Environmental Action and Activism - a simple perspective

Goanna (no, he isn't threatened, but his habitat is changing rapidly) Mt Warning Caldera Region, Australia
Australian Government listings for THREATENED FAUNA Species
&
Environmental Advocacy blogs - the Art of Public Engagement (with links to Melissa Merry's "“Blogging and Environmental Advocacy: A New Way to Engage the Public?”)

In the scheme of things, action (Environmental Action and Activism) to change the world can come in three forms:-

* Identifying the critical issue, passively supporting change for the better in your heart, but recognising that beyond that, you can do little else, except heal your own inbalances and heart.

* Identifying the critical issues, actively supporting the change for the better and recognising that balance, focus and the "heart" and "energy" behind those actions are to be considered as foundations to those actions.

* Identifying the critical issue, understanding the passive and the active response, then going beyond. Going to and working with, the underlying issue that has caused the initial problem is in this category. Going to the spirit of things, addressing them in a way that can help cause a massive shift in mass consciousness awareneness, thus facilitating change without really becoming involved in the individual issue.

Native Black Bee, Australia

Tolerance, love, forgiveness, redemption and compassion are powerful tools when dealing with poor land management, inappropriate land custodianship and ignorant land stewardship. These things can open up doors that anger, misdirected ego and intolerance have previously held shut.

and now a poem......

Phantom Koala and the Goanna

"Dearest PK" asked Goanna wise
"why don't the Trees now reach to the Skies-
why is the Rain so late to fall?
I know many things but with these, I stall."

PK slowly shifted to see
who questioned him so from beneath his tree
"Why Goanna, you smarty, didn't you know
The government let them clear the trees, so....
The rain doesn't come, the wind blows hard
and everyone's mowing down their back yard
They've channelled the water away from the streams
and ruined the chance of our childrens' dreams."

This disturbed the Goanna who said, "But PK, surely not everyone acts in this way?"
Well, PK just laughed and pulled at some leaves
"It's what's in ones heart - that's what to believe
Does it make sense to kill? does it make sense to steal?
Does it make sense to eat much much more than your meal?"
"Well, that is what they do - the clearers of land, they kill all the trees and they make out they're grand. Then they take all the water and pump it away
and they tell us that industries show us the way.
They hop on their jet stream and swan round the world
praising themselves with their grand flags unfurled
saying 'We have the answer - we are the best'
(though to you and me both - we know they're the pest)."
Goanna thought deeply on PK's last words and dreamily saw that it was quite absurd
"So why do they panic and call each day drought, why do the leaders still hold so much clout?"
"Oh Goanna! Dear friend, you wise brave old soul
because they can't see from their justified hole. They've dug down so deeply, their egos as spades - that the only thing left between them and the hades-

is redemption and love. We must give them a hand, to clamber back up and to save our sweet land"

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The above article is taken from a lengthier one that I have written on the bluecray.org website. For more about the plight of Australian Koalas in this region, you can try bluecray's environmental search engine .

Koala Populations and their Habitats are falling sharply along the central east coast of Australia, where Urbanisation and unsustainable development practices have been the norm for many decades. Habitat clearing is one of the biggest threats currently facing Koalas. Despite the dedicated work by Koala carers and Koala advocates, the Koala is not listed as a threatened species by the Australian Government for this Region, although the NSW & QLD Governments have the Koala listed as a threatened species in these bioregions.