Hello everyone and welcome back to the Adventures in Sustainable Living Podcast. This is your host Patrick. The title of this episode is “Nature is Worthless”.

I want to start this episode with a story about a 7 year old boy that used to shine shoes in a small airport in Ecuador. He lived in the Amazon Basin with his family and this boy went on to become an Ecuadorian chess champion.

And how do I know this. Well, I met his father on a trip to Ecuador. I was traveling with a friend of mine, Johnathan,  on the Napo River, which is a large tributary to the upper Amazon Basin. This boy’s father had been a guide in the Amazon for over 20 years. 

Later in the trip, he mentioned that he needed to leave early in order to attend a chess match with this son. This of course peaked my interest so I asked how that came to be. 

He explained to me that he always enjoyed chess and was playing online one day when his son inquired as to what he was doing. Eduardo told his son, “You would not be interested in this game. It is too complicated.” However,  his son was fascinated with the game. He continued to learn and play chess and later became a chess champion. 

Now why do I relate this story? Well Eduardo had been a guide in the Amazon Basin for over 20 years. While with Eduardo, we traveled about 250 miles by boat along the Napo River and various other places.  We visited numerous small villages, small ports, and even single households in the middle of the jungle. 

We also traveled up what was called the Piranha River and even swam in Piranha Lake, believe it or not. Obviously I survived that adventure otherwise I would not be talking to you today.

Eduardo took us on numerous hikes through the thick jungle where me met natives, we collected plants and local herbs and received numerous lessons on how the local tribes used the plants for medicine, herbs, and cooking.  

I was constantly amazed and I can honestly say I saw numerous things that most people only see on the pages of National Geographic. In total I spent 10 days with Eduardo. That entire time was spent constantly learning the value of what I was seeing. We ate piranha and eggs for breakfast regularly. We even had a very large Boa Constrictor that lived in the rafters of the lodge where we spent several nights. 

Oh yes, let me tell you about something else. I know that at least some of you have seen various shows on television or on the internet about travelers visiting remote homes and villages in the jungle and they are offered various types of home made, fermented, alcoholic beverages. 

Well, I got to experience that also. My friend Jonathan warned us about this. He told us that everyone had some type of fermented beverage in their home and that we would be offered such things. To refuse would be considered an insult.  

So let me just say that this stuff was nasty. But it was strong and after a couple of cups of that stuff you tended to forget it was nasty. Okay, anyway…………..

I relate this story to you only because of all the traveling I’ve done and this trip was one that left a deep impression on me. I had always wanted to see the Amazon Basin. And for years I said to myself that I wanted to see such a place before it was gone. 

But as I said nature is worthless. Right??

Did you realize that since 2016, an average of 28 million hectares of forest have been cut down every year. That is about 69.1 million acres. That is the equivalent of 1 football field of forest cut down every second around the clock. 

As much as 80% of the world’s forest have been irreparably damaged or out right destroyed. Humanity has altered at least 70% of Earth’s land mainly for agricultural purposes. This results in deforestation, land degradation, loss of biodiversity, pollution, and also contributes to global warming. 

According to National Geographic, farming, livestock grazing, mining, and drilling combined account for more than half of the deforestation. Forestry practices, wildfires, and urbanization account for the rest. 

But, nature is worthless. Right??

You would think that is the case because we spend so much time destroying it. 

Did you realize that in Western medicine, about 25% of all drugs are derived from rainforest plants. Now that is pretty impressive because less than 5% of all Amazonian plants have even been studied for their potential medicinal benefits. Yet, it is estimated that 140 rainforest plants become extinct every day. 

Moreover, over the last 25 years, more than 70% of the rainforest in Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos have been cut down. In Indonesian, the rate of closer to 80%. That is and area equivalent to the size of the country of Germany. 

But as I said, nature is worthless. Right??? That is why we keep destroying it. 

Okay, besides the effects of deforestations, what are some of the other effects of this loss of nature? What is the value that we are loosing? 

