 |
 s
a child, one of my favorite films was "Willy Wonka and the
Chocolate Factory." Near the end of the film, protagonist
Charlie Bucket, realizing he made a mistake, tells the famed
confectioner that he would like to go back. Willy Wonka's response
was one that I have carried with me. His words? "You must
go forward to go back." Profound does not begin to describe
that statement. If humankind continues forward on it's current
trajectory, it just might find itself vulnerable to the environment
in unfathomable ways. Ironically, in regards to the growing environmental
crisis, we must now go back if we are to go forward.
 Progress
is a double-edged sword. Our never ending quest for convenience
requires us to work more than ever to acquire the tools of technology
designed to make our lives easier. The automobile and its eternal
combustion engine is such a tool. Intended to improve personal
mobility, it seems ironic that American culture has been enslaved
by the very thing it embraced as liberator. Adding to the tragedy
is the reality of slowly driving ourselves to the brink of extinction.
This Earth
Day season, you will hear a great deal about alternative fuels,
renewable energy, mass transit, and sustainable technologies,
remedying the precarious position in which we now find ourselves.
To the contrary, it is my position that none of these will save
the planetary biotic community, because they all support the
anthropocentric paradigm of dominance and disconnect, denial
and destruction. The future does not exist in our continued addiction
to fossil fuel, but a return to the most basic modes of transportation,
walking.
Bipedal
self-propulsion is by far the most environmentally sustainable
form of travel. Not only does it require little in the way of
energy, it also promotes health and a healthy sense of place.
Before the automobile, individuals were well served to experience
the environment that surrounded them. In fact, it was this intimate
knowledge that allowed them to survive, in spite their lack of
technology. Technology creates more problems than it solves,
and when all factors are figured into the equation, transportation
technologies have done absolutely nothing to promote the general
welfare.
Granted,
cars get us from point A to point B. But then again, so does
walking. Some would argue that walking is unrealistic, when distant
destinations are desired, to which I would point out, for tens
of thousands of years, Homo sapiens evolved, migrating
across the planet, without the use of motorized transportation.
In hindsight, I would say inventing the wheel was not a good
thing for any species other than humans, and even that has proven
itself short lived. We've superceded the natural rhythms of the
earth with our need for speed, and it has been downhill ever
since. Walking, on the other hand, has been with us since we
came down out of the trees, and during that time it has served
us well in time of feast and famine, like all the other mammals
predisposed to it.
Imagine:
over the course of human history, civilizations rose and fell
without power steering, cruise control, and dual air conditioning.
I'm sure most Americans would see that time as primitive and
unenlightened, with scarcity and want being foremost in their
minds. I'm also sure most of those same Americans believe recent
human evolution to be the pinnacle of biological evolution. Then
again, these are the same folks sitting in traffic, day after
day, working long hours so that they can afford car payments,
auto insurance, and the price of gas. So much for progress. So
much for progress.
The energy
I would like to see harnessed in the 21st century is people power.
I would like to see America get out of their gas-guzzling, ozone-depleting,
road-killing, earth-raping technological monsters, and reconnect
with the earth and their communities. Saving the planet from
a failed science experiment begins with one step. Get out of
your car and walk.
Walk to
work. Walk to church. Walk to the beach. Walk to the market.
Walk in the woods until your spirit is reborn. But above all,
just walk. 
|
home.com. or by writing to the San Diego Earth Times.