Green Cries from Red Square
| |||
| russian_environmentalism_pdfsmallpdf.com.pdf |
"A century ago food — or lack of it — was the foundation for war and revolution."
"Over 500 citizens from all over the Soviet Union traveled to Moscow in November to talk about the state of the most basic foundation of their environmental concern: agriculture, the ability of their land to grow food and necessities."
"Soil is the number one problem globally as well. To most people, the worst problems are water and air pollution because they can see it and smell it. However, if anyone is unsure, soil pollution is a significant threat to humanity, but not appreciated. Before Perestroika, we knew little about what was going on . . . We are looking at actual annihilation." Fyodor Morgoun
The table conversation was full of laughter as the details of daily lives and shared concerns were exchange between the people who were supposed to have been enemies just a couple of years ago. It was the kind of talk that unraveled years of enemy rhetoric and dismantled the wall of fear, all while the television remained on in another room of the small apartment. Then the news came, the broadcaster's voice reporting that an 8-legged colt was born that day in the Chernobyl area. Words were replaced by silence and furtive glances around the table.
"People who do not know what they are talking about should be outlawed from making decisions. . . . That's the bureaucrats," one woman yelled through the microphone.
The conclusions would be presented to the Environmental Committee of the Supreme Soviet. A gentlemen of the drafting committee took to the podium to read the document and the audience fell silent. . . .
"The current system of land management has led to ecological catastrophe . . . ." An immediate rewrite was called for that would include stronger language. . . .
Ice crystals form overnight on tree limbs in a Moscow winter, only to evaporate almost unnoticably the next day. . . . Cold and hard, they are also fragile. How quickly the ability to congregate and to question, to discuss and demand change, could also evaporate.
© elizabethdarby 2000-present
All Rights Reserved
No material or images from any page of this site may be reproduced, copied,
or used without prior permission from the author or the following citation:
©elizabethdarby 2011 along with http://www.elizabethdarby.com
Please contact me about links and usage.
All Rights Reserved
No material or images from any page of this site may be reproduced, copied,
or used without prior permission from the author or the following citation:
©elizabethdarby 2011 along with http://www.elizabethdarby.com
Please contact me about links and usage.