Green Horizon Magazine

Where the village folk live

June 19th, 2017  |  Published in Letters

TO THE EDITOR,

I have been drawn to the Green Movement since its inception in Germany when Petra Kelly was its leader. Time has rolled on and the ecological toll on civilization is incalculable, evidenced by climatic changes, choking pollution and human neglect. Though not as readily noticeable in Western countries, the environmental catastrophe is well in progress in places such as South Asia where population, pollution, searing temperatures, and natural disasters make it all too apparent that humankind is on the brink. The carbon economy is chiefly to blame along with the depletion of resources of all kinds.

If the carbon economy was to suddenly expire, who could possibly survive? I can only think of the isolated villages in places such as Kashmir in which I have spent a great deal of time. Lacking many modern conveniences the people go on with their lives quite admirably and I would pick them as the survivors in the Brave New World of post-carbon, post-convenience living. I don’t romanticize their lives. They have their own peculiar societal problems and environmental degradation to deal with and, of course, want their share of modern things but if the modern world came to a halt, they would carry on better than most of us could.

So when I think of Green I automatically go back to the lush verdant hillsides of Kashmir where the village folk live, staying warm with their fire pots tucked under their cloaks, living on their flocks and tilling the soil. It is far from a perfect world but one that sticks in my mind. When people talk of Green things this is where I reside.

Thanks for Green Horizon.

Jason G. Murray
Portland, Maine

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