The first printing of Global Chorus contains several blank pages at the back where the reader is invited to respond on what they have read in the book, and to express their own thoughts on the central question posed to all Global Chorus contributors:
“Do you think that humanity can find a way past the current global environmental and social crises? Will we be able to create the conditions necessary for our own survival, as well as that of other species on the planet? What would these conditions look like? In summary, then, and in the plainest of terms, do we have hope, and can we do it?”
Please #jointhechorus and lend your voice to the growing global roundtable conversation here…
In the years since I was first introduced to Global Chorus I have seen a change in the world, one person, one idea at a time. We, each of us, are beginning to realize the impact we can have on our individual places. So many new and heart filled ideas, and movements have come about. Though there are troubled places on our planet I believe a new day is awakening. It is my hope that even in these places of unrest there will rise a new consciousness, that collectively overtakes the old ways, the need to conquer and divide will give way to a time where life is the most valued of prizes. The earth and all its treasures are paramount to commerce. That our borders dissolve in issues for the good of all.
I’m not what anyone would perceive as an environmentalist by any definition, but being a friend of Todds, I found his journey to put this book together to be inspiring to say the least, so I plopped down my hard earned cash and bought a book( ended up buying 3, but thats a different story) . I had decided to read one page a day, to allow me to ponder what i had just read, but ended up cheating , and reading many pages at once, as when I turned each page, I found myself wanting to know what the next person had to say. Todd reached people from around the globe, and in doing so brought so many perspectives to the same question. I was amazed by the heavyweights, Nelson Mandela, and the Dalai Lama, to name a few, who took the time to add their thoughts. I’m up to April 20th, and ive creased the corner of 10 pages so far, ones that i know I’m going to want to go back to again. The ones, such as the out of the Box guy, who focused on children really made me stop and think, not an easy thing to do. I’ve still got more than 8 months of pages to go. I cant wait to see whats next
Global Chorus
Do you think that humanity can find a way past the current global environmental and social crises? Will we be able to create the conditions necessary for our own survival, as well as that of other species on the planet? What would these conditions look like? In summary, then, and in the plainest of terms, do we have hope, and can we do it?
Introduction: According to Adria Vasil, environmentalist and journalist, “we don’t need a foggy crystal ball to see the world screeching toward the brink of catastrophe” Global Chorus, p. 303. We see the results of pollution everywhere, from animal extinction due to the destruction of habitats to litter all along roadsides and trails, even in Prince Edward Island. Water, air and ground are all suffering. Jane Goodall writes “Can we save Planet Earth? Of course we CAN. The question is, will we?” Global Chorus, p. 2. We, in 5G feel that we can indeed save the planet, and of course we will! We have to! It’s our responsibility and it gives HOPE to those who are watching us.
The smallest actions can have a massive impact. We learned that by reading Global Chorus in our class. We, as a class, have read approximately a dozen essays and we will continue to read more. Adria Vasil wrote about taking care of our own little corner which is what we are doing. For example at the beginning of the year, after reading some of the GC essays, we decided to reduce our waste in our lunches. Litter-less lunch has been successful. We’ve also learned more about sorting our trash properly.
Before Thanksgiving we read an article on David Suzuki’s website about global food waste and how it causes pollution. We now have started reducing the amount of food waste we produce each day. We sort our trash in class and most everything goes into different recycle bins. The stuff that our school doesn’t recycle, but which can be, is then taken home by our teacher to be recycled at her house.
We read in Global Chorus that we can have a big influence on others because we’re all teachers and we’re all students. We are teachers when we tell other people about how to recycle and reduce waste and showing them how to do it. We are taking the information we learned in school and bringing it home. We are also planning on sharing our learning with other classes. We are exploring the possibility of a green roof and planting trees to help our environment. We have reduced our waste by using containers instead of plastic bags. Buying things in bulk helps to reduce packaging so we have been making better choices when we shop. We are also careful to use what we have, and share what we have with others instead of buying new things whenever we need them. We also support buying local whenever possible. We made apple-sauce in our class using locally grown apples.
If we all pitch in and do our part, we will save the world, because it needs our help. Thank you Todd for helping us to make our lives big and green and for developing Global Chorus. Everyday, let’s keep the earth green! Do you think you will go green?