The Earth is a huge boulder flying through space at incredible speeds, seemingly inert and unaware of the presence of any life upon its surface. Yet, there is a great deal of evidence that this life, as in human life, has done a great deal to affect the planet, especially in the last 150 years. We know that things are changing: carbon dioxide, methane and other ‘green house’ gas levels are increasing in our ever so thin atmosphere. We’ve been pumping, spraying and burning unchecked for a long time and so it is logical to assume that we do influence our environment, including climate. How much influence is another question?
Long before the industrial age, the Earth went through warming and cooling periods. Supposedly the earth was warmer during the millions of years of the dinosaurs. The last ‘Ice Age’ ended 10,000 years ago, give or take a day or two. And there was a ‘mini-ice age’ in the 14th to 18th centuries in which crops failed, glaciers grew and winters were long and harsh. Its causes have been attributed to sun spot activity, volcanic activity or ocean activity, or a combination of all these and perhaps other yet unknown elements. While we cannot say with 100% accuracy why it happened then or what is happening now to our climate and the rest of our environment, we cannot deny that something is happening and most probably, we, as human beings, have had some part to play.
It’s only logical to do our part in doing what we can for the environment. Following the ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’ motto makes sense. Making informed choices about our small corner of the world does make a difference. We don’t need to wait until there are definitive answers before we make changes at home, business or farm. Nor do we need to wait for a government to lead us. It is simply time to make small changes on a personal level so that we can “be the solution.”
For some more information, there’s an excellent article in the current edition of Better Farming.