David Radcliff works with the New Community Project, an organization dedicated to changing the world. From the beginning of his speech, I was beginning to think that it was going to be all doom and gloom. He talked about how we have not been very good stewards of this planet and now it's catching up with us. Temperatures are rising, glaciers are melting, and both plant and animal species are disappearing at a rapid rate. We are a society of consumers -- inhaling fossil fuels, eating non-local foods, insisting that we all need large houses and our own cars.
Not only do we treat our material goods and our planet as disposables, we also treat our fellow humans as such. Companies force young women and children out of school so that they can feed their families with disgustingly low wages. These women have to work long hours in overly cramped conditions for over 20 years of their lives, and by the time they leave, they have nothing to show for it. In the factories, they only piece together small pieces; they aren’t actually learning to sew. When they leave the factories, they do not have any skills that could then translate into a livelihood.
It’s not all doom and gloom, though. David made the point that we don’t have to just accommodate to the changes going on around us. If we find one thing, just one thing to take a stand on or one line that we won’t cross, we can inspire others to be more considerate with the planet. There are several ways that we can change our bad habits that are harming the planet. We can educate the public about the three R’s (reduce, reuse, recycle), show them pictures and firsthand accounts of the harm that is being caused and incentivize good habits. However, I believe that since we live in such a consumerist culture, the change needs to begin with the corporations that are feeding our mindless consumption. Corporations influence the way we think and teach us what is OK and what is not. It is silly to think that something like a business could hold that much influence over someone, but it is true. How many times a day are we bombarded with ads telling us what to buy and how to spend our time? Advertisements are everywhere: on the radio, television, and newspapers; at the bus stops and subway stations; and even on our clothes.
David said that one way you can tell civilization is spreading is by the spread of trash. Places that used to be pure are now being converted into dumping grounds for half of the plastic that is being produced per year. We cannot expect this planet to sustain us if we continue to disregard the problems that we are causing. A symbiotic relationship with the earth is very important, and if we want to continue on this planet, we are going to have to start treating it as such.
