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The land on Kauai farmed by large American bio-tech corn and sugar cane companies form a shocking contrast. Modern agricultural practices have increased yield, but turned the farming areas into virtual landfills in the process. Fertilizers seep into the ocean causing reef death, killing fish, and generating plumes of eutrophication. Plastic drip hose and garbage litter the once beautiful flat lands of Kekaha and approach right up to the boundaries of the ancient burial grounds of the kings at Polihale. ....Western culture’s lack of a partnership worldview emphasizing the interconnectedness of all forms of life has led to the serious decline of nearly every ecosystem in Hawaii over the last 200 years. .... Such agricultural practices result from a dominating rather than a partnership system. In a dominator system, those at the top seize profits for themselves wherever they can find them. In a partnership view, all are responsible the long-term results of their actions on other life.I was struck by her description of a partnership worldview. I think that the developed world is in desperate need of a paradigm shift to such a worldview. Such a shift is possible: as Wade Davis described in his book The Wayfinders, our cultural path is not the only one that exists. A velvet climate revolution would include a shift in our thinking and our spiritual practices: if we considered the effects of our actions on other life, we would pressure our governments to change laws and regulations so that we lowered our greenhouse gas emissions.
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