Remember in my episode titled A Culture of Change I talked about showing people the intrinsic value in the choices they make. Meaning, if you show people there is intrinsic value in something, they may actually choose to preserve it. 

Well, besides the obvious medicinal and material value, what are some of the other potential values of the natural environment? I want to point this out because humanity spends so much time and effort treating that environment as if it is worthless. 

I am one of those fortunate people that have no neighbors. I live in an area that backs up to National Forest and I spend time in nature almost every single day. Often times, I walk out on my deck with a cup of coffee and I hear only the wind and the birds. Rarely do I hear a man made sound unless a plane flies over. Yet when I go back home to TN and GA to visit family, I am amazed at how difficult it is to get away from all the noise and people. 

My younger sister has been a psychologist for many years. On several occasions I have spoken with her regarding the mental health aspects of spending time in nature, as well as the detrimental effects of exposure to constant noise and over crowding.

I think it goes without saying that the environment we live and work in, especially our daily social environment, can either produce stress or reduce it. We have all experienced this.

What you see, hear, and experience at any given moment not only has the ability to change your mood, but it also alters your endocrine, immune, and nervous systems. Think in terms of getting stuck in rush hour traffic for over 2 hours versus sitting on your porch with a cup of coffee and listening to the quiet.  What do you think will produce less stress and promote a peaceful healthy state of mind. 

You know folks, I actually think about this a lot because my partner in crime, Annette is even more focused on mindfulness and yoga practices than what I am. In fact, if interested, you can find her at Ascent Yoga and her website if ascentyoga.life That is a-s-c-e-n-t-dot-y-o-g-a-dot-l-i-f-e. Again that is ascent yoga.life

But, okay let’s talk for a minute about spending time in nature.  

Numerous studies have shown that being in nature, or simply viewing scenes of nature, reduces stress, fear, and anger. It also increases pleasant feelings. Spending time in nature also contributes to your well being. It reduces blood pressure, reduces your heart rate, relieves muscle tension and reduces the production of stress hormones. 

Nature also affects our general well being. In one study, 95% of those interviewed stated that their mood improved after spending time outdoors. 

According to a study conducted at the University of Michigan, people who took a walk in nature versus a walk in the city scored 20% better on a memory test. 

A Finnish study revealed that people who spent 15 minutes sitting in nature felt restored. But, if they were walking in nature, the process was even quicker. 

And one Japanese study showed that women who spent 6 hours in the woods over a two day period increased their white blood cell counts and that increase lasted about 7 days after the experiment.

And of course I will have links to these studies in the blog post associated with this podcast if you want to do some further reading. 

10 Reasons Why Being in Nature is Good for You

My point being here is that nature is worthless. Right??

Obviously, the opposite is actually true. 

Remember that sustainability comes down to the kind of future we are leaving the next generation.  

This is why I am pressing this point. Preserving the natural environment has extensive benefits for all of us. I am not only talking about climate change, I am talking out our very mental health. 

And yet, based on our behavior, we treat nature as if it is worthless to us.  

I am sure that most of you have heard that saying that a person is truly defined by what they do, not by what they say. So if you believe that to be true, then consider the fact that most of us continue to purchase products either made of plastic or that comes in a plastic container. 

Our landfills are filled with plastic packaging and our environment is constantly contaminated even by the production of plastic. The manufacturing of plastic puts far more toxic chemicals into the environment than the manufacturing of glass. 

And this does not even account for the health affects due to the migration of chemicals in the plastic containers that end up in our food.  

So, I could talk about that all day long. But my point here is that we spend so much time and engage in such a lifestyle that is constantly destroying the very thing that we need to survive. And that very thing is nature itself. 

We continue to treat nature as if it were worthless. 

I often think that if everyone could spend time in nature the way that I do, the world would be a much happier place. There would be less anger, frustration, fewer mental health issues, and improved family relationships. 

In fact, it is estimated that 70% of the health problems in the United States could be cured or completely eliminated simply by a change in lifestyle. 

