Mirror, mirror on the wall, whose the fairest one of all?
The Washington Post carried a good review of events at the 20-year convocation of the Rio Summit on the Environment. Before it opened, an agreement was signed by world leaders that most experts and advocates of the environment agree was milk toast when it should have been garlic toast! However, some leaders are not daunted by this outcome, accepting it as par for a world focused on short-term economic crises. Others – leaders of less developed countries, many which harbor the world’s richest biodiversity – are outraged that the leaders of the U.S., China, India and other blockbuster economies are not properly assuming responsibility for the pollution of the atmosphere, massive use and diminution of resources, and impacts on people in countries that were historically conquered and colonized in past centuries.
I tire of these repeated dramas; regular as waves on a beach head. Hunger rages on where despots reign or small subsistence communities have been disrupted by “progress” or capitalization.
The point made by less developed countries is well taken: we are more culpable than other countries. As human beings, when we take time or get a chance to look another human being in the eye, compassion generally emerges, the altruistic side of us homo sapiens. Its human touch that grounds two people to the realization they are linked by each others’ happiness and welfare. Go a step further to take time to commune with nature. Not hunting or running or hiking or even nature exploration. I am talking about something as simple as sitting outside to watch a sunset, taking in a deep long breath, and thinking nothing. Just feeling. The heart is beating in your chest, your skin prickles in a breeze. Again, the moment reminds us that we are not separate from the earth beneath our feet.
Can we really expect to make important very long range decisions on the run, multitasking, stimulating every neuron and orifice?
If we look into the Rio Summit Mirror, are we the fairest of all?
Susan Feathers 
You are so eloquent. The whole situation makes my shoulders sag.
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I can feel that way too. But if you read the Washington Post article there is an important voice from the ED of the Natural Resources Defense Council: “In the longer perspective, Rio is a catalyst too for people who are making real commitments.” So know the answer is no further than yourself and those who share your convictions. Its more about being than doing.
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