Some like it hot...conservation and crisis

Firstly, the Yankees cop a lot of unfair flack. It’s not just because I am going over there that leads me to say this. They actually have a lot of passion, open heartedness and courage. The reason I say this is because many a great artist has hailed from this merry land. And, unbeknownst to me, it is home to some very beautiful unspoilt natural places.  I pride myself on caring for the environment. I’m someone who has gone from acting in a radical manner to someone who at the moment isn’t as active as they would like to be.  And it was this radical side of me that was re awakened on Wednesday night this week. I saw a documentary where the scenes of degradation towards nature actually felt like someone was hurting me personally.

Ok, emotionality does come easy to me.  I like to put it down to my Italian ancestry.  And the cliché of emotional and impulsive woman can at times be one that I act up to.  But fire in the belly does get one off the couch and taking a step in the direction of change.  Surprisingly that change came from going to a winery and seeing a doco on coal seam gas mining.  Surprising because I didn’t realise quite the effect that this would have on me. Yes it’s emotional and for that reason, possibly a bit skewed. ‘Very American’ was also a warning that I got, but one that doesn’t really make a whole lot of sense. I think because it unnerves me from a stereotypical point of view. How is ‘too American’ any different from ‘too Australian’?

It doesn’t really matter what package you come in. We do however have use by dates; at a certain point in time, we will indeed leave.  The trees that sorround us, the water that feeds us...I’d like to think that those things are here to stay.

In my uni years I used to wear a t shirt that depicted the end of the world, with a sentiment along the lines of realising too late that money is not something we can eat.  Radical I was. Rationality nada.

We do indeed live in a material world and for this reason we need to consume our natural resources in order to survive. I’d just like to think that we can be aware that nature provides us with more than just a pretty view.

A lot of companies are becoming more socially aware, which I was reminded of by an environmental science friend of mine. And this is what I want to encourage. For people to question, rather than being resigned to a state of blind acceptance.  When I first saw ‘Gasland’ all I wanted to do was cry. I felt so overwhelmed by disappointment at ignorant leaders. But thankfully there are two sides to every story.   And there is a great deal of good happening.  But just remember to speak up for those that no longer can...whoever or whatever they are.