LOVE THY NATURE

H.E. Might it be a good idea for Empower with Nature to have renowned artists who are environmentally sensitive as ambassadors?

M.G. At this stage, no because we are a one-year-old NGO, we are very young. However, I do think it would make Empower with Nature grow big and put our message out there louder and reach a greater audience. That’s for sure. Every person on the team of Empower with Nature, as you have seen on the website, has their own area of expertise and they are also founders of their own businesses, institutions, or eco-camps. They are also all my friends whom I have known through work or life. It’s a beautiful thing to create something with people you really love. We all believe in the same cause, and I think that when you are choosing someone to carry your message you need to make sure that you see eye-to-eye.

H.E. And you have a lot of experience in that, in reputation management. You have 15 years’ experience in designing and producing international conferences in thirty different countries for the Wall Street, capital markets, healthcare, human resources, marketing, digitalisation, copper, and government sectors. You’ve also worked with politicians such as George W. Bush and Colin Powell. When you state these aspects of your experience in your bio on the website of your newly founded NGO, it makes me think two things. Firstly, through your experience you saw what they were doing to the environment through political agenda, and you decided to turn your back on that, go to the Negev to learn more and establish Empower with Nature for a better cause. Or secondly, it is for the purpose of transparency, reputability, and ethics. As George W. Bush and Colin Powell are certainly