Chemistry: Week One (Part 2)

Disappearing flowers, submerged islands, rising temperature, decline of food stock...The health of our planet is certainly in rapid decline. These few years, whenever I think of this subject, a mixed bag of emotions will always come up: on one hand i am frustrated at our government policies and people who leaves heavy environmental footprints without remorse; on the other hand, I feel despair about the state of our planet.

Much of what we discussed centered on the need of reducing the negative effects of chemicals and global warming. But is it too late to save the planet? If we will all be doomed in 50 years, should we still bother trying?

For me, the answer is yes. Because from holistic point of view, a lot of the things we can do to help save the planet is also healthier for our beings and our society.

For example, a society less dependent on automobiles doesn't only mean less dependency on energy supply. But cities built around pedestrians/public transportations often have more vibrate street life, more foot traffic, which means more locally-owned stores; less money that is needed to be spent on roadwork, less obese citizens, more relaxed environment and more public space. People who are car-free or car-lite also tend to get more exercise from walking and bicycling and save money ...The list goes on and on.

I have been trying to find ways to simplify my lifestyle. What I found is that most of the time, I ended up saving money and time, having a greater peace of mind...and reducing my environmental footprint!

As students of Chinese medicine, it is important that we not only look at specific cause/effect, but rather look at patterns of disharmony and treat the whole. We can certainly look at the problems of our current state of our world with the same mind.