The latest Olympics closing ceremony looks set to be an eye-popping series of amazing events. That’s absolutely wonderful for the here-and-now thinkers – the time and effort, imported goods, capital outlay, and ecological damage caused just for a great time today.
Let’s stretch our imaginations beyond the stadium for a minute. Every item to be used in the closing ceremony – as for the opening ceremony, had to come from somewhere. Where? Oil fields, mines, tropical forests, grasslands and valleys spread across the continents. You can bet on it: these celebrations have been causing environmental damage for months before the world came to see them (despite any lip service to recycling).
Next time you visit a wilderness area and think “This is dreadful and nasty – look at the pollution, the surrounding towns packed with unemployed ex-corporation workers, and the wasteful conversion of the natural world here”, then think back to the parties people love to throw. All that rubbish has got to come from somewhere… and we’ve taken nearly all we can find in nature already.
But! Don’t worry about the mess – people will continue throwing excessively wasteful parties at the next Olympic Games (if there’s anything left to take from the natural world by then).
You can try to make a difference to this trend. So can I, but anyone who goes against the grain of the consumerism model will meet resistance. For instance, I am continuously ridiculed for my world record achievements. Many people don’t see the need to connect one’s activities with the most important message of all: we need to stop killing all life we can find.