David Suzuki – Tree: A Life Story
In this talk David shares some of the thoughts that went into his book, Tree: A Life Story, which follows the life of a Canadian Douglas Fir tree. Most might think a book about a tree would be immensely boring, but this is the point — a tree’s life is far more interesting and complicated than most of us have come to appreciate! And in observing the tree’s fascinating interactions with the organisms around it, both near and very far away, we come to understand a lot more about our own place within this system, as stewards of nature.
If this video is anything to go by, I think the book must offer some amazing insights into natural systems. As well as the discussion on the tree’s relationships with other elements, like mycelium fungi, bear and salmon, birds and insects, I particularly appreciated his thoughts on how our departmentalised and even privatised attempts to integrate natural systems into our economics are doomed to fail.
All in all, the discussion made me feel better about the world — in that it confirms there are some people out there who understand and appreciate its needs. Thanks David.
Further Reading:
Thank you Craig for posting this interview with David Suzuki. It is very inspirational.
It seems to me that a test of leadership should be the ability to speak the truth, eloquently and with knowledge, wisdom and authority—in the way we see here from David Suzuki.
To echo a suggestion by Bill Mollison … any politician who does not speak in the manner displayed here by Suzuki should be sacked immediately!
That will leave plenty of room for real leadership to step up and start the real work of mankind—fixing up the mess we’ve made and creating the first truly human society.
The externalities are coming in from the cold and we must all pay attention. The externalities, as Suzuki explains, are defined by economists as those things that economists leave out of the analysis. Pollution … wildfires and floods, earthquakes and tsunamis and nuclear meltdowns, melting glaziers and shrinking polar ice, thawing tundra, islands inundated by ever higher tides, mud slides and volcanos, desertification … etc.
The human externalities also … half of the human population of the planet is desperately poor. While one tenth of one percent control all the resources, and fight among themselves for control, and mis-manage them and us so terribly; commit atrocities of colossal proportion daily, hourly everywhere they can.
Their management is so irrational it must come to an end—It cannot continue.
On reflection of this video, my mind cannot help but ponder Tony Abbott and what he is doing to Australia. My mind cannot help but ponder the future that Tony Abbott will create for our children if he gets his chance at the next election. Tony Abbott will smash everything related to climate change policy. He will go through the parliament like a wrecking ball and tear everything apart. He will tear every tree down. He will mine every mineral deposit. He will take every drop of water from the Murray Draling. He will take every fish from the sea.