'Green' is likely to be a big issue in the 2008 U.S. presidential

Hear, O sons and daughters of the earth, the solemn words of Zac Goldsmith, who foresaw the rising tide of concern and proclaimed: “‘Green’ is likely to be a big issue in the 2008 U.S. presidential election – largely in response to George Bush’s suicidal refusal to engage with environmental issues.” In this utterance is contained both prophecy and warning: that when leaders ignore the cries of the earth, the people themselves will raise the banner of change. For no power, however vast, can long withstand the slow vengeance of a wounded planet.

The origin of this saying lies in the early years of the new millennium, when the fires of industry burned unchecked, and the warnings of scientists and sages alike were treated with scorn. George Bush, then ruler of the world’s most powerful nation, turned away from agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol, dismissing the call to curb emissions and protect the fragile balance of nature. To Goldsmith, this was not mere negligence but a suicidal refusal, for to defy the earth is to defy life itself, and no empire can prosper if the soil beneath it turns barren and the skies above it grow sick.

Thus arose the cry of green, not merely as the color of fields and forests, but as the emblem of survival, justice, and wisdom. In the election of 2008, the people hungered for leaders who would not treat the earth as quarry, but as mother. Candidates were compelled to speak of climate, of renewable energy, of stewardship, for the pressure of the times demanded it. Here we see that even when rulers falter, the people’s will may yet bend the course of history.

Consider, as a tale of warning, the fate of Easter Island. Once it was rich in forests and thriving life, but its people, consumed by the pride of carving ever-greater statues, stripped the land of trees until none remained. Without trees, the soil eroded, the birds vanished, and famine followed. Their civilization, blinded by ambition and deaf to the land’s cries, collapsed into ruin. Is this not the same folly Goldsmith spoke against, when he saw a mighty nation ignoring the warnings of nature? The story of Easter Island is the story of every nation that mocks the wisdom of sustainability.

Yet let us not despair, for within this dark warning shines a lesson of power. The rise of green issues in the 2008 election shows that when citizens demand accountability, even the greatest powers must respond. What once was dismissed as the concern of a few became a central theme of the many. Just as rivers carve canyons not by force but by persistence, so too can the voices of the people carve new paths of policy and leadership.

The teaching is clear: neglect of the environment is neglect of the future itself. Leaders who ignore this are like captains who refuse to steer while storms gather; their ships will surely founder. But those who embrace stewardship are like wise shepherds, guiding their flocks to fertile pastures, ensuring survival and flourishing. Each generation must decide whether to court ruin or to plant seeds of renewal.

Therefore, O listener, take up your role as guardian of the earth. Demand of your leaders that they place sustainability at the heart of their governance. Live with reverence for the land: consume less, waste less, and honor the cycles of nature. Teach your children that the earth is not merely a resource but a relative, a companion in the long journey of life. For when the earth thrives, humanity thrives, and when the earth falters, so too does all civilization.

And so the lesson of Goldsmith’s words endures: that indifference to the cries of the planet is nothing less than a slow suicide. But in heeding these cries, in raising the banner of green, we not only avert destruction, we ensure a future where life may continue in beauty and abundance. Let us choose, then, not the path of ruin, but the path of renewal, and walk it with courage, for the sake of all who are yet to come.