The World is your Oyster - Like hell it Is
- 9 Oct 06, 03:29 PM
Where did the expression "The World is your Oyster" come from? For those of us who use the phrase it means the world out there is yours to go and get. But surely now, it's time out.
Oysters are twin-shelled molluscs that sit on the sandy sediments at the meeting place between the river and the sea. Depending on the species they can grow to about the size of your hand over many years - And like other marine snails and bi-valves the calcium chemistry lining their shells gives the "mother of pearl" kaleidoscope of colour. This perfect expression of beauty seems to have no function. It's just so.....And of course pearls - the must have gem - simply stunning in their visual quality and a by-product of the oysters method of handling ingested toxins.
Oysters do a job in the sea. They are part of the the shallow sea ecology and play a vital role filtering water and man handling suspended food matter which they turn into oyster. They are part of a rich and diverse sea. I'm not meaning to be glib - ok we farm these creatures, but we also tear them from the wild hawking for pearls without any regard for their role in the sea and their profoundly important role in keeping the oceans healthy.
We do the same with many bi-vlave molluscs - Scallops come to mind. But more so mussels. Regarded as common with no conservation status - yet these creatures live, when unharvested, in vast beds attached to rocks in the surge zone and filter and clean planetary scale quantities of sea water. Without them our seas would be dire. And I sense they are torn off the rocks without any clear understanding of what they are and what they do for us - And for free.
In an interview for PEuT, it was EO Wilson who said the natural world provides $23 trillion a year of free servcies. Filtering sea water of impurities so it in turn can support other marine wildlife, is a free service - part of that $23 trillion freebee. This figure is equal to the global annual GDP.
I met some young people at the weekend who were so go-happy, fresh faced and full of promise. They had a youthful joy for life and approaching their mid twenties they did indeed feel the world was their oyster. But I was amazed when they showed no knowledge about re-cycling, or care about waste. The message of living sustainably and more simply - not ripping our world apart - hasn't reached them yet. They were broadly aware of weather issues, but had no concept of biodiversity and the process that makes our planet fit to live in. These young people happened to be surfers, each telling me about the amazing creatures they saw whilst sitting "at the back" on their board, waiting for the wave: they talked of dolphins and seals "...this....big". So long as the sea was clean and had surf, the world was their oyster - And they loved the icons of marine health in the forms of dolphins and seals.
it was in the UK back in the late 70's and 80's that North devon surfers became a really potent force against raw effluent being pumped into the sea. It wasn't wildlife they were seeing in those days.
But they [ the young ones I met] just don't seem to believe the bigger[new] picture - the picture that scientists, conservationists - many politicians and commentators are describing - we're trashing the planet - we're just going out there and grabbing what ever we want - and [they say] it has to stop.
You bet it does.
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People are still simply taking what they want.
Cheap flights has led to lots more short holidays within Europe. I've now heard of people taking DAY TRIPS to southern Europe for the sun.
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...and, we continue to promote the 'live now pay later' attitude via overt commercialism at every opportunity coupled to inappropriate icons being held up for the young. Indeed, government itself, in many countries, fuels the fire with overt promotion of what it sees as emerging techologies and related business development opportunities. The media must surely shoulder a burden of responsibility here, especially with regard to advertising content etc. Perhaps the awareness of associated issues, supported by accurate statistics, will need to find a wider responsible audience in order to gain critical influencing mass.
Regards,
JA
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