KEYWORDS: CULTURE •  THE ENVIRONMENT •  A TWOFOLDED CRISIS

As we are approaching an environmental and climate crisis, I connot stress more loudely how urgent it is to take actions! If you are not an environmentalist and if nature is

none of your concern, remember: this fight for nature, is not just for nature, but it is for the existence of humanity and our culture. We are nature and we are culture! For humanity: the relationship between nature and culture is and must be interdependent! Only through interdependencies, will humanity survive this urgent catastrophe, and conquer

the obstacles ahead. 

Work in progress...

ABSTRACT

Is there a relationship between an environmental crisis and the cultural crisis, currently unfolding? Of course there is! Because an environmental crisis is also a crisis for the existence of our culture, and for the survival of humanity. Nature can exist and thrive without humanity, but the human culture cannot survive without nature. This essay also stresses the fact that a widespread climate crisis denial globally, must be faced urgently, to avoid a cultural crisis for humanity, but most of all to avert and prevent an intrusive environmental breakdown and the looming climate crisis. If we do not start to live at pace with nature and care for our livelihoods, the age of humanity is in a postlude phase or at great risk! This is disturbing and alarming! Yet, nature also has an inherent ability to recover and help us out (Attenborough 2019). This is promising! But, to let nature recover, we need urgent actions from all human beings. Let's start acting like a socially connected team! Because, our social connectivity and our entangeled society, is the key to to how successfull our turnaround operation; to save the planet, will progress (Attenborough 2019, Cristakis and Fowler 2009). We must utilize all our social skills to our fullest to support nature and let nature recover! It's time for action! It's time for the one cultural move that will put pressure on forming a unifying political will, necessary and fundamental in saving the planet. And, our responsibilities as human beings and as citizens, is to put pressure on those politicians. This will make sure that they reorient their scedule and prioritations, and frame an action plan for a proactive green future. They must create, not just play of words, but actual actions plans, through binding national, regional and global regulations, that puts the environment at first. An excellent way of influencing politicians to ensure that actions are in fact taking place, is through cultural expressions. System changes in favour of humanity and nature, must put culture and nature, on the same team! Only through nature/culture interdependencies can we start to talk about real system changes, in order to save the planet and humanity, jointly. We must find places in the system, in which environmental matters converge or intervene with cultural matters. That might be the key to our survival or at least a desirable starter: our systems must, most certainly, change! And, the author argues that cultural expressions, actions and behaviour might make this doable! So, in order to reduce the damages of the environmental crisis, we must let us be inspired to act, behave and express ourselves, and emphasize on the power of agents of our human culture collaborate through co-working, co-evolving and co-creating! Make the politicians stop playing with words and start acting in the manner they were elected to represent us. 'Us' is humanity, and humanity is set on surviving. Let's make it within reach, let's create a possible future for all!

THEORY

What is the Environment?

What is Culture?

How Are We Socially Connected?

What Does it Mean to be Interdependent?

What does it mean to Converge or Intervene?

DISCUSSION

Why Can an Environmental Crisis Cause a Cultural Crisis for Humanity?

How Can Social Connectivity, and Being at Pace with Nature, Help to Avoid this Joint Crisis?

Why is Nature and Culture Interdependent?

How Can We Intervene into a System to Reorient and Change the System?

CONCLUSION

An Environmental Crisis Equals a Cultural Crisis

EPILOGUE

Are We Capable of Adapting Soon Enough?

And, What Actions Needs to be Done?

What is Doable for Humanity? How is it Doable?

REFERENCES

Attenborough, D. (2019). David Attenborough has a New Idea to Save Wildlife. [online]. Available at: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2795203670523676  [Accessed: 11.20.2019].

Brousseau, E., Garrouste, P., and Raynaud, E. (2011). Institutional Changes: Alternative theories and Consequences for Institutional Design. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 79, pp. 3-16.

Christakis, N.A., and Fowler, J.H. (2009). In the Thick of It. Connected – The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives. New York, Boston and London: Little, Brown and Company, pp. 3-32.

Daniels, P., Bradshaw, M., Shaw, D. and Sidaway, J. (2012). Geography, Culture and Global Change. An Introduction to Human Geography (4th Edition). Edinburgh: Pearson Education Limited, pp. 272-291.

Khalil, E.L. (1990). Natural Complex vs. Natural System. Journal of Social and Biological Structures, Volume 13, Issue 1, pp. 11-31.

Meadows, D. (1999). Leverage Points – Places to Intervene in a System. [pdf]. Available at: http://donellameadows.org/wp-content/userfiles/Leverage_Points.pdf [Accessed: 05.06.2019].

Nelson, A. (2013). Radical Interdisciplinarity and Other Ingredients for Innovation: Andrew Nelson at TEDxOregon. [online]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cXRrNXK4zE [Accessed: 04.02.2019].