To Have Borne Witness

Book excerpt: We are living in a time of massive change. Our planets life-giving world of nature is suffering unsustainable duress and is headed towards collapse. At the same time, humankind is forging ahead with ever more potent and destructive industrial practices, practices that are causing the over-exploitation of both renewable and non-renewable resources, which in turn are resulting in even more worldwide environmental degradation. As the power of industry becomes more efficient, as the human population continues to increase, and as life-sustaining nature suffers ongoing trauma, the situation will soon be dire. Two over-riding questions dominate. On a finite planet can we really expect infinite growth and, in our rush to grow the global economy, are we condemning future generations to lives that will, in fact, be unsustainable? If that is so, as this book concludes, it will inevitably cause civil conflict - a conflict between the industrial extractors of natural resources and those who wish to protect our earth for future generations. Until now, the conflicts have been mostly law-abiding, but for how long can more radical reactions be deterred? Through reminiscences, personal observations and documented examples of wild animal depletions, the author explores the ecological damage we have already caused. At the end of the book, he proposes some solutions that should protect future generations from the outrages of our time. But are we capable of making the necessary changes?