You may not necessarily have as strong of a respect or affinity for Pope Francis as I often do, but what I love about his writing is that he cuts to the chase:
“Without a doubt, the natural resources required by technology, such as lithium, silicon and so many others, are not unlimited, yet the greater problem is the ideology underlying an obsession: to increase human power beyond anything imaginable, before which nonhuman reality is a mere resource at its disposal. Everything that exists ceases to be a gift for which we should be thankful, esteem and cherish, and instead becomes a slave, prey to any whim of the human mind and its capacities.”
In our town of Patagonia, the community is facing the threat of a South32 mine for manganese and zinc, which they claim can be strategic minerals for US security and computer/communications technology. On National Public Radio stations every morning we hear them claim that they are advancing sustainability while doing so, even though they have destroyed thousands of trees and their carbon sequestration capacities and not planted one; increased soil erosion on a getaway road that bypasses the town limits; generated noise and dust pollution; and aim to use more water than nearly all other industries in Santa Cruz county combined.
Instead of those minerals (and the landscapes around them) being saved for future generations of America, off they will go to China and Australia.
In short South32’s Aussie CEO Graham Kerr has made our little town his prey for any whim that comes into his mind. We must move toward a day when greenwashing is no more acceptable than greed, because greed with a sugar coating on top tastes just as bitter.