I find that to be an amazing statistic.

You know since I have a blog that focuses on living off the grid, and then this podcast of course, I do a lot of reading about different ways to produce and preserve my own food, live sustainably, how to properly manage my own resources, maximize the use of almost everything, etc. I also attend conferences and webinars on such topics. 

Over time, I’ve met four different people that were diagnosed with various immune related diseases. They were all on numerous medications and were essentially given a poor prognosis by their physicians as far as long-term survival. 

All of these people completely changed their lifestyle, got off of all processed foods, moved out of the city and into a more rural environment, starting spending more time in nature. One woman told me that in less than 2 years all of her health problems resolved and she was completely free of any medications. 

But, the end result for all of these people that I speak of was exactly the same. Medication free and disease free by getting off of all processed foods, relocating to an environment with less stress, and spending more time in nature. 

So, your challenge for this week is to stop treating nature as if it is worthless. Instead take 20 to 30 minutes a day and go to a place where you only hear the sounds of nature. By doing so, I hope you will gain a greater appreciation for the natural world and the intrinsic value in preserving it. 

Obviously my point in this episode is that nature is not worthless, although we treat it as if it is. Nature has great intrinsic value and must in fact be preserved for all of us, as well as for future generations. 

Now I want to end this episode by allowing you to listen to two different things. 

The first is this: City noise: 

Here is the second: Bird chirping

Now the second audio clip there is what I listen to almost everyday. 

Now, the whole point is this episode is that Nature is Worthless right??  Obviously not. It is the opposite that is true. The natural environment has tremendous intrinsic value but we keep destroying it.  

That is what I want all of you to think about this week. In what ways is your lifestyle and personal choices associated with destroying the natural environment. Once you have identified those habits, now focus on changing them. 

Many of my listeners that have known me for a long time already know that I am an outdoor enthusiast as well as a scuba diving instructor. Every single time I go diving I see evidence of our changing world.  When you see that sort of thing on a regular basis it heightens your attention and your focus on the issue. 

But with most of us, we live everyday in our own little world completely oblivious to the changes that are occurring.  Someone said to me once that I’d better get busy deciding what I wanted to do and how I wanted my life to be before someone else decided it for me.  

Well that’s the bottom line folks. You had better get busy deciding how you want your world to be before big business, big government, and the global community decides it for you. 

Sustainability comes down to what kind of future we are leaving the next generation. 

Nature is not worthless so let’s stop treating the natural environment as if it were. 

Sustainability comes down to the kind of future we are leaving the next generation. 

Obviously nature is not worthless. It in fact has great intrinsic value. 

So, in closing folks, I want to end this episode by reminding you that I do have numerous links to articles for further reading in the blog post associated with this podcast episode. By all means, find that blog post and go to these articles for further reading.  

You can find that by going to offgridlivingnews.com and go to my podcast page. 

As always, if you have enjoyed this episode then please subscribe to the Adventures in Sustainable Living Podcast and to my blog Off Grid Living News. Additionally, if you could please take the time to leave me with a review I would greatly appreciate your efforts. 

You can also find my business page on Facebook, which is called Off Grid Living News and Adventures in Sustainable Living podcast. 

I welcome your comments. Also, if you have suggestions on topics that you would like to hear about, things that I can research, please leave my comments on my FB page. Obviously I cannot think of everything. 

The final thing I want to pass long in this episode is a quote by Chief Seattle from 1852. Chief Seattle said, The earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth. Al things are connected like the blood that unites us all. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. What ever he does to the web, he does to himself.  

That’s it folks for this week. Once again, please join me in my next episode. For now, this is your host Patrick signing off.  Have a fantastic week and remember always live sustainably. 

The environmental impacts of plastic production can be found here. 

Medicinal Plants of the Amazon and Their Uses in Modern Medicine. 

National Geographic article: Deforestation Explained

World Wildlife has this article on Deforestation and Forest Degradation