Taking action on the natural side: you are not alone

A tour of the sites of the main international environmental groups is perplexing: the global situation of the earth's environment is far from improving...

We are not only talking about global warming but above all about the pronounced degradation, irreversible in some cases, of immense territories, of irretrievable diffuse pollution (biocides, hormones, heavy metals, radioactive isotopes, plastics, etc.) whether in the water, the air or the soils, of the disappearance of habitats and species, etc.

The general idea is that the pressure on everything that could be considered a "natural balance" is only increasing and that in many places and in various ways, the balance is broken without knowing how to restore it.

Not only is the human population still growing rapidly (more than 200 million humans are added every year) but our needs and our technical means mean that we are investing all valuable territories and altering them profoundly. A single train line or highway cuts a territory in two. A single large trawler can ravage thousands of km2 of seabed....

We understand better and better that it is neither growth nor technologies that are the problem but rather their implementation according to the sole profit of a restricted group, without consideration for any other social, human or living entity. When we don't include ourselves in the system, we don't take responsibility for it.

There are things that change...

If criticism is the first manifestation of powerlessness, action is that of taking back one's power.

While a few individuals or small businesses can do little against a state decision or an industrial colossus, well-organized individuals and entities can collate information, investigate, gather thousands of observers, solicit experts, and mobilize enough people to influence policy, take legal action, or even impact a company's business results through a network image campaign.

For example, the SurfRider foundation offers every resident of a coastline to become a "Coastal Guardian." This way the network can be aware of anything that may be happening to any coastal environment.

GreenPeace, Oceana, Friends of the Earth, EarthWatch and several others each offer different opportunities for businesses to collaborate, too. Be part of a network of informants and disseminators, present an educational activity, adopt a cause, support a researcher and of course educate, raise funding or actively advocate. There are thousands of situations and issues waiting to be addressed; you can talk about the environment in school, but doing something about it has a tenfold educational value...

And beyond these large organizations, there are thousands of local groups and networks with local branches that offer everyone, even in the city, the opportunity to do something to improve their environment and counterbalance insensitive industrialists and politicians. The directories below will lead you to causes and organizations as varied as an ecosystem can be.

• SurfRider
• GreenPeace
• Oceana
• Sea Shepperd
• EarthWatch
• World Wildlife Fund
• Conservation International
• Friends of the Earth
• Global Green Growth Institute
  

• Environmental organizations - Wikipedia
• Quebec network of environmental groups
• France Nature Environnement
  

Image - EarthWatch Institute

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