Routinely, I am challenged about some of the stuff I teach. And routinely it’s an argument about what one individual can do about living, consuming, and acting consciously and ethically. We routinely debate the limits placed on what one person, family, community or even country can hope to achieve; limits that are sometimes real, many other times imaginary. On the one hand, we seek to make a positive mark while constantly telling ourselves there is so little we can do about many of the big-ticket issues that world faces, politically, environmentally, and socially. The debate moves up a notch if I suggest that, because we inhabit the richest part of the world and accordingly benefit disproportionately to others, the obligations on us are that bit more demanding. Almost immediately, the ‘but, but buts…’ come into play and the search for the ‘get out clause’ is triggered. As a teacher and an activist, I feel compelled to talk more about what we can do rather than about what is not possible, either as an individual or, in Malta’s case, as a very small country. Let me try to illustrate the point. Sometimes I explore the place and role of forests and forest products in the world. We...
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