I have been reading a book entitled: "Making A Living in The Middle Ages". It is extremely interesting. There is so much that I did not know about how people survived in that period of English history that each page presents me with new information. How my ancestors managed to keep themselves from starving is fascinating. I am assuming that those ancestors were of the peasant class since as far as I know there are no forgotten lords or ladies tucked away in my family history.
Making a living in that period required good fortune as much as any thing else. Even if a person was clever if he fell ill or had a serious accident there was little chance of it not having a serious impact on their livelihood. Very few families had the wherewithal to cushion themselves from misfortune. A husband who was unable to till a field and had no son to do so, or willing relative or neighbour, would not be able to produce food for his family nor meet any rents due to a landlord. The resulting disaster would affect his entire family and might do so for at least another generation.
This made me think of how far removed we have become from the source of our survival. I certainly have no desire to dash off and plow ten acres of land in order to grow crops for subsistence and maybe some for market. I do not want to keep sheep, goats or cattle and have to grow pasture for them. Nor do I have an image of myself as toiling over raw milk making cheese for domestic consumption and exchange. I am far to accustomed to going to the local grocery and purchasing what I need. If tomatoes are expensive I do not buy them but select a cheaper vegetable or go and buy a jar of tomato sauce. Corn not available? Get potatoes instead. And so on. Did the rains fail out west? Oh well there will be imports of what we need. Oranges all year, apples ditto, cucumbers ditto etc.
The countryside where my food is produced might be ten miles away or ten thousand. What do I care as long as there is food available in the store.
Which makes me consider the possibility that one of the core reasons why we are not more alarmed about global warming and doing what each of us can to reduce our carbon footprint is because we are still able to distance ourselves from its reality.
Everyone knows that the oceans are in trouble but there are endless cans of tuna on the shelves so is that really true? Temperatures are rising and are resulting in changing rainfall patterns and more severe weather but there are oranges stacked in bags in the shops so is it really true? The Ethiopians are planning a dam on the upper reaches of the Nile and the Egyptians are angry and want to be guaranteed that their portion of the Nile will not be adversely affected. Other than the main players does anyone really concern themselves with these issues? My father told me when I was about ten that the wars of this century will be over water. I recalled that statement as I heard an Egyptian official saying that they did not want to go to war but .... But really what does all that mean for me here in Massachusetts?
A lot actually. If the water available to Egyptians is reduced it will affect their agricultural production. I like Egyptian cotton. I make a point of buying cotton products made from it. If the output is less then the costs will increase and I most probably will no longer be able to afford the towels, sheets, t-shirts and clothing made from Egyptian cotton. But I will not be in danger of going hungry because of the lack of water in Egypt. Egyptians will, however, find themselves with many serious social, economic and environmental problems because of a dam in another nation. Will they go to war over it? Would you if it was Zimbabwe blocking water to farms in South Africa? Or the French somehow controlling the rainfall in Britain? If there is a war over water in Africa what will happen in the region? Who will side with whom? What about the refugees? The cost of live? The other costs that add up and decimate societies for years. It will certainly affect me more than not just being able to buy Egyptian cotton. My taxes will be used to offer aid to one side or another. Military personnel may have to put their lives at risk to try and keep the peace and there is a monetary, as well as a personal, cost to such actions.
Then we can explore a rise in extremist who call people to arms in such circumstances. It must be difficult to not respond to such when all around you there is death and diaster over which you have no apparent control. Joining a movement and taking some action might feel as if you can take charge of even a small portion of your life.
