David Suzuki

[paisley]

Suzuki spoke at the college in Hamilton this week (Monday)... I didn't go but read this by someone who did and posted this on the local IndyMedia

thought I'd share it... I really like David Suzuki

Comment on the David Suzuki lecture

The life of a Tree

When David Suzuki comes to town to give a lecture he doesn’t fool around.

You don’t want your cell phone buzzing off, or want to be the one left standing at the microphone feeling like you just asked a dumb question. He has no patience for these things.

Dr. Suzuki is a very intelligent thinker, which makes for a very intelligent speaker. He doesn’t just give the facts in all their hard cold reality.

He speaks about the planet with a passion that causes him to take the topic matter seriously and he expects all of us to do the same.

What he is talking about is not just environmental things to think about possibly getting around to. He is talking about doing things to save our planet “NOW”.

So you can forgive him for being a bit testy when others plead with him to help with their particular problem. He can’t do everything, except wake us up and then expect us to go out and do our part. There is no time left to look for someone else to do something about saving the environment. Each and every one of us needs to do something about it now.

Compared to the billions of trees that are being removed from around the planet, Hamilton’s 40,000 trees, removed from the Red Hill valley seem a small number in comparison. But as the lecture moved into the topic of his new book “Tree a life story”. It became very clear how much damage is being done to the planet with each single tree that is removed.

Intrigued by a 500-year-old Douglas Fir that was growing from the side of a cliff on his Quadra island property, Suzuki was compelled to look deeper into the life cycle of a tree. What he found out is a good life lesson for all of us.

“We are all one, we are all connected” says Suzuki, and this is where the real lecture begins. He points out that because we take trees for granted, we do not apply the idea that trees are living creatures.

In trying to answer the question of which issue is the most important, which is the most critical one to the survival of our planet, he wanders through the major focus groups and concludes that it is us, at the bottom of each issue.

“We humans are the most crucial component as to whether we manage to save our planet, or whether we crash into the wall of oblivion.”

It is the way we look at the world, our values and beliefs that influence the way we behave. No two of us sees the world through the same eyes. We all learn to see the world through our social economic backgrounds, our gender, our genes, and our experiences, race and religion.

“The heart of the crisis we face on the planet is what is inside our heads.”

A trip to Peru, showed David that some cultures treasure nature, and apply the term God to mountains. The mountain is not a symbol of God; it is God and therefore determines their destiny. It is this thought that conducts the way the children of Peru treat that mountain. He compared that attitude with the attitude we take toward the mountains of B.C. where mountains represent ore and other minerals to dig into for riches.

The way we look at the world, shapes the way we behave. If we are taught that a forest is a sacred grove, as our first nations teach their children, then we would be treating our forests with more respect. We would think of rivers as the “veins of the land” rather than just a source of potential energy.

“If you are taught that the ground you walk on is a living organism, you will then tread more lightly on it. If you learn that another species is your biological kin, you will treat it with more respect, not just another potential resource to make money from.”

The crisis we face today, according to Dr. Suzuki has been in the making in only the last 100 years. Generations of humans before that held more respect for all of nature and were careful to protect the cycle of life.

Suzuki credits the First Nations people for keeping the “world view”. It is the dominant white society that lives outside of the natural world that is responsible for the state of our dying planet.

Our urban life style has made us unconnected to the cycle of life. We give little thought to the damage our moneymaking economy has caused to the planet. Our air, our water, the very earth we live on is of no consequence to us. We have no responsibility for anything.

His prediction of the increases of asthma will be a legacy that will hit the city of Hamilton hard. As trees are removed and cars and roads replace forests, more and more humans will suffer from asthma, mostly the young and the old, the weakest of society. He angrily pointed out that when in Toronto on a smog day he waited in a hospital emergency room to count the numbers of patients rushed in unable to breath, literally struggling for breath. The relatives that were rushing these loved ones into emergency wards were also driving up in SUV’s.

Talk about being disconnected!

There is no time left for any of us to wait for someone else to save the planet.

To find out how each of us is connected to a single tree, you will have to buy the book.

Maggie Hughes

[meggo]

thanks paisley i heart david suzuki. if only we all had his dedication!

[paisley]

"We are all one, we are all connected."

basically what doses usually make me think

when I was about 18 I dreamt for an entire night that I was a tree... usually warm above, wet below, aware of the odd passing animal over my roots (if they were as big as say a deer)... made me believe trees have souls of some sort

[Ms.Huxtable]

Ever seen Lord of the Rings? Trees are totally alive! Just not when we're looking.

I absolutely love David Suzuki. The Nature of Things is a great show and he is a great man. It seems like everytime The Nature of Things is on TV, I've already seen the episode. Are they still making it?

[bokonon]

go vegan and save some forest from being cleared for grazing land! ::

[Schwa.]

Suzuki was my vote for 'Greatest Canadian' Very passionate dude. Nature of Things is one of my fave shows.

[Paan]

But for a guys that loves the environment so much, I can't figure-out why he has a line of motorcycles.

[Pootie Tang]

Yes, truely David Suzuki is one of the Greatest Canadians, and one of the world's best environmental advocates...check out his website, I visit it regularly and it's got so much good information on all the environmental problems we are facing noe, and how we as individuals can work together to stop this destruction. I challange anyone who has compassion and wants to make a difference in the way they live to take the Nature Challange Test here: http://www.davidsuzuki.org/WOL/Challenge/, 10 easy steps to make the world we all live in a better, friendlier place. It's an easy first step for anyone looking to do their part, and accept some responsibility for the earth we live on. As David says, the time is "Now", and what we do today will have an impact on our childrens generations, lets start making it a positive one.

[Paan]

It is a great website for helping you get your home more envirnonmentally friendly.. I have started doing many of the tasks in that challenge.

[TimmyB]

Please if you like David Suzuki vote for him for the Greatest Canadian contest on cbc. I have a bet with a friend from work that David Suzuki will beat Don Cherry in the top ten list.