Eco Concerns

Ever since the Industrial Age, man looked upon his baser instincts as “old-fashioned”, and something to be suppressed as a civilized being. However, we at Eco Concerns beg to differ. We believe that we must recognize these survival instincts and how they manifest in our daily lives, for there we begin to make the human decisions for evolution.

First we must assess our needs and the manifestations that they have in our lives. For example; we are always aware of our need for sustenance (food and water), yet we are not too wary or even consciously selective of the types ad qualities of food and water that we produce, manipulate, and consume. Hence, we just accept fastfoods and chemically processed meals as a viable food source to appease hunger and not a means for sustenance for our bodies and souls. We must strengthen our freewill and maximize our power of choice, and there we begin to look for what is truly good for us and start patronizing such.

Second, we must eliminate the distractions of our technological culture in deciding which among these need manifestations do we choose. Adverting and other forms of marketing and propaganda often distract us from choosing what is right and necessary, and leave us with objects for very temporal satisfaction and in the yearning for the next replacement. Being content with a non-consumerist life is the start of the evolution. This can be easily done by switching off the television, by not availing of magazines or newspapers that cater to useless information, or by simply being aware and ignoring any of these media messages. Remember, we will never die just because we missed to watch a new film or TV show, or even failed to catch up on a new trend. So we must look into ourselves and really seek what is truly important to us.

Third, we must branch out beyond our selves and immediate group by working and influencing our local communities in making the right decisions for themselves. Evolution is a community action, and must not be isolated among select people. By working with communities we set to start changing the socio-economic system that governs our lives, and allows us the ignorant bliss of consumption and hedonistic appetites that not only destroy our morals but our environment. While we have the benefit of TiVo and Sears coupons and microwave dinners, we must also be conscious of the fact that each purchase we make contributes to waste generation, some of which can take up to fifty years to return to the environment. It is for this reason that we must check the rise of commercialism and practice smart and greener purchasing decisions.

By not patronizing products and services that do not enrich our race, we start the chain of change along side the development of new technological, educational, economical and political systems that focus on not mere survival but evolution.