Author: Helisoa Randriamanana

“As authors and editors, we are worried that this book might be bit of a bummer…What’s more, while many exciting ideas and movements have been discussed in this book, none of them are conclusive solutions…” (Bauman 266).

Bauman begins his conclusion with the depressing possibility that humans may not be able to reverse the destruction that they have caused to the planet. This conclusion entitled, “Despair, hope, and action” urges its readers to accept their despair rather than reject the inevitable destruction. At first, I thought that Bauman was going to end the book with the claim that there is nothing that we can do and that’s it but he goes on to highlight the importance of despair. He acknowledges that even though there have been many solutions proposed in the book, many of them are not feasible. Instead, people need to be empowered by their despair in order to act. Knowing that one has no “normal future” left ahead, it becomes guaranteed that there is nothing to lose by fighting back and everything to gain from moving forward as activist Tim DeChristopher writes. When organizations only have hope at the foreground of their ecological response, human morale may lower because the acceptance of despair has not yet occurred. Buddhism encourages this reaction to the ecological crisis. Hope then blooms from despair.

“…it is time to acknowledge that the world as we know it will perish” (Bauman 269).

One alternative path of hope is grounding oneself in a concrete place rather than attempting to take on the task of the entire earth’s ecological crisis. “…not all environmental problems need to be understood globally…” (Bauman 270). To me, this sounds like the most feasible type of hope that many people are already engaging in without realizing. Rather than make a great plan, people should have smaller one’s for concrete locations. Another approach frequently mentioned is the creation and bonding over a newly created religion. If all the others have once failed the environment, maybe it is time to bond over a new one. This starts at merely encouraging communities to share ideas and interconnect. Bauman writes, “Thus, religious communities can come together to shape a new ethic that will guide humanity to a better and more just future” (Bauman 272).

Bauman also concludes that perhaps rather than using a single answer to engage in the struggle, people need to engage in the question of environmental degradation first. When people fail to even acknowledge it, nothing will ever be changed. Unlike my original opinion that this talk of despair and loss serves as unproductive, at the end of this book I felt like Bauman offers many great theories throughout the book that should be shared to even begin the ecological talk. It’s not depressing to mention this despair, but rather it serves as an acceptance and launch pad for future change. I really liked Grounding Religion and I feel like it did exactly as advertised: served as a field guide for beginners on how to begin the conversation on the environment.

I was skimming the website Brain Pickings for my literature class and the most recent article entitled, “Trailblazing Scottish Mountaineer and Poet Nan Shepherd on the Transcendent Rewards of Walking and What Makes for an Ideal Walking Companion” reminded me of the Dogen, “Mountains and Rivers Sutra’” that we read for class! (I know it’s not a Buddhist text but the similarities are pretty cool.)

The article is about the Scottish poet, Nan Sheperd, her book, The Living Mountain: A Celebration of the Cairngorm Mountains of Scotland, and the importance of human interconnectedness with nature. Sheperd makes an inquiry into why the relationship between human and nature has disintegrated, thus endangering wildlife. In her book, Sheperd writes on the importance of walking to connect with nature. 

Here’s a quote from the book included in the article!

“… Walking thus, hour after hour, the senses keyed, one walks the flesh transparent. But no metaphor, transparent, or light as air, is adequate. The body is not made negligible, but paramount. Flesh is not annihilated but fulfilled. One is not bodiless, but essential body. It is therefore when the body is keyed to its highest potential and controlled to a profound harmony deepening into something that resembles trance, that I discover most nearly what it is to be. I have walked out of the body and into the mountain. I am a manifestation of its total life, as is the starry saxifrage or the white-winged ptarmigan.”

“This teaching says: enough. Screaming at the archer is a sure way to remain attached to your suffering rather than easing or eliminating it. A better way is to learn, through meditation, through study and practice, a way to free yourself from the pain of being shot, no matter who the archer might be.” (Alice Walker 5)

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Alice Walker’s stunning and contemplative article on the use of Buddhism as a method of coping with the internalized racism of the real world is incredibly insightful. With the western definition of “religion” in mind, many would disregard Buddhism as a religion, Walker herself claims that she is not a Buddhist. On the other hand, Walker writes that the teachings and ways of life encouraged through Buddhism has helped her reconcile with her loss of love. It has also helped her open her heart and focus on bettering herself and her community rather than waste time under the unapologetic eyes of the white man. As a prominent POC figure with her novel The Color Purple, Alice Walker understands the daily troubles of both internalized and external racism and the ways of the Buddha have helped her reconcile with this turmoil. Though the minds of others cannot always be changed, there is benefit and grace in bettering oneself.

One does not need to be silent to also be working on bettering the self.

 

I actually find that without consciously considering my environmental impact, it is so much easier to dismiss the environment than when I actually make the effort to be eco-friendlier. Everything around the city has become so disposable and purposely convenient that paying an extra $2 for a reusable tote bag at a store sounds worse than using multiple plastic bags to back items (it’s capitalism but anyway). Regardless of what is found directly in front of us, there are still simple ways to be eco-friendlier.

Some simple earth-friendly changes from the past week:

• Like most people, I buy coffee almost every day EVEN THOUGH my apartment has a coffee maker in it. My laziness on most mornings prevents me from turning it on and instead, I have to shell out an extra $2 while late on the way to my 8 am class. I used to use our coffee maker often but have started waking up too late to turn it on in time. Recently, I have returned to using it instead of buying paper cupped coffee at the over abundant coffee shops for my 8 am. Even though my paper cupped coffee days are still here, by reducing constant purchase of this eco-unfriendly garbage to only 2 times a week is better than doing nothing at all.
• We have fairy lights in our dorm kitchen that people always forget to turn off, in turn casting a (quite frightening) soft light on the kitchen in the night. We don’t need them on except when we are using the kitchen but the nice “aesthetic” that we get from the lights make us less inclined to turn them off when we get home from classes around 1 pm while it is still light outside. Because I am usually the first person awake in the mornings I have started unplugging them when I leave the room because I know that if I don’t do it others won’t either.
• My roommate and I try to do laundry on the same day so that we can use the same dryer and save money. Because the dryers in our dorm are so large, at least two loads can fit in at one time. She and I put our clothes in the same dryer to save space, time, and water!

As only a budding conservationist, it is still difficult to remove myself from the convenient harmfulness of everyday city living, but every little change and effort counts even if we do not feel like it does.

Many car models as early as around 2012 have a new feature called ECO mode that people tend to overlook unless they have dedicated time to actually reading the car manual. What is ECO mode? ECO mode is activated through a button on the dashboard that reduces the car’s throttle response causing slower acceleration when the car does not need to accelerate quickly. For example, this will be efficient on the highway or long stretches of roads. ECO mode also improves fuel economy by reducing and modifying air conditioning responses and regulating the power used in the car. Better fuel economy means less gas being used and less overuse of natural gases. This is a good way to sustain the environment (though it will not improve it).

My mom discovered the ECO button in our family’s new car (GMC Terrain) and now will not stop using it to conserve gas. Every other weekend, my brother comes home from college in south Jersey and my parents take turns driving him back. So far, I haven’t noticed a difference in gas mileage but maybe I am just not observant of the fuel that we use on a regular basis (What does this say about me?). Because we’re students in NYC, I guess this isn’t as applicable to us as it is to my family in New Jersey but this is still a cool thing to know when you are visiting home and driving around!