Ode to the Olive

The common olive:
Olea europaea

Branch of Champions
Flag of Conquerors
Symbol of Peace
Hero of the Mediterranean

So diminutive and yet so noble
Arrayed in greens and purple blacks
Hard stone anchoring its core
Dripping from gnarled trees
As jewels of dew at first light
Entwined by leaves of burnished silver

Plucked laboriously, lovingly by
Thick tanned leather hands
To be pressed, rock upon rock
Until they shed their golden tears
Whereupon it is bottled greedily
And yet with gratitude
To fuel the society of Men

Lubricating the gears of ancient war
Fortifying the hearts of the People
Kissing their daily bread
The fruit of their lands
Embodying a living tradition

Wrestlers slathered in oil
Undertake slippery combat
Mortal against Mortal
Paying their tribute to Athena
And Aristaeus both

This ovoid wonder
Crucible of civilization
Balm of Philosophers
Honored down through the ages

Grows quietly in my Californian backyard

Perhaps aware of its history and Virtue,
Or perhaps not.

The Political Geography of Environmentalism

Oftentimes I think the lens through which we consider the environmental movement is far too narrow. In this post I would like to situate it on the global stage. To truly address our growing ecological crises, we need to consider our international relationships and the structure of our economic activities. Perhaps the most significant detail here is the division of the Developed North from the poverty-stricken Global South: the disparity between the Haves and the Have-nots. The industrialized nations require the raw materials and resources that the less-developed countries contain. And because the infection of capitalism has spread throughout the world, these peoples are willing to sacrifice the integrity of their precious ecosystems to make the money they need survive. Their continuity depends on these extractive industries. Subsistence living has nearly become a relic of our species' past. When it comes to contemporary individual economics, the value of biodiversity means nothing in the face of hunger. As such, great ecological atrocities are committed for the sake of survival and for the benefit of faceless multinational corporations. A wretched job is still a job for those with no other employment opportunities.

The result of this exploitative system is that the Global South stays poor while its resources are wiped and land ravaged. The North is allowed to externalize its costs, both monetary and environmental, to those without any political representation or power. In turn, formerly industrialized nations such as the US and Britain can shift their focus from the dirty productive sector to cleaner industries such as service and technology while bringing in all of its material necessities from India, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Mexico, Guatemala, and on and on... Our modern lifestyles draw from all corners of the globe these days. I spent a week cataloguing all of the resources I consumed in one week, only to be blown away by the diversity of their origins. Hardly anything was produced in New Zealand itself. There are people abusing the land and themselves in order to satiate my material desires. This I think is the greatest threat to environmental health: the lifestyle of the Global North. The story would be very different if each country were satisfied to cultivate their own resources locally, tailoring their lifestyles to the prevailing conditions. Instead we're faced with a monoculture of consumerism that proliferates in all sorts of places that it doesn't belong. Everywhere people expect the same type of material comfort and convenient existence.  Of course, this brings with it the usual litany of waste byproducts: overflowing landfills, marine dead zones and trash islands, excess levels of CO2, hazardous chemicals, etc. This really doesn't have to be the case. It's merely a symptom of our fast-paced, high-capacity international supply chain.

There's really no need for me to delve further into the details of why capitalism is bad or the technicalities of our worsening environmental conditions. Really I just want you all to understand that environmentalism is not a form of class warfare between the crunchy granola-types and the suit & tie industry monkeys. It is in fact a global phenomenon concerning the distribution of raw materials and wealth. Each of us has what the other wants. The Brazilian fieldhand will happily burn some fringe of the Amazon for sugarcane if it means he can feed his children for another week on wages from his international employers. This is the reality of the system we have wrought. And it is extremely dangerous.