Wednesday 12 October 2011

Ecofascism

I’ve been out of touch with some developments in the English language, it seems, as none of my acquaintances had ever used the term “ecofascism”.

Is this what opponents call “Deep Green” environmentalism”?

Australian friends introduced me to this unattractive term.

There are times when I’ve been aware of a kind of ecological xenophobia, even in Australia, a hostility to non-native biodiversity and a belief that exotic trees and plants ought to be uprooted.

In Corfu that would mean removal of all gum trees, palm trees and jacaranda trees, I imagine. I do regret the planting of palm trees along the Ipsos waterfront, at the time when the road was widened, in place of the much more shady elm and eucalyptus (origin: Australia) trees.

I certainly wouldn’t want to see the removal of the jacaranda tree (origin: Brazil/South America) in the Town Hall Square.

On a related topic, a poem from "Corfu Blues" (the book):

Biodiversity

"Non-native
Invasive
Biodiversity".
We're being warned about it
By a boffin on the radio.
A global threat
A deadly danger.
That means me,
When I first set foot in Corfu
(Or in the Southern Continent) -
Not just the bugs
On the soles of my shoes.
Non-native invasive biodiversity.
A fancy name.
I fit the bill.

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