Eco-guilt and living in an unsustainable world

The podcast focuses on our individual experience of eco-guilt that occurs from recognising our part in the unsustainability of the planet. Guilt is defined as both an individual awareness of causing harm, usually to another person. And inter-related to this is eco-guilt which is the recognition of causing harm to Nature and as such being part of the global problem.

The causes of unsustainability and exploitation of the planet are multi-faceted with different levels of responsibility for harm done. The concern about global warming is indicative of the broad impacts of unsustainable use of Nature where human consumption of farmed animals highlights the interconnected issues.

Individuals can experience eco-guilt even though each person has a miniscule impact on the global dimensions of the issue. But the collective of human individuals is having undeniable impacts that threaten the very survival of life on the planet. But not to forget that some businesses, governments and organisations hold a greater level of responsibility for harm done to Nature. There is a link between multi-national mining companies destroying large tracts of forest and waterways to mine bauxite, the raw material for aluminium, and individuals buying cars made of aluminium.

This kind of interlinked awareness is the basis for eco-guilt and can result in individuals feeling a disproportionate amount of responsibility for the collective harm occurring to Nature. I offer a self-audit of how I use Nature in ways that are not sustainable and go on to suggest how guilt implies care and care is the motivating factor in acting in small ways to make amends for harm done to Nature.

This is all about making sure we don’t become overwhelmed and fatalistic and stop caring as the challenges seem so insurmountable. The invitation is to reach out and share our experiences and together to go forward to make a loving contribution to the ecosystems we live in.

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