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"We don't inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children."
Today, most of us in the industrialized world are fortunate enough to have more of everything than our ancestors did (more food, more objects, more comfort, more free time), but our lives have also become more complicated. While they lived in contact with nature, we live far removed from the natural world. Where they struggled with the everyday realities of meeting their basic needs, we find ourselves struggling with abstract concepts such as 'low buying power' and 'lack of consumer confidence'. For them, satisfaction was as simple as a good meal or a warm bed; for us, it has become an elusive concept tied to our never-ending quest for material gain.
Our contemporary consumer society is based on the myth that sustained economic growth is good for everyone. Everywhere we look, we are bombarded with the message that happiness is found in material objects and are constantly encouraged to buy. This cycle produces an insatiable appetite that leads us to exploit more natural resources and to produce more pollution than ever before, inflicting irreparable damage on the environment.
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As a direct result of our activity, global warming has now become a palpable reality, and many experts believe that we are heading for an irreversible crisis. Common sense tells us that we need to 'do something', but we stubbornly continue with our consumer habits, ignoring the consequences of our actions.
It's time to begin to turn things around. If we hope to guarantee a better life for the next generation, we need to recognize that we are all part of the delicate ecosystem we call the Earth and that we all share the responsibility for its preservation. Instead of pursuing the myth that more is always better, we need to recover an appreciation for the real value of things, learning to consume less and looking elsewhere for the satisfaction that we know consumer society will never bring us.
In today's world, Ecology is more than just an idealistic philosophy for nature lovers; working together to reduce our collective impact on the planet is our best option for a sustainable future, and it concerns us all.
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