[EcoDharma] Natural resources, we need new words

[Kaitan]

I was thinking about these words that are already part of our common sense, but they seem to cause more harm. First,the word natural already implies that something else is natural and not we (creates more separation), as if a city was not natural compared to a bee panal, that doesn't mean that concrete cities are better. Also the word resources refers to something that can be extracted instead of allocated. I know words are just words, but in my opinion the way we use concepts can shape the perception.

Any thoughts on this?

Gasshō

stlah, Kaitan

[Doshin]

When I returned to school mid career to pursue another degree I was within the school of Renewable Natural Resources. I understand your points, now whether the world is ready for that paradigm shift I am not sure. As we often lament in this part of the forum there are major issues with climate change and loss of biodiversity because of “resource extraction” but we have still not turned the ship away from the iceberg. If a wording shift would change more perspectives that is a good thing. What is more important is we begin enacting the intent your wording change advocates.

Just my thoughts that arose while first considering your idea, I hope others share.

Thank you for this Kaitan

Doshin
Stlah

[Naiko]

Kaitan, thank you posting this. I think you’re right; we do need new words. I recall our first book, David Loy’s EcoDharma had a discussion of language and how our names for things (including people) are basically their functions or how we use them. We have shaped the world via thought/language into what we can get from it.

I was curious and searched the net for articles about nature and language. I see many authors discussing ways to change how we talk about the environment. I was interested to learn there is a field called Ecolinguistics. I don’t have a suggestion to replace “natural resources” yet, but it has given me something to think about. I’ll post a couple of links, for anyone interested.

“Life—aliveness—is baked into Anishinaabemowin. It is dominated by verbs, the active ingredients in every language that pulsate with the being and breathing and doing and moving of life. I ask Dr. Williams what the Anishinaabemowin word for “nature” is. Inaadiziwin, she says, which in English means “way of life.” Nature is something lived—not a static noun that refers to someplace separate from the human-built world as is often the case in Western languages. Nature, in Anishinaabemowin, is not confined to a world that exists over there: outside the window, beyond that bend in the road.”

https://atmos.earth/why-we-need-new-words-to-describe-the-natural-world/

https://www.storiesweliveby.org.uk/

Apologies for running long,
Gassho
Naiko
stlah

[Kokuu]

Life—aliveness—is baked into Anishinaabemowin. It is dominated by verbs, the active ingredients in every language that pulsate with the being and breathing and doing and moving of life. I ask Dr. Williams what the Anishinaabemowin word for “nature” is. Inaadiziwin, she says, which in English means “way of life.” Nature is something lived—not a static noun that refers to someplace separate from the human-built world as is often the case in Western languages. Nature, in Anishinaabemowin, is not confined to a world that exists over there: outside the window, beyond that bend in the road

I really like that Naiko, thank you for sharing! And thank you for the post, Kaitan.

In One Earth Sangha meetings we speak of 'more than human life' instead of 'non human life' which seems more demeaning and, as the quote above shows, traditional cultures often use diffferent language which does not separate us from the more than human world.

In her wonderful book, Braiding Sweetgrass, the Potawami forest ecologist Robin Wall Kimmerer notes that we tend to use the same pronouns for animals as we would use for objects - it (unless they are a pet of known gender). This can make animals and plants seem like objects and separate from us.

For another example of how words matter, a friend of mine who was a Green councillor regularly reminded other members of the council that the stuff we throw away is not trash, but resource.

Gassho
Kokuu
-sattoday/lah-