forests and ancient Gondwana terranes.

I don’t have the skills or anything else to make such a doco of the quality it would deserve, but it’s a nice fancy, and perhaps someone will do something like it some day.

Within days of having this idea I read about a documentary of the oceans’ creatures that the reporter described as ‘soothing’. Soothing. Well, yes, in better times that could be true. And, he says, many people have been struggling to deal with recent US political history. The reporter does go on to describe Our Oceans (Netflix) as beautiful, jaw-dropping, majestic and a few other superlatives.

But here’s the sting. It is narrated by Barack Obama. It is put out (produced, sponsored?) by the Obamas. To be fair, eventually the reporter reveals that for each striking species that is featured the show explains how it is threatened by humans.

Well I still have a big problem with that. I’m sorry, I know a lot of people regard the Obamas as heroes or saints, but I do not. Here is the man who kept warm for eight years the seat that is often described as the most powerful, or one of the most powerful, in the world. What did he do to stop humanity’s destruction of our planet, our life support system? I’m sure he and some of you could reel off some policies he implemented, or tried to but was thwarted by the wicked Republicans. Did anything he did slow the destruction? Apparently not.

Did he, for example, reform corporate charters so shareholder profit is not the over-riding goal? Did he restore restrictions on the financial sector that were foolishly abandoned by Presidents Reagan and Clinton? Did he allow that restored commons, rebuilt government services and some limits on privatisation would allow us to be less dependent on predatory corporations, allow us to rely on more localised provision? Did he set about eliminating some of the artificial scarcity that keeps the predators predating, even if they don’t really want to? No, I presume he was and is oblivious to such things.

So now the former ‘most powerful man in the world’ is exhorting us to love the oceans and … what? Campaign for reform? To persuade people like him to do things that would really make a difference? Yes, we do that every day, many of us, and have been for a long time. So far it has made no difference and now, very likely, it is too late. Too late given that the political class has resolutely resisted, and is now pushing back to make things worse.

Did you know it is probably too late? The tipping is happening, or will very soon. The 2024 State of the Climate Report begins ‘We are on the brink of an irreversible climate disaster.’

Irreversible.

So, Obama and Netflix, it’s nice that you put out a doco that beautifully describes our problem, yet again. And puts the burden on us, yet again. But no thanks. I need to go back to my grieving.

Share and Enjoy !

SHARE TWEET SHARE COPY EMAIL PRINT