The cautionary tale is a good tool for raising awareness about serious problems. It is also a good place to turn to for inspiration when ignorance and indifference threatens. Sometimes we need a shot in the arm, a reminder of what is potentially at stake. But care must be exercised to not overuse them, lest we grow numb to their bleak messages and become paralyzed in taking meaningful and needed action.
This week’s Reconnect brings together Ekostories that serve as warnings to a world wracked with ecological degradation and cultural destruction. Jared Diamond’s examination of Easter Island in Collapse represents the ultimate reality check for the potential consequences of over-exploiting natural resources. Yahngulanaas’ Flight of the Hummingbird serves as a rallying call for action, but also reminds us that intention and beginnings are just as important as achieving the final objective. Finally, Tiptree’s Love is the Plan the Plan is Death is a stare into the alien and the abyss, a bleak story that reminds us that we need to continually strive to become the better angels of our nature in order to create a brighter future.
Twilight at Easter, by Jared Diamond
Flight of the Hummingbird, by Michael Nicoll Yahngulanaas
Ekostories 