Its rare that one can watch the idiot box and not come away feeling like someones gone at your brain with a Vileda Super-Mop (TM), but the past two days, for me, have been exceptions.

Yesterday, Paxman declared that the whole of Newsnight would focus on Climate Change (TM?) because it deserved it, and that the environment was now centre stage in politics (hurray! ...remember '05?). This came after the Stern report was adopted as New Labour's 'Save The World Plan B'.
Todays local news lead with a favourable report on the 'No M11 Widening'. Well done whoever you are xxx.  http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/nottinghamshire/2006/10/354854.html

Then came 'The Amazing Mrs Pritchard', a fictional drama, where in this episode, Ros Pritchard, a trustworthy UK Prime Minister (what a premise!), walks out of a G8 conference on Climate Change, declares the meeting a joke, and then tells the cameras that from the 24th of June, (to meet 2012 targets), nobody can drive their precious cars on a Wednesday (or 'Green Wednesday'... something to pursue?). Christ on a bike, as they say.

Todays papers all had something about the environment on their front page. Even The Sun, whose harmful rays have long been having a terrible impact on civilisation, had a go; "I insist my sexy pics are taken by digital camera, so invest in one. Film processing and developing uses toxic chemicals and paper." OK, still a long way to go...
(Can I just add that I'm leaving out a lot of really dumb stuff like "...so we should go nuclear", so don't relax too much...)

Now all I want to say, is that I know a lot of you reading this have made some pretty big sacrifices in one way or another, trying to divert our culture's suicide drive. Now there will never be a big fanfare thanking you for anything, but maybe, some of what you did, or focussed your intention on (nod to the witches- it is halloween!) has brought us to where we are now- the world is aware of the dangers of pollution.
Of course the scientists are incredibly valuable- they got most of us on it.
But there is another group, who might have saved us from this mess if they hadn't been so persecuted- those who have a real connection and understanding of Nature.
A lesson that science may one day teach has been known since before time- we need to love the world to live in it.

I know that there are so many disheartening things happening, you may want to curl up and quit- but don't! As a relative newcomer to 'giving a shit', and 'trying to make a difference', I know that people are a lot more open to environmental concepts thanks to the sterling work that 'Swampy' et al have pushed to the forefront over the years.

You will never meet the people who will really benifit... but they will thank you.

If the dreadful war had not begun, maybe the polluticians would never have looked to environmentalism to help clear their name. If us and our recent ancestors hadn't abused nature to this appalling extent, maybe we would never learn how truly precious this planet is. On the whole, we are probably still a long way from really assimilating this lesson, but as far as I can see, Britain is a big step closer than it was.

Our home is under attack, by us. We may soon be at the end of our story.
But take heart, maybe, as for the Celts, the new year begins on the evening of "Samhain on 31 October, when nature appears to be dying down. Tellingly, the first month of the Celtic year is Samonios, ‘Seed Fall’: in other words, from death and darkness springs life and light."

Please discuss.

"Reclaim the world for the Soul." Micheál Ó Seighín