Modes of Caring - Earth — On Caring

Extinct is Forever: Caring for the Earth

We have only one planet. How do we take care of it? What modes of caring will we need and how do we use our knowledge to move us, collectively, toward saving the planet. It cannot be left to nations or states, for sure. The speed of our lives and the scale of production and consumption now threatens our existence and corporations are no longer responsible to nations or states. They are the global superpowers, rogue actors, without responsibility. Climate change and environmental disasters combined with the threat of nuclear annihilation (see latest Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists) have moved the Doomsday Clock 100 seconds to midnight, closer to the end of time than ever.

The earth and nature is our common good. All modes of caring should circulate around her, connect to her, sustain her. Caring in all modes is otherwise pointless. We care for so many things that matter to us: valued objects, relationships, ways of being in the world. We take care so things and relationships will endure and when they do they are passed down to succeeding generations. We all keep valued objects from our family history. We care about them. We take care because memories sustain us. The same is true for the earth. We must join together to ensure that we take care of her, not treated her as an object to be exploited and selfishly consumed.

Nature requires of us very particular kinds of relationship. It demands our respect. And like all modes of caring, we are in an interdependent relationship with the planet; yet many relate to nature as a transaction. We have much to learn about transactional approaches to caring for the earth.

On Caring | The Project will use the blog, podcast, and vodcast to think about how this mode of caring, caring for the planet, connects to other modes of caring. A fully developed caring society values our material reality, our dependence on the earth and nature. We must love, recognize, and respect the earth.