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his series is not linked in place or time, but by the relationship contained in each photo’s border. It is a relationship of harmony amongst humans and the environment, and it is something that we witness less and less of every day. Harmony is rare because our culture separates the ideas of civilization and nature. Rather than living peacefully as a species on this Earth, humans believe that they must conquer nature in order to survive. The problem is that we are not just surviving—entire lives are being committed to consumption. In America, we spend unprecedented amounts of time working to be able to buy more things, only to have less time to use them. Consumption originally provided conveniences, which would allow to time to live. But with all of the time we spend working, how much are we really living? And the biggest problem is that we are forcing this lifestyle onto other cultures. Globalized Development enters countries that contain communities that directly survive off of their environment. Corporations use up the natural resources, and anything that business can’t profit off of directly is destroyed. The people living in these places can no longer survive in this deprived ecosystem. The result: They must participate in the capitalist system, which exploits them. In the meantime, humans are taking more resources than our planet is able to provide. Because of all of this consumption, we are producing waste at an alarming rate. The human race is changing the essential functions of our planet with extreme levels of pollution; which causes rising sea levels, melting ice caps, changes in global weather patterns, species extinction, long-term drought, and forest devastation. The condensed version of this description: Climate Change. The International Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) said last year in its fifth report that global climate change is certainly happening, and that if we do not decrease our resource consumption and environmental pollution, then the damage will be irreversible, with continuous negative human impact. The IPCC is an international scientific organization, of which 195 countries are currently members. What the scientific community is telling us is that as we pollute the air that we breathe and the water that we drink, we are ultimately only destroying ourselves. It is overwhelming to consider a solution to environmental problems because so many issues are out there (e.g. the symptoms of climate change). But these matters are all mere indications of a larger problem: the commonplace belief in society that humans are separate from nature. Proposed solutions at a structural level, such as changes in policy and regulations, are heavily debated and politically gridlocked. They oftentimes don’t cater to individuals or to local communities. However, recommending changes in lifestyles, such as “greener” buying habits, are not possible for everyone in our current system when economic situations are considered. There is, however, one change that everyone can make: break down our culture’s idea that humans and nature are separate. Adopt a new mindset! To slowly eliminate this root cause of our destructive relationship with the environment will lead the way to changes that can save our planet and the quality of human life upon it. The most common response to the environmental crisis is to propose technical solutions and policy changes, but these solutions can only be successful when the people support them and believe in them. We are all responsible for restoring a balance with the environment; it is not a job that we can place on any single group of people. Out of love for all life on earth, have hope that change is possible, and be a part of it.
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