Iceland resumes whale hunting
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Posted on October 24, 2006
Filed Under Deep ecology, Ecological overshoot, Ecological hope, Consumer culture, Environmental disasters, Earth spirituality
Fostering Ecological Hope
Today from Margaret Swedish:
Eg brought this to my attention with a comment on my contact page. Despite fierce international opposition, Iceland has resumed commercial whale hunting. In doing so, the country has defied a ban that has been in place since the 1980s.
They are being cheered on by Japan and Norway who also vigorously claim a right to commercial whale hunting.
I don’t usually post on individual environmental abuse issues, in part because many fine organizations do this already, but thought I would this time because this is another indication of a profound dysfunction that is at the root of our ecological crisis — our relationship with the other natural creatures of this Earth. It is this relationship that is in great need of reexamination, spiritual renewal, and healing.
Iceland claims that renewed commercial hunting is important to its economy, but critics argue that whale meat is not exactly a much-wanted delicacy in the country, and does not bring in nearly the revenue that tourist whale-watching does — an industry that implies that one is not depleting the whale population one is bringing tourists to observe.
Greenpeace has an international campaign underway to pressure Iceland to stop the hunt. Check it out if you want to add your name to the campaign.
The thing about our relationship with creatures around this planet is that we are bound together by the same web of life. Only the human species sees itself as a creature superior to all others, apart from others, and therefore with a right to exploit others for the human’s benefit. This attitude affects relationships among the human community and among the human and other species.
But here’s the thing — we see ourselves as superior and above, yet we are the ones threatening life as evolved over millions of year. The Earth may need to rid itself of us in order to restore its balance. So we cannot live without this fabric of life, without Earth, but Earth and these creatures can most certainly live without us.
So where are we in the hierarchy of beings? Within and among, dependent and mutually nurturing. It is that ecological reality that we have corrupted.
We must stop this destructive relational behavior. We must heal these relationships and learn once again to honor the web of life that holds us and gives us life.
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