Miscellanea Sensibilium

Message to Eco-hippies

It is common wisdom that everybody is entitled to their point of view and far be it from me to diverge from accepted belief patterns. However I would appreciate it if certain quarters of the ecological/hippie movement (please notice I said "certain quarters") would try spending some time in the following models before telling me "Gaia" really cares about dolphins or pollution or that "the planet is dying". I'm not saying that you are wrong, just that I find your platitudes somewhat nauseating.

1. Gaia is a big nurturing mother who gave us all life and does worry about her offspring. Especially dolphins and anything cute and furry (Hippie model).
2. Gaia is an evil bitch who allows the strong
to stomp all over the weak before stomping all over them. She takes amusement from the eternal warfare that is life on earth (Darwin model).
3. Gaia is very big. So big that she is totally indifferent to the fate of anything on earth. The idea of us puny humans being able to understand her desires (if she has any) is ridiculous (Chthonic/fatalist model).
4. "Gaia" is just the word some of us use to describe the sum total of everything that happens on this planet. Nothing can happen to Gaia unless it comes from elsewhere in the universe. Anything that happens on Earth or from Earth is part of Gaia, including cars, litter and you (Scientific/mystic model).