Qu'il est beau l'environnement: to ensure environmental sustainability
This poem (that I wrote a long time ago) doesn't directly connect with sustaining the environment but to me it represents the simple joys of nature that can be had if the environment is sustained. These joys I see more as the simple and natural rewards for the effort put forth to save and not to just maintain, but to improve the environmental conditions.
Silence and sound
Cascading wave of blue and green
The kind of things no one every sees
Aspen and grain shining in the sun
Wouldn’t you want to walk among?
The crashing of waves in the ocean far
They come in breaking on the sand bar
The pitter patter on the leaves
And the gentle wave from the breeze
The flowers that bloom in the early spring
And the beat of a flying bird’s wing
The sound of the ocean in conch shells
And the singing of the church bells
The crying of infants world round
And the silence that cannot be found
The ringing of laughter in our ears
And the quickness of our flying tears
The strength of those courageous and bold
And the overwhelming stories that have never been told
The chirp of crickets at night
And the sound of wings taking flight
The drop of water in a pond
And the graceful arched neck of a swan
The noise of those in the unknown deep
And the rhythm of a drum beat
The laughter of a child’s play
And the coldness of the autumn rain
The brightness of the sun’s light
And the fullness of a mountains height
The grace of a deer’s step
And the touching of noses when they met
The Earth we live on big and round
And all its silence and its sound
10/23/02
It might be argued that fighting for the environment is fairly futile since rewards for such work are not concrete. However, as one can get a sense from from this poem, natures way of expressing it's gratitude is in an abstract manner. The loss of environmental phenomena is a tragedy, in my opinion. The beauty nature provides and the essential resources we take from it are invaluable. We protect natural wonders like Niagara Falls, the Great Barrier Reef, etc but what about those unknown marvels that are being destroyed because they lack a title due not being able to be the biggest, longest, greatest, etc etc? Their beauty is subjective for the most part since everyone is partial to different things. However this beauty is absolute because of many things; its silence, its innocence, its wildness, its sound, its ability to trigger an emotional experience, its simplicity etc etc. Sustaining the environment is essential to preserving these unknown and known wonders.
Pictures from National Geographic
http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photogalleries/nature-weather