As a mom of two young boys, I invest a lot in their
future. Today, at the dawn of this 21st
century, I often wonder: what will they truly need in order to live a healthy,
happy, fulfilled life to its fullest? (As visions of ad logos dance in my
head.) More space, money, cars…? Does more lead to fulfillment? Happiness?
Of course, as a mom, I want my children to always have what
they need to live a full and productive life.
And now, more than ever, I think and worry about how our basic building
blocks of life – air, water, earth – seem increasingly in peril. And so, part of the investment I make in my
children’s future is feeding them with food that is as safe and nutritious as
possible. But I also think about how far
that food has traveled and how much water and energy was used to produce it.
We are hearing much about drought and water shortage these
days, I know that we are going to feel that too, before the arrival of rainy
season here in South Florida. Did you
know that throughout the US, a good 50% of our national water
supply goes into the food we eat? It can take 200 gallons of water to produce a
pound of beans. A pound of beef can
take over 2,000 gallons of water to produce.
Another thing that we feel here in South Florida is the real
need for clean air that is cooled down to a liveable temperature. In the US
almost 50% of our energy
use is in heating and cooling homes and buildings.
But we have structures available to us to build our
homes, businesses and public buildings in ways that use less than ¼ of that
heating/ cooling energy. And there are farming
systems that grow food with minimal
inputs of energy, water and chemicals. We just need to utilize them!
Climate change is
happening, no matter how many $$$ you put into denying it. Our temperatures overall are rising, ice
sheets are retreating, and we have only one choice: ADAPT.
So that is what I teach my children – creativity,
adaptation, and the importance of observing and considering the cycles and
patterns of nature in all our actions and decisions. It is what our ancestors have done, and it is
the only way we will successfully navigate the changing times ahead.
We – our whole planet – are an ecosystem. And yes, we are diverse, competitive, and at
times, ruthless. But we are all
interconnected, bound together by our commonality and our dependence on the
air, soil and life blood of our first mother – Earth.
Tara Chadwick works as a community outreach consultant for Earth Learning and would like to
invite you to the 2014 Local Food Enterprise Summit in Miami May 31-June 2.
Registration information is available at www.financialpermaculture.com,
spaces are filling quickly.
