Blissful news ignorance, Powell, Wangari Maathai, and Natural Capitalism

My quest for ignorance continues... at least political ignorance. Thankfully, I have not heard a single pundit in what seems like a lifetime. I have not watched nor listened to a single political show. I have changed my homepag from the bbc news online to thefreedictionary.com. I am calmer and more productive for it.

Still, I got to the gym and I learnt that Colin Powell has resigned. My reaction, never has one significant act been more "a day late and a dollar short." Don't care, let me know when his memoirs come out. I want to see dirt.

Anyway, my news diet is restricted to the Alternet and James Wolcott and Guardian, but only in irregular and limited doses.

Last night, I went to the alternet and found an article by Nobel Peace Prize winner and enviromentalist, Wangari Maathai, "Nature, Nurture and Culture." In it she argues that a cultural revival may be the only thing that stands between conservation and the destruction of the environment. I am fascinated by her "systems approach" (i.e. holistic) to environmental issues. Since, I am also currently reading some material on "natural capitalism" and The Natural Step framework, which also take a systems approach to market economy, development and sustainability - I am doubly-fascinated. The latter clearly is a product of a purely western experience. But, taken together....

My favorite observation in her essay reads,

"People without culture feel insecure and are obsessed with the acquisition of material things, which give them a temporary security that itself is a delusional bulwark against future insecurity. Without culture, a community loses self-awareness and guidance, and grows weak and vulnerable. It disintegrates from within as it suffers a lack of identity, dignity, self-respect and a sense of destiny."

Sound like anybody you know...