Wendell Berry: a human in harmony with all of Nature
“In an age of brutal philosophies, shrieking media, cold arts, lying politicians, and devouring institutions, Wendell Berry was a hero of an entirely human way of being. He was willing to make art which let the soul peek out from hiding in a culture of sarcasm, ensouled art as quiet and fragile as a small bird, seeing and loving. He became a light because he was willing to accept the responsibilities of love.” —Tara Thieke Each time I prepare to write my first article for The Record in September, having taking a summer break to garden and to sit beside and swim in my pond to reflect, it seems to me that the integrity of Nature has further deteriorated. And with the coming of summer a dread materializes: will there be more and increasingly intense catastrophes around the world, characterized by wars, wildfires, floods, searing heatwaves, wildlife annihilation and human suffering—all created by humans? On September 10, Le Devoir devoted a page to the rapidly disappearing bird populations in Québec. Titled “More and more bird species disappear from the sky: the decline of many groups lies directly with the destruction of natural habitats” (especially in southern Québec), it is a damning indictment of human activity, ranging from those who profess a love of birds but support the expansion of factory farming through their consumption of chickens and other animals to the destruction of wetlands near Montréal for the construction of a Northvolt battery factory (fortunately now cancelled). The worldwide massive decline in insects and accompanying desecration of wetlands further exacerbates the precipitous drop in bird populations. It is not only insects and birds who are being decimated: a recent report shows that almost 50 percent of the world’s farmers have been made ill from pesticides. Pesticides considered too unsafe to be used in North America are often sold to the poorest regions of the world. I have witnessed this first-hand. The huge tragedy still unfolding in Nepal alone underlines the ongoing refusal to accept what is fuelling the already volatile predicament of the natural world. The cataclysmic flooding high in the Himalayas that caused the deaths of so many people is directly linked to climate breakdown, scientists say. It has been widely documented that the Nepalese people themselves are responsible for an infinitesimally small percentage of greenhouse gas emissions. The water level in the longest river in the European Union, the Danube, continues to drop because of drought, and all of Europe is suffering. Farming, river transportation and even nuclear power plants that produce electricity are severely impacted. Meanwhile, the green spaces of England have turned brown while trees drop leaves through lack of water, and many ancient oaks are dying because of the record-breaking extreme heat. Coral reefs are also being affected by the ninth consecutive year of increased ocean heat. This July the world’s seas were the warmest on record. Let’s not forget that coral reefs are home to 25% of all marine life and support the lives of hundreds of millions