Severn's response to Mr. Nakamura



Aug.20th, 2002
Severn Cullis-Suzuki

Dear Mr. Nakamura and the Sloth Club,

I sit here, back at the computer after a month and a half of traveling all
around the forests and mountains and ocean of my home province of British
Columbia.  I am very excited to share it with you in photos that Jeff took
for you on our travels.

I printed out Mr. Nakamura's letter and read it outside on my porch, looking
over the sea and at the mountains.  It was a very beautiful letter.  I read
about the allergies in your country.  I read about the biomagnification of
poisons in mothers' breast milk.  I read about Minamata disease, and about
the plans for the Kawabe Dam.  These stories made me feel so sad.

As I read I would stop to look back on the water.  Canada is so big that it
is still very beautiful.  Right here in the city of Vancouver my family can
still put our net out in front of my house and catch fish to eat.  There are
still seals and birds that swim here too.  But as the sun set deeper I could
see the haze of pollution from the city that hangs over the horizon. 
Because we still have life pretty good, and the problems aren't acute yet,
Vancouverites are unaware that we are destroying what we have.
But here in Canada too, we have rising counts of allergies and asthma, and
have overfished to the point of making our most important industries--
logging and fishing-- almost extinct.  And this has been an unusually hot
summer for Vancouver.

I agree that the words "development" and "progress" are misused.  Our
society has projected that these positive words mean destruction of
ecosystems and the altering of natural systems and the deterioration of
human health.
We must think about these words and re-define them.  What is real, positive
development?  What is real progress?

Mr. Nakamura referred to his dream for future generations to not only live
on an Earth with forests and clean seas, but one where they will be able to
be healthy.  And this is the crucial part of the issue:  we human beings
must protect the natural world not just for the sake of our spiritual side,
but for our physical sides-- for our very survival.  In a Vancouver
newspaper today I read that Oxygen bars are becoming popular because of over
1000 toxic pollutants in our air, but also because human activity in the
last 200 years has reduced atmospheric oxygen by about 40%!  We are reducing
our own air!  And everyone, even the heads of the greediest oil companies,
know that in order to live, we need to breathe oxygen.

All this seems very scary.  But then I read further in the letter about
Mr. Nakamura's company that is trying to affect consumerism, and also
promote environmental education through the Wind of Ecology.  I read about
the exciting conference in Ecuador that some of you will attend.  I thought
about the groups that Keibo told me about when I met with him last week, the
groups in Japan that have been working on the environmental struggles in
their local communities, and who I will meet when I come to Japan.  Then I
thought about the Sloth Club and Naoko and the people that are working
together on my Tour in Japan.  I thought about the thousands of people like
us who are coming together in Johannesburg, South Africa next week to talk
about environmental solutions and to network and work together.
There is a positive energy flowing, that we are a part of.  We are young
problem solvers who will use our talents and our dreams to help steer our
societies onto a better path.  We are people that are standing up for what
we believe.  We must focus on our personal issues, like making our own lives
ecological, but also keep in mind the work and challenges of others around
the globe, with whom we are interconnected.

I am very glad that you like the Recognition of Responsibility, Mr.
Nakamura.  I am excited to bring it to Japan.  I am excited for the Sloth
Club and other Japanese students to take the document and translate it, and
adopt it for themselves-- add or change things like the statistics or some
of the points so that it is right for Japanese people to sign.  Make the
document your own.
I hope to give it to South African students next week in Jo'burg for them to
adopt and re-write for their country.  Then this personal movement of
individuals promising to take responsibility will be growing in four nations
already.  This is how real progress will be made:  personal commitments to
be responsible in our own local communities with an awareness and faith in a
greater, global community.
Perhaps we can start working on the document right now so that when I come
in November the Responsibility campaign for Japan will be all ready to go? 
I would like to do this so that there will be something real that will come
out of the tour, not just awareness but a commitment.  What do you think?
The document is up on our website, www.skyfishproject.org

I am excited also to work as the Skyfish Project with the Sloth Club.  We
too are young environmentalists and I think we will have much to talk about
and help each other.    We are a new group and I'm sure we can learn from
your experience.  Keibo told me about the coffee shop in Tokyo-- I can't
wait to go there for coffee!

Thank you Mr Nakamura, for your inspiring letter.  I was inspired because I
made me realize that there are people out there that are working for the
same things all over the world.  And that makes me feel part of something
strong.  It is a good letter to have with me for the Johannesburg Summit.

Yours,
Severn

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