‘Observe, save and protect’

The fundamental cause of global warming and pollution more generally is a human population three times too large for the planet to support. I usually explain the population has tripled during my lifetime (84 years).

Blame is put on industrialized countries, but poorer countries have done their part in warming by producing more people. It is not unusual for men in these countries to be responsible for a dozen or more pregnancies.

A smaller population in time to prevent a global disaster seems unlikely but we all must do more than plant trees and cut back on coal oil and gas. We must cut back on the consumption of resources more generally. I think of this as a decadeslong “recession.”

We must recognize that solar and wind power are not as “green” as we may think.

Collecting this power involves an abundance of planetary resources disturbing the ground and polluting the water and air.

The greenest and healthiest of activities is simply walking. And it is the best way to explore and understand our home. Economies, ecology, ecosystems all come from the Greek word for house, Oikos. I prefer to translate this word as “home”!

My favorite word in the English language is “conservation.” It comes from the Latin verb “conservare.” My American Heritage Dictionary says the word has three meanings all at once: “observe save and protect.” I have pursued this objective by leading thousands of people over the wild places of the American West for more than 60 years. The West is so vast, vaned, and beautiful I have never felt the need to travel anywhere else. Although a devoted walker, I am not fond of trails. When younger, I aimed for places farthest from roads and trails.

As I finish this letter I have just heard on NPR about a woman in Chad with nine children going hungry Let us all have fewer, healthier children, the food we need, and less “stuff” we really don’t need. That’s cool.

Michael Loughman Bishop