The handprint
Most of history tells the story of the footprint; natural ecosystems degraded through human activities; tropical rainforests cleared and burnt; temperate forests clearcut; the oceans overfished and polluted; wildlife species hunted to extinction; the air and rivers filled with toxic chemicals, and natural landscapes ploughed under or paved over as we claim more and more of the world for our own ends. It is a form of frontier economics - we take what we feel belongs to us and move on, leaving every stone upturned. All along this journey; since the beginning, nature has appeared to be boundless. Our major ecological principle, that we are dependent on the soil, air and water has been missed or ignored; this loss of understanding or ignorance - from the supposedly most intelligent life on the planet - is pushing all of pristine nature and its species into extinction.
The consequences of our actions today can be felt across the Earth, the effects we are having on our ecosystems are real and man is responsible for as much changes in the geological structures of our planet as natural forces. Dr. Iain Stewart made this point in his TV series “Earth”. We live in an age of “the human ecosystem” - there are no longer any areas left undisturbed.
The time of frontier economics and mindless exploitation now has to have a new vision. A vision where we base our economic activity in symbiosis with restorative activities. One example of such thinking has come from an unlikely source; Toyota - they claim to be able to manufacture a car that can clean the air whilst driving! At first this would seem to be a joke, but it is an economic design and thinking that merits attention; improving the environment at the same time as we go on about our business; very different approach to only reducing our negative impact.
Planting a tree, is a positive action we can all do to increase the wealth of our natural capital. Restoring a wildflower meadow; again a similar action. When these actions add up and we are “gardening in the mosaics of nature” - we create “handprints”, as opposed to “footprints” - the handprint symbolizing the positive and proactive gesture we can have on our landscape. In the film - the man who planted trees - we are shown what one man can do to transform entire valleys in the south of France. The story marvels at how this “one” individual has enough power for these restorative changes to occur. Ask yourself what happens if ten individuals worked to restore the landscape, or a hundred - a million? Instantly, because we have seen our own power through the lens of destruction; we find the truth of our great possibility to restore.
The 21st century story has to enter the age of restoration, calculating our handprints and finding models and structures studying the effects of a restored rainforest, instead of a deforested one. A new and fresh beginning; our potential to restore the damage of the past is real and the work ahead endless. Unemployment would be impossible!
What is holding us back? Absolutely nothing is; it is all in our hands (quite literary) - now lets begin the great work ahead.