Inside WWF Philippines

by Yeb Sano

Saving the environment may sound like a self-indulgent affair, where one engages in pseudo-philosophical gymnastics and concludes “hey, we only got one planet… we’ve got to take care of it.” Mother Earth would no doubt be flattered. However, such a mindset will most likely raise more questions (and eyebrows) than provide solutions. “Is Mother Earth really as simple as a blue and green blob? Is Mother Earth even a mother? Is it even correct to refer to Mother Earth as one singular being? Is saving the environment as simple as ‘stop this, stop that’. What the hell do I have anything to do with endangered species or with disappearing coral reefs?”

Many years in conservation work has taught us that saving nature is not about saving nature. Yes, it sounds circular but strangely enough, everything is part of a big circle. Maybe that’s what Mother Earth really is – a big circle. And definitely, people are an integral part of the circle. We save nature not for nature, but for the survival and development of the human species. Anyone who believes that we should rid this planet of people so that it can flourish is either thoroughly dimwitted or totally being a bloody hypocrite.

Actually, ridding earth of humans is not at all that hard. We can just go on with our business as usual and not too long we will be extinct. We are actually doing a pretty good job at getting our species gone forever. So how easy is it to make humans extinct? What does the human species need to survive? Sunlight, yes but should go with the correct balance of greenhouse gases. Sex, we’ve had too much. Food, definitely. Freshwater, definitely. The equation is quite straightforward. The truth is, we’re seriously jeopardizing the balance in the equation.

Apparently, decimating the human species is not rocket science. We are doing it when we keep the faucet running while brushing our teeth, when we don’t segregate our trash, every time we forget to turn off the lights or the television, when we buy stuff we don’t really need and a lot of really simple everyday mistakes. More sophisticated groups of people have found more efficient ways to darn our species, but ordinary people are as blameworthy as these multi-million dollar culprits. Pardon the cliché, but “for evil to triumph, it is enough that good people do nothing.”

Today, we face a myriad of environmental issues both domestically and globally. We’ve heard of climate change, global warming, sea level rise, droughts, super typhoons; the “day after tomorrow” doomsday stuff. We’ve also witnessed plummeting fish catch, decreased soil fertility, vanishing forests, scarcity of freshwater. It’s crazy, really.

But the more serious problems are not really those that can be measured by thermometers, data loggers, anemometers, barometers, computers, or through physical or biological studies. The more serious problems are those things that happen between people, within communities of people, and whole societies. Greed, hate, apathy, indifference, more greed, distrust…

So, after all, in order for the human species to survive, food and water are not enough. We need compassion, love, benevolence, fairness, solidarity. To paraphrase Robert Fulghum’s words, ‘all we really need to save the world we learned in kindergarten.’

Let’s leave our children a loving planet.