Mozart and the desert.I looked up '2006 year of' on the internet and discovered that, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. various authorities, this is the Year of Deserts and Desertification desertification Spread of a desert environment into arid or semiarid regions, caused by climatic changes, human influence, or both. Climatic factors include periods of temporary but severe drought and long-term climatic changes toward dryness. , of Rembrandt (born in 1606) and of Mozart (born in 1756). It is also the European Year of Workers' Mobility, but we won't go into that now. I quite like the juxtaposition of desertification, one of the great environmental challenges threatening humanity today, with a great painter and a great composer. It counterbalances the destruction we are wreaking on the planet with the power of art and music to stir and inspire; the ravages rav·age v. rav·aged, rav·ag·ing, rav·ages v.tr. 1. To bring heavy destruction on; devastate: A tornado ravaged the town. 2. of materialism with the creativity of the spiritual. Is it going too far to suggest that there is a link between the spiritual deserts of the West and the physical deserts of the South? The world loses 240 billion tons of fertile soil every year, as overuse overuse Health care The common use of a particular intervention even when the benefits of the intervention don't justify the potential harm or cost–eg, prescribing antibiotics for a probable viral URI. Cf Misuse, Underuse. , drought and deforestation deforestation Process of clearing forests. Rates of deforestation are particularly high in the tropics, where the poor quality of the soil has led to the practice of routine clear-cutting to make new soil available for agricultural use. turn farming and grazing land into desert. Worldwide 250 million people are directly affected. Desertification both causes poverty and feeds on it, because the poor can rarely afford to think for tomorrow. It is also linked to overconsumption by the rich, as pollution changes the climate and international trade barriers hamper development. For a Change believes in individuals' power to make a difference--by campaigning, yes, but also by the everyday choices they make. The environment is surprisingly susceptible to this approach: visit the internet and discover how many planets we would need if everyone lived the way you do (2.9 in my case). Lifestyle choices are important, and life choices even more so. During a recent tour of the UK, Prof Rajmohan Gandhi Rajmohan Gandhi (1935, New Delhi, India) is a biographer and grandson of Mahatma Gandhi. His maternal grandfather was C.Rajagopalachari Rajaji, the first Indian Governor General of independent India and one of the foremost freedom fighters. (see p16) challenged Oxford students to factor the needs of the world into their decision making. 'What questions or needs agitate under your skins, what issues nag at your souls, I do not quite know,' he said. 'What I do know is that ... a decision to follow one's deepest and highest calling--to do God's will Noun 1. God's Will - the omnipotence of a divine being omnipotence - the state of being omnipotent; having unlimited power rather than one's own--is a career option.' Such choices--by all ages--are vital, if we are to beat back the deserts of our world, both physical and spiritual. |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion