Worldwide, the equivalent of 27,000 trees are flushed down the toilet everyday, adding up to almost 10 million trees a year.
Astounding, isn’t it?
That’s only 10% of the 270,000 “trees” worth of paper-related products that are discarded each day in landfills and water systems.
On top of that, according to Treehugger:
“Making a roll of toilet paper uses 1.5 pounds of wood, 37 gallons of water and 1.3 KWh of of electricity.”
How can Mother Earth possibly keep up with us humans?
“More than a third of the world’s people live within 62 miles of a shoreline. Over the coming decades, as sea levels rise, climate change experts predict that many of the world’s largest cities, including Miami and New York, will be increasingly vulnerable to coastal flooding. A recent study of 136 port cities found that those with the largest threatened populations will be in developing countries, especially those in Asia.”
I was stunned by these facts as I read “The Coming Storm” in the May 2011 issue of National Geographic while waiting to have my vision checked.
What grabbed my attention in particular was the life of the “char dwellers” in Bangladesh, one of the most densely populated countries in the world. Char dwellers are:
“…the hundreds of thousands of people who inhabit the constantly changing islands, or chars, on the floodplains of Bangladesh’s three major rivers—the Padma, Jamuna, and Meghna. These islands, many covering less than a square mile, appear and vanish constantly, rising and falling with the tide, the season, the phase of the moon, the rainfall, and the flow of rivers upstream.”
Yes, these islands are constantly disappearing. And so char dwellers are constantly moving – as often as once a year or more. Since the islands can suddenly disappear, they are prepared to move in a matter of moments. They create highly portable homes that can be taken down, moved, and put back together at a new location in a matter of hours. They live with their suitcases at the foot of their beds. The char dwellers are the epitome of resiliency and adaptability.
Tammy Strobel and Gwen Bell have inspired me to try out a monthly review.
It might help me keep my feet on the ground! And I hope it will help and inspire you in some way too.
Like a sudden, dramatic fall storm, change seems to be popping out of nowhere and everywhere. Is change touching or disrupting your life too?
Listening to one of the interviews in the Earth Changes series at Evolving Beings gave me a new perspective on change. Apparently, there are many powerful planetary and astrological shifts in play at this time – like the Comet Elenin and the Uranas – Pluto Square (2011 – 2016). These forces are shaking things up quite a bit for individuals and society. Witness the Wall Street protests as one example.
It seems like a really good time to learn to dance with change, don’t you think? We’re in this together so let’s support one another.
Trust, receptivity, living consciously, being responsible for your actions, coming from the heart, and realizing a sense of connectedness with all others will help you navigate these stormy seas. Change itself is not good or bad. It just is. We can decide to flow with it or resist. My initial temptation is to resist, but my aspiration and intention is to flow.
On a personal level, change threw me for a loop in September. Believe me, anything you think will never change can and may indeed change. It can happen in a flash. What seemed familiar can instantly seem oddly unfamiliar and even foreign.
I felt the rug pulled out from under me, but it woke me right up to the truth of impermanence. How could I have forgotten? Holding on to a cozy, happily ever-after scenario will never work. Everything changes at one point or another.
Hi, I'm Sandra Pawula, freelance editor, writer and inner explorer. I'm here to help you tap into your inner spring of true happiness and freedom.Curious? Read On!
