Arthus-Bertrand Interview

[Clifford John Vodden]

There is a quotation from an article which for me puts in a nutshell the problem faced by humanity, which is the problem of human nature.  I carry a copy in my wallet, because it reminds me of the way things are, puts things in perspective:

' "The planet's population has nearly tripled in my lifetime," he says.  "And the problem is everyone wants to live like us."  Arthus-Bertrand was in Borneo filming Home, in an area of deforestation.  He stopped to refuel and spoke to a man driving a huge tractor trailing the chains that uproot swathes of trees.  He told him about global warming, about orangutans, the whole story.  The man looked him in the eye:  "You come in helicopter to tell me how to live?  I have to feed my family.  I don't care about trees.  I want to buy a 4x4."

Later the same man took Arthus-Bertrand out on the river through the jungle on a very simple boat.  Under a tin roof in a cabin the man's wife was feeding her baby, and watching an American soap opera on a flatscreen television.  "She was dreaming of a fast car, and these beautiful clothes," Arthus-Bertrand recalls.  "That is what we have created.  Everyone naturally wants this paradise that we have, where happiness is to have more things.  Always to have more.'

( Tim Adams, 'The Observer Magazine', 20.03.11 )

[bert louis]

Yann

GoodPlanet is a foundation created and chaired by Yann Arthus-Bertrand in 2005 to raise public awareness of the fact that in just 50 years man has modified Earth’s environment faster than in the whole history of humanity !

Since 1990 Yann Arthus-Bertrand has flown over one hundred countries around the world. Extraordinary aerial views of nature and descriptive texts invite us to reflect upon our planet’s evolution and our future.
 
Yann believes that our time is decisive for the future of mankind. He hopes that his immages from above and his comments will incite people to think about their own personal role in this global event.


comment

Yann bind together ecology and humanism. For him, it's all about living together.

My thougth on this: humanisme is a very weak position to remedy  our ecological problem. Religion is so much stronger, because it focusses on our existential bewilderment.
Personally, I am betting on a  yet to emerge Eco-religion.

[bert louis]

Oh, and...

what the fuck am I doing here? You posted this link to the very interesting imagery of Yann on march 28. Since then there have been only 7 views. Does this prove my point that the humanistic view is completely powerless?