Roth: Can Oklahomans save the Earth?

“Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me” is a line from a Christian inspirational song that reminds us of our own role in the world and the action-reaction nexus that exists between all children of the world, economically, ecologically and in equity. We are all in this world together and though fences and ZIP codes and even miles and oceans may separate us, the course of human history is intricately entwined in what we do in our own lives and how it affects those next door and across the globe.

That large idea was alive and well this past week in Edmond at the Oklahoma Sustainability Network’s annual conference at UCO. While I never heard anyone break out in song, I do believe I witnessed hundreds of Oklahomans, and citizens from neighboring states, strike a beautiful harmony about doing good by their own children and grandchildren and Mother Earth.

To many, sustainability is not a common concept, but a remote idea about how others might live. You know, those “others” who eat berries, hug trees, chew granola and live off the grid. But the reality is that our world’s fate rests with each of us and the decisions we make in our individual lives today and tomorrow. In fact, sustainability is a concept that a conservative mind should embrace, as it maximizes the virtue of conserving resources and living a responsible life.

For humans to live sustainably, the Earth’s resources must be used at a rate at which they can be replenished. Evidence suggests that is not happening and that we are out of balance and getting worse. A look into worldwide population trends might frighten the toughest skeptic among us.

The world population will likely increase by 2.5 billion people over the next 40 years, passing from the current 6.7 billion to 9.2 billion in 2050. That increase is equivalent to the total number of people in the world in 1950. That growth will occur mostly in the world’s less developed areas, where the population is projected to rise from 5.4 billion in 2007 to 7.9 billion in 2050. In contrast, the population of the more developed areas is expected to remain largely unchanged at 1.2 billion people and would have declined were it not for the projected net migration from developing to developed countries. We have witnessed this trend in our own American and Oklahoma experiences. There has been a significant migration and movement from rural to urban situations and that trend continues. Simply put, there are fewer farmers and more eaters, and that likely can’t sustain itself without a serious disruption to the quality of life enjoyed today.

Thus, many people are in search of answers and pathways in their own lives, for the future’s sake. The Nigh Center at UCO was host to hundreds of such people sharing ideas, life tips, farming/garden pointers and energy-efficiency exhibits and debating the course of our economy and our environment. Oklahomans can learn a lot from OSN and I encourage you to visit their Web site at www.oksustainability.org.

Let there be a sustainable world and let it begin with me – and you – and each of us.

PS: Homegrown, sun-ripened tomatoes and a well-intended Victory Garden are ideas that can sustain your family’s stomach today and might just benefit your soul too.