Symposium - Paul Evans
Paul Evans
Ecological Journalist & Author -
Paul presented an argument that Western society has developed a cultural fear of nature and that people have become disconnected from their natural being. This was promoted by dominant attitudes that technology would provide the necessary control of a demonised ‘wildness’. He used examples of the language used by the media, mythology, literature and science to demonstrate the depth and breadth of this ‘ecophobia’ and explained how this made the general public unaware of and reluctant to respond to ‘the sixth extinction’ – half the planet’s species have become extinct in the past 100 years. Poor people were, also, deemed to be crude, closer to nature and, therefore, of less value and the object of fear.
But, Paul contended, we need embrace the wild side of our nature if we are to evolve and survive creatively. The arts might offer some possibilities for coping with this fear and provide a path to sustainable development through ‘re-wilding’ the land, as the Dutch are starting to do. ‘Let nature be natural: let nature present itself’.