On a recent visit to New Orleans I began to appreciate the catastrophe caused by Hurricane Katrina. It is almost impossible to appreciate what happened in 2005 until you are in the place where the disaster happened. According to reports the hurricane was the deadliest and most destructive Atlantic storm of the 2005 season. It was also the costliest natural disaster in the history of the USA. Estimated total property damage was $81 billion dollars. At least 1 833 people died. Of these the majority were elderly people who died from heart attacks, strokes and health issues as a result of not being able to take their medications. It took days before help arrived in any truly organised form. The National Guard were on call as was the Army but the communication between the two was completely inadequate. If you want to watch a graphic map of what happened to the city that day go to the link below:
http://www.nola.com/katrina/
http://www.nola.com/katrina/graphics/index.ssf?flashflood
Walking the streets of the city, riding a bus, talking to people I began to realise that Katrina may have happened over seven years ago but for the people who experienced it the memories have not faded. One couple told us that if there is ever another such storm the city will not recover. People will pack up and move. Already almost 33% of the population has never come back after Katrina. The lose is understandable when you realise that people had no homes to return to. One person told us that her sister's house had flood water up to the roof top and when the water receded there was over seven feet of solid mud in the house. Over two million volunteers went down to New Orleans to help the victims. People around the country spent their vacations repairing, cleaning, hauling and generally doing what ever was needed to assist the people of the city. Along with millions of Americans I made donations to the fund set up by the Red Cross but I never really understood the extent of the damage.
Watching people fishing along a levee, driving across Lake Pontchartrain, the fourth largest lake in the USA, driving along a series of levees I began to comprehend the power of water in the lives of the people in the region. Huge pumping stations that failed, levees that broke, rain that came down in torrents, wind and debris all combined to destroy homes, lives and livelihoods. Even now some of the big box stores like WalMart have not returned to some parishes. They are weighing up the cost of doing so. Seven years to weigh up the cost? Even banks have made a come back after a mere four years! The cost to the biggest store in the world must be weighed by the actuarial insurance people who, I assume, have informed the big wigs that the possibility of it happening again is rather high. To high to return? Perhaps.
Which brings me back to my table and my grocery list along with my carbon footprint. Am I in any way responsible for the tragedies caused by Hurricane Katrina and Super Storm Sandy? I am in any way responsible for the price Ethiopians and Egyptians and the Sudanese may have to pay for their water? Are the conditions in Linfen China my responsibility? Or Pittsburg, PA? Or in La Oroya, Peru where the Doe Run company of Missouri operates a lead, copper and zinc smelter that has resulted in the town's children having toxin levels far beyond acceptable levels? Or for the the wars in the DCR because war lords want access to coltan, which when processed produces tantalum that is needed for cell phone batteries?
http://livinggreenmag.com/2013/02/12/video/top-10-most-polluted-cities-in-the-world/
I would like to say no. I wish I could pretend that I am unaware of the extent to which my wants have a direct effect on what happens in a factory in Bangladesh but I can not afford to do so any more. I have to start taking some responsibility. Pay more for goods and use less. Try harder to think beyond what I see every day and consider the human cost of everything before making decisions. The reality is that I most probably could live the rest of my live without being really concerned about these things. As someone once said to me
"Who cares? I'll be dead before the worst happens!"
And she will be. Maybe you and I will be. But my grandchildren, and their children won't be. If I don't want my descendants to suffer the fate of the children in Kabwe, Zambia where children carry levels of lead contamination, amongst others, that are near the fatal level then I have to start doing something. Not next week, or next year. Today. Because if I do not then when they are hungry, thirsty and wonder why we did nothing I will have to answer:
Because I was not prepared to give up a standard of living that had reached an unsustainable level for future generations. Because self interest was more important to me than nurturing the planet for my grandchildren.
It won't really matter if I am the only person who makes an attempt to change the way I live. It won't really make a difference if ten people change the way they live but if every day every one of us just something that makes a difference then ... Well then hope will not be the curse left in Pandora's box. It might actually be a blessing.
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Here are some links to interesting web sites that are about positive actions:
http://therestartproject.org/tag/restart-parties/
http://glassrecycled.com/
http://wyss.harvard.edu/viewevent/183/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2013/jun/16/future-of-food-insects-gm-rice-on-the-menu
http://www.altenergy.org/
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