This blog was started on the 7th of June by me, Monique Pool, because I think it is time to clearly state my ideas. Because I think it is time to make sure that no one will ever feel that she/he cannot say they are an environmentalist.
I am an environmentalist and I am proud of it!
1 August 2015
A few days ago I decided that I really have to finish my book about the sloth rescue in 2012, Slothaggedon. Together and with the help of some students and my Professor friend George from Howard University I was able to submit a first paper about the rescue for an initial review. But the book itself, about the whole experience was abandoned somewhere midway, on page 56, and only 10 days from the end of the rescue in 2012. My deadline is the 15th of August, and I know I have a friend in NY, Tabitha, who will ensure that I check my planning. So I just wanted to start with something really simple to share with you from my book. Some simple definitions:
Slothified
1. Overwhelmed by sloths (literally)
2. Overwhelmed by sloth, feeling so lazy and tired that you don’t want to get out of your bed, because, e.g. you have been catching sloths the whole previous day
3. Charmed and head over heels with sloths because of the overwhelming cuteness of sloths in general and baby sloths in particular
4. Overwhelmed by sloth lovers
Slothing around
1. Wandering aimlessly around without really wanting to do anything useful
Antified
1. Covered in ants because you are picking cecropia leaves for sloths
Sloth follower
1. People who are not just big fans of sloths, but really are absolute devotees to the animals for no apparent good reason
2. People who follow sloths literally to find out where they are going when left to their own devices and roam around the house, and watch them for hours slothing around.
3. People who follow all literature, stories, research about sloths.
4. People who celebrate sloths once a year on the third Saturday of October, which is International Sloth Day
Slothaggedon
1. The end of the world for sloths, symbolized by the destruction of their prime habitat
2. The endless inundation of my world with sloths because of the destruction of their homes
6 June 2015
Yesterday I attended a meeting, and apparently, some people are afraid to call themselves environmentalists. And why? Because where I live, if you are an environmentalist, you are “against people and against development”. The latter is a viewpoint introduced to stymie all discussion, because who would dare to be against people and development. It is an argument used to ensure that we do not develop ourselves, because what is needed here are mindless people, who think that digging holes in the ground and deforesting is the only way to development. I am the kind of environmentalist who realizes that if we destroy nature, we destroy our future, we destroy our means of existence and survival. I am the kind of environmentalist, who thinks that education is the only route to development, and once people are educated, they will see that digging holes is only one way to develop a nation, and probably the most primitive one. I am the kind of environmentalist, who thinks that educating people, teaching them skills and values, is a better way to develop. I am the kind of environmentalist, who can see a future where we use our natural resources in a smart manner without depleting them. I am the kind of environmentalist who believes that we should not just leave the environment behind as we found it, but we should leave it behind better than we found it. I am the kind of environmentalist who believes that we should act to make our world a better place for all of us, not just for a happy few. And I am the kind of environmentalist who is not afraid to stand up for what is rightfully mine. And that is a clean, green, bountiful and healthy place to live!
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