Produced by:
KBOO
Program::
Air date:
Wed, 11/25/2015 - 11:00am to 12:00pm
Michael Mountain and Lori Marino link fear of death to exploitation of animals, nature
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Michael Mountain blogger at Earth in Transition, and Lori Marino, Executive Director of the Kimmela Center for Animal Advocacy, both see bright spots in animal protection efforts; but overall, from factory farms to the 6th Mass Extinction, they find the situation worsening. In a blog post, Mountain asks: "Why are we doing this? Why have we created a way of living that’s destroying the only home we have and bringing on a mass extinction that will most likely consume us, too? And all in the name of “progress.” Why can’t we stop?" To answer these questions Marino and Mountain delved into history and psychology, and came to the startling conclusion that our dysfunctional relation to nature has to do with our fear of our own mortality, and with our discomfort with the awareness, conscious or unconscious, that we are animals that die. Thus we seek immortality through monuments, legacies and religion, and convince ourselves that we are separate from "just animals," as we turn them into "spare parts, resources and commodities." Marino and Mountain admit that there are no easy solutions, but suggest that understanding our need to distance ourselves from other animals is an important step.
Michael Mountain, is former director of the Best Friends Animal Society, and Lori Marino is a consultant with the NonHuman Rights Project. The paper which they co-authored was published last spring under the title: “Denial of Death and the Relationship Between Humans and Other Animals.” Learn more: http://www.earthintransition.org/2014/11/why-the-animal-protection-movem... Hosted by Stephanie Potter. Call in with your questons and comments: 503-231-8187.
Michael Mountain blogger at Earth in Transition, and Lori Marino, Executive Director of the Kimmela Center for Animal Advocacy, both see bright spots in animal protection efforts; but overall, from factory farms to the 6th Mass Extinction, they find the situation worsening. In a blog post, Mountain asks: "Why are we doing this? Why have we created a way of living that’s destroying the only home we have and bringing on a mass extinction that will most likely consume us, too? And all in the name of “progress.” Why can’t we stop?" To answer these questions Marino and Mountain delved into history and psychology, and came to the startling conclusion that our dysfunctional relation to nature has to do with our fear of our own mortality, and with our discomfort with the awareness, conscious or unconscious, that we are animals that die. Thus we seek immortality through monuments, legacies and religion, and convince ourselves that we are separate from "just animals," as we turn them into "spare parts, resources and commodities." Marino and Mountain admit that there are no easy solutions, but suggest that understanding our need to distance ourselves from other animals is an important step.
Michael Mountain, is former director of the Best Friends Animal Society, and Lori Marino is a consultant with the NonHuman Rights Project. The paper which they co-authored was published last spring under the title: “Denial of Death and the Relationship Between Humans and Other Animals.” Learn more: http://www.earthintransition.org/2014/11/why-the-animal-protection-movem... Hosted by Stephanie Potter. Call in with your questons and comments: 503-231-8187.