The Suicidal Planet: Sounds like homicide to me, so go jogging

In The Suicidal Planet, a lovely book written by Mayer Hillman (with a little help from his friends), I read the following last night while riding my exercise bike:

(See, I was sweating for two reasons).

“The increase in carbon dioxide concentrations has been caused by human activities, primarily the burning of fossil fuels. Their use and the global emissions of carbon dioxide that stem from it are rising quickly”

(GH: Maybe not as quickly as last year, due to the Great Recession. Maybe we should schedule our next recession asap.)


“If no action is taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions this increase (in global temperatures) could be in excess of the temperature difference between the last Ice Age and now. This would be disastrous for the climate, the environment, and the world’s population.”

(GH: Just because you’re not old enough to remember the last Ice Age - note the capitals; it was a significant event - doesn’t mean it wasn’t a powerful force).

“In the United States, each person’s contribution to carbon dioxide emissions is about five times the world average.”

Re that last point: Canada and Australia are right behind the USA in greenhouse gas emissions.


I concluded the following after breaking into a sweat (two sweats, to be fair):

A personal ‘live small’ philosophy needs to become a political and social philosophy.

***

Be a smaller consumer. Go jogging as often as possible.

Yes, walking is okay too. It’s the perfect speed for enjoying your natural surroundings

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