Washblog

Last night, there was a program on public television (channel 9) in which was discussed various approaches to sustainable forestry practices, fair trade coffee growers, etc., and recent trends in public awareness, buying practices, and other facets of the struggle between corporate greed and environmental destruction on one hand, and progressive, sustainable approaches to agriculture, resource conservation and environmental sensitivity on the other.

The news was for the most part positive and encouraging...at least my response to it was surprisingly hopeful.  

Once again, I did not stay up late enough to see the whole program, and did not take notes during the portions I did see, but the gist was that with perseverance and conviction, and some education and persistence on the part of even the smallest groups or individuals, progress can be made with regard to convincing people to change their ways of approaching farming, harvesting, shopping, consuming, etc.  

With the persistence of just a few people, vast majorities of entire towns and regions made a concerted, conscientious effort to look for Fair Trade products, to encourage merchants and suppliers to provide such products and services, and to spread the knowledge of the benefits of so doing.  

In a rather short period of time, big strides were made, and considerable improvement was witnessed in the percentage of coffee that was shade-grown by fair trade-certified growers, in sustainable forestry practices, in organic farming, and in buying products and services that were certified as being fair-trade and sustainable.  

It was a wide-ranging, comprehensive documentary, and it included a timber executive who at one time was part of "them" against "us", but who, when approached in a non-confrontational way, was open to suggestions and learning, and who came to see environmentalists not as enemies but as partners who share the planet and who have similar goals.  

There is tremendous work to be done, especially with regards to educating the public about the corruption that is currently taking place in the government, identifying where improvements can be made and clarifying that each person can make a difference.  But it is possible.  

Of course, I am saying this to myself as well as to all of you who may be reading this.  Sometimes I get overwhelmed by the immensity of the challenges before us, and the greed and evil that is so prevalent today, and I lose sight of the benefits of each small positive step....such as voting, writing letters, meeting like-minded people, volunteering, making phone calls, speaking, educating, and not giving up.

Richard