Chapter 4:

Peak Oil For Sure.
Plus Peak Water, Peak Soil, Peak Waste … & … Peak Cute and Cuddly!

Have we thought through the loss of the “cute and cuddly” creatures?  Cute is hardly a scientific or ecological term, yet the “intangibles” are the very juice of our lives and culture.  Do we realise what the loss the creatures and their wilderness will have on our soul, the spirit of humanity?   Can the heroes of our poetry, art and children’s stories disappear?   Really, how can we be so close to losing TIGERS?  Or Bandicoots? Or Dugong?   Or … anything … forever?

“Teach your children what we have taught our children, that the Earth is our Mother. What we do to the Earth we do to ourselves. If we spit on the Earth we spit on ourselves. We people did not weave the web of life, we are merely a strand in it. What we do to the web we do to ourselves. This we know. Like the blood that unites one family, we too are a part of the Earth.”
Chief Seattle,
In a letter to the US President; C 1850

The focus on climate disruption, global warming, , peak oil, and the utilitarian responses of transition and adaptation to these human induced ecological phenomena is thoroughly understandable.  It’s about survival.  However, is it also about acquiesence?  Sustainability Commissioner for Victoria, Ian McPhail, described it as “creeping normalcy”.  In other words, before working to reduce consumption to prevent the problem, humans are cleverly able to re-tool, rationalise and adjust plans to meet the new contingency.  Or at least those of us in the wealthy, western industrialised societies of the world population are.  However, it is certain that the biggest losers from climate change and disruption will be the poor of the planet.
Equally, the powerless species of the intertidal zones and mangrove areas will also be hit very hard by sea level change.  As will the land plants and animals of the ecologically unique and richly diverse south west of Western Australia for who southward migration to “adapt” to warming means learning to swim in the Southern Ocean.  Our culture of “creeping normalcy” ignores that all other species and natural systems have an innate right to survival.  It is innane because in fact, it is absolutlely possible live perfectly well on a fraction of the carbon we have stuffed into our lives.  We can also remove the carbon.  We can reduce and we can remove – but we can not return a species of life which is lost to extinction.  
Resources or Services? We constantly hear about Peak Oil, a term which is based on the “resources” conception of nature!  The resources notion also sees forests, oceans and the water that falls from the sky as commodities for us to buy and sell.  Yet, the life enabling biological-services, not resources, provided by nature, such as oxygen, clean water and soil for food, are worth many trillion$ of dollar$, but unlike oil, don’t figure in the national accounts.  
Instead of peak oil, perhaps we should be talking about peak culture, which has now given us & peak water, peak waste, peak species, etc.  Can the dig-it-up, use-it, dump-it culture get any closer to peak insanity?  The antidote surely, is to passionately re-connect with nature and to feel a one-ness with natural systems and a spurning of what the deep ecologists call duality.  The idea that we are separate from the Earth, somehow independent of or more important than other forms of life and natural systems.  It is a notion captured well by Chief Seattle, who wrote these words ...
Mother Nature Loves Us,
Despite Our Track Record
One day, our sun, will run its course, begin to fizzle, turn into a Super Nova and then be gone, forever.  It’s not likely to happen this week, but it will happen.  That is the way the Universe works.  Equally, we should never forget, that actually, the Earth itself will survive despite the worst we can do to it.  Coakroaches post a “nulear obliteration for instance.  So, perhaps all of this is not so much about ‘saving the Earth’ as it is about ‘saving the humans’.  This movement is more about changing our mad, modern culture, so that we can continue to enjoying the sublime achievements of human culture of milenia.   So we can go on respecting, enjoying and living in harmony with the Earth for countless millennia of generations to come.  Apart from the sheer joy, tranquillity, amazement, unforgettability, sharing, inspiration, humour, colour, sparkle, subtlety, depth and balance which derives from experiencing nature, it is even possible to develop a personal friendship with nature.  A relationship.  Like someone to lean on, a friend to go to think things through with, a place to celebrate, a mate who lets you rest, an extension of your own family and clan, who will always be there for you. It is possible to think of nature relationship as being as important as any relationship in your life.  And as with any relationship we must cultivate it and strenthen it by spending time together.
And, Surprise, Surprise! Nature’s An  Elixir!
The wellbeing of humanity and the earth are directly related.  Appreciating our coexistence with the environment will promote sustainable behaviours which take care of both humans and the Earth. Mardie Townsend, from Deakin University, wrote an article in ‘Eingana: the Journal of the Victorian Association for Environmental Education’ that focused on the interdependent relationship between the wellbeing of the Earth and the wellbeing of humanity.  The article, titled ‘Civic Environmentalism: Linking Ecosystem Sustainability and Human Health’, analysed research done by the NiCHE (Nature, Community, Health and Environment) group at Deakin University’s School of Health and Social Development.  
The NiCHE project examined the physical, mental and spiritual enhancements which derive from human engagement with the environment.  Each initiative linked ecological and human health goals, promoting environmental awareness by reconnecting humans with nature and with each other. Townsend discovered that participants involved in civic environmental projects reported:
• Fewer trips to the doctor,
• Feeling safer in their community,
• Having a greater sense of belonging in their community and
• Having more opportunities to utilize their skills.
When planning for the future, it is important to focus on positive initiatives that promote hands-on interaction with the environment.  Humanity needs to reconnect with the earth in order to remain in good health.  The Sustainability Street Approach promotes a cultural transformation embracing a holistic people-planet relationship.  Sustainability Street communities actualise their own positive health by combining environmental education and community interaction in ways unique to their natural environment and location. With a little laughter, creativity, understanding, and hands-on activity, the future for Sustainability Streeters is a green and healthy one.  
Researched & written by - Jen Superson, from the USA, while on an internship with Vox.