social change

Referred to as a “mass persuasion exercise,” Al Gore’s Live Earth was by far the biggest, boldest and loudest environmental public education event ever created. Over 100 musical acts, performed on seven continents, attracted two-billion viewers within 24 hours. Undeniably, it was an incredible feat. But did the celebrity admonitions, the poignant vignettes, and Al Gore’s seven-point pledge inspire us to change our lifestyles and reduce our carbon footprint? Were SUVs suddenly abandoned at the curb, laundry hoisted outside to dry and electric wine chillers traded in for more efficient models?

It isn’t easy being green. There’s the guilt that comes with every plastic bag or paper napkin tossed, with each imported peach eaten, every jar of face cream or new pair of shoes bought. There’s the confusion of recycling and reusing, of figuring out what to do with those used batteries and wine corks, broken toasters and old TV sets. And plastics? Don’t get me started on plastics.

Of all the possible definitions of a garden, I like Don Gayton’s best: “A garden is a gift, a celebration and a revelation.” Gayton’s idea applies equally well to his own efforts, as an ecologist landscaping his suburban yard, as to the more political and activist agenda of guerrilla gardener David Tracey. Both use their trowels to cultivate broad connections – Gayton’s to the ecology of the land, Tracey’s to the social ecology of community – and both have written deeply wise books. There’s plenty of fertile, nurturing mulch in these two works – and loads of sly, humble humour.

Combing through scientific studies and correspondents’ reports in her seaside home in Maine, Rachel Carson saw nature bludgeoned by a chemical barrage. Telling stories about the northern Barren Lands, Farley Mowat expressed the spirit and meaning of wolves at home in the wilderness. Drawing on advice from every continent, Barbara Ward and René Dubos crafted an early vision of a shared planet. Elsewhere, computer modelers projected a collision between growing human appetites and a finite world.