Prophets

We have had, and have, some great prophets.

I mean prophets who have warned, cajoled, praised and cried to us about our environment. About the precious earth on which we live and which we seem determined to destroy.

These prophets, like the Biblical prophets, have not been listened to as often and carefully as they should have been. To our everlasting detriment.

They are, in my view, as holy as any Biblical prophet and their message is as urgent.

You could list many of them. Anyone who cares about our earth will have their own essential prophets they can name. You might begin with Thoreau. He wrote like a prophet—in maxims with an aggressive wisdom. But he directed our eyes to what was right before us, to the woods and lakes and animals at our door, and said that was all we needed.

Henry David Thoreau

I would list Aldo Leopold, who wrote A Sand Country Almanac, published in 1949, who gave his comings and goings exactly the same significance and worthiness as those plants and animals on his Wisconsin farm.

Aldo Leopold

I would list Rachel Carson, who wrote Silent Spring, published in 1962. She was a brave and highly principled writer. Her book was about the damage and danger of pesticides to birds, and though she was vilified by chemical companies and her science was challenged, everything she wrote was meticulously researched and sound beyond measure—and true. Her book led to the banning of DDT.

Rachel Carson

I would list Bill McKibben, a tireless advocate for our environment, starting with his prescient (a proper word for a prophet) book, The End of Nature, published in 1989. He has never stopped his efforts to make us understand the urgency of what we are facing, including his efforts as a founder Step It Up and 350.org.

Bill McKibben

I would list Elizabeth Kolbert, the learned storyteller whose pieces for The New Yorker have been collected into several remarkable books, The Sixth Extinction (a Pulitzer Prize winner) and Field Notes from a Catastrophe. Her range is extensive, her concerns endless, and her writing both lyrical and highly intelligent.

Elizabeth Kolbert

These are our prophets. There are more. No one can ever claim they haven’t made us see our future, bravely and loudly, haven’t told us in so many well-written, persuasive words, “Repent! The End is Nigh!”

Listen to them. Listen to our prophets. While we can.