Econo-Waste not; Want not

Day 35

25th June 2009

As I was walking home today, I saw these plants being carefully utilized by the ever-busy bees. As I watched them, I marvelled at their big saddle-bags of pollen on their legs, their gracefullness, and the almost tender way in which they crept in to the flower, so as not to damage it whilst they did their work. Beautiful.

I'm fascinated by bees. As a child I was frightened by them, especially having been stung by them on more than one occasion. These days I appreciate how the bee is one of the many creatures on the earth that are maintaining the fragility of the environment and the life of all inhabitants. Now that we know that bees in the UK are under threat, to me it brings home the reality of how fragile the earth really is.

But they are an example of how brilliantly resourceful nature is. Nature only takes what it needs in order to survive, it doesn't take to excess. Nature, as intended, will provide what is required of it so that the earth is maintained. Quite where us humans went wrong in this is a bit of a mystery, but one thing is clear:humanity needs to start dieting. Now. Could the reason that our bees are dying out be the result of human excessiveness working them all to death? Perhaps I'm being a bit extreme here.

The western world needs to stop eating so much, just for the sake of it. We need to go back to our roots and use what's in our environment, instead of shipping or flying food out of season, that can be grown seasonally in our own countries. Why do we need strawberries all year round? When I was a child, strawberries were a rare summer treat. Now I could buy some in that silly econowaste plastic box that supermarkets package them into, and eat some that were grown in Egypt, in the middle of winter. The fuel that is used to transport that fruit to me is ridiculous. We're running out of oil, and the time will come when the oil will be gone. The film, Wall-E actually makes a very good point about the future of humankind. Will people still be greedy, or will we learn to be as nature intended?