Lynn Wilson Astrology

Everyone I know is extremely concerned about the effects of this oil-volcano in the Gulf. There are so many areas of concern: the livelihood of people who have already lost so much in Katrina, the viability of life in New Orleans with no seafood and the subsequent impact on tourism, the even larger issue of the complete destruction of all life in the gulf for at least this generation. For those who live in other parts of the US this disaster is the equivalent of having a convoy of trucks pass through your state loaded with toxic chemicals, having those trucks crash, spewing their contents on your interstate. You would be forced to evacuate and could not grow food on your soil for years to come, perhaps for generations. This is what people in the gulf are now facing.

Many want to lay blame, and there is no doubt that anger is justified. BP has a terrible reputation and has been very cavalier in their approach. Yet this accident is a logical consequence of the way we’ve been living for at least the past forty years. In 1972 I was assigned a book in a political science seminar titled “Limits to Growth”. It made a tremendous impact on all of us, and seems prescient at this point. A 2008 scientific paper “examined the past thirty years of reality with the predictions made in 1972 and found that changes in industrial production, food production and pollution are all in line with the book’s predictions of economic and societal collapse in the twenty-first century.” (New Scientist, Nov 2008)

Many of us feel like Cassandra. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassandra) We’ve spent the last 30-40 years preaching about the need to protect our planet and her resources, pointing out what seems logical to us: 1) genetically modified food sources are unnatural and will lead to health problems. 2) environmental pollutants (not the sun) lead to cancer. 3) doing away with music and physical activity will lessen the quality of education. 4) rampant development is destroying our earth, through the destruction of trees which clean our air, and subsequent run-off caused by large swathes of asphalt. 5) the need to develop renewable resources. 6) the link between chemicals in our bodies and conditions like Parkinsons, autism, ADHD and others. 7) the obvious connection between diet and health.

In the 70’s profit was made king resulting in the growth of factory farming; derivatives that involve investors betting against the loans they’ve made causing the downfall of banks and a stock market crash; a health care system that has more to do with peddling pharmaceuticals than with health; and two wars based on our need to protect “our” oil supplies.

We are at a cross-roads and each of us needs to take responsibility for this situation. Blame doesn’t change things. Anyone who has invested in the stock market with the expectation of a high rate of return has bought into and put pressure on the system to behave in exactly the ways it has behaved. If you have an investment fund, find out what companies you’re supporting. Those of us who want cheap food have created factory farming. Providing food that is healthy and fresh and locally available is more labor intensive. The work of Michael Pollan and others and the movie Food, Inc. have done wonders in making people aware of how their food ends up on their tables. And we are fortunate to have a first family that is leading the way in modeling a healthy lifestyle.

Our native peoples on all continents have warned of the day when our lifestyle of consumption, driven by the profit motive would outstrip the earth’s ability to keep up. In the mid-80’s I said we would start listening to our indigenous populations when this day came. All of the end of world scenarios, whether religious or climate based, also speak of this time. The climate change model is in tune with native prophecy, religious end times thinking is not, as they believe we are entitled to use up the earth’s resources before the chosen ones leave the earth behind.

Therein lies the fork in the road. Free market types decry regulation, and any attempts to rein in these destructive practices are labeled socialist. Europe has been way ahead of us in controlling pollution, ensuring the safety of their land and their people, since the 1960’s. They do not allow importation of our meat or cosmetics because of chemical contamination. They also provide regulatory oversight of the oil companies in order to prevent what we’re now living with. Our oversight was lax before the year 2000, but during the past decade our regulatory agencies have been stripped of the power they did have. I am not alone in thinking that if we (and other developing countries) do not follow the lead of those countries who put the welfare of their population ahead of a desire for profit, then we are lost. I am not suggesting we all work for nothing. Just that we examine our choices and look at the impact we have on our environment. It has been shocking to me that recycling is not routine in Tennessee, and perhaps in many other parts of the country as well. We routinely recycled in New England in the 60’s and 70’s. Everyday choices like cutting back on catalogues; taking magazines to shelters and laundromats; composting in the back yard; keeping the thermostat at 78 in the summer and 68 in the winter rather than the other way around; analyzing our investment portfolios to see if we’re supporting arms manufacturers, fast food chains, and oil companies rather than solar and wind power; cutting back on catalogs and making sure the ones we have are recycled, turning off our cars when waiting for someone…..all these little actions add up. We cannot demand that corporations take responsibility for their actions if we’re not willing to do the same.

I’ve spoken before of the need to support our independent bookstores before they completely disappear. It’s important to support all of our local business people. Every time you complain about being kept on the line by a computer ask yourself if there was a local business that could have provided the same service you are currently paying for. We have to be willing to support the people who will give us support and take care of our local communities. We are truly at the tipping point. As horrible as this gulf oil disaster is, I pray that it brings us all together in our commitment to protect our beautiful Earth and all her creatures.