cartography

Sustainability is not the fight for the Earth’s survival, but the battle aimed towards preserving the lifestyle we find comfortable. This is Paul Kingsnorth’s opinion. He wants to find a way to save the world we will live in, while not necessarily keeping the modern one. As Kingsnorth states, “my view is that humans are no more or less important than anything else that lives.” Often labelled “ecocentric,” Kingsnorth’s ideals often make others uncomfortable. This is for good reason: people are not used to the realization that humanity is not the top priority. In the world we have created, homo sapiens means wisest, most humane, least monstrous. Most people think that the species most in need of protection is mankind, which is an opinion exhibited by Wen Stephenson when he says about saving the world, “It’s a humanitarian imperative. It transcends environmentalism and environmental politics.” There are innumerable extinct and endangered species that deserve conservation more than we do. Humanity is the embodiment of brutality and savagery, veiled by the meager excuse that history has brought civilization to the wilderness. It is human nature to believe oneself superior to every landscape and every inhabitant. This is an idea that will prove fatal, not only to ourselves but to every other living, breathing organism calling this planet home. The globe may have been mapped by humanity but we did not create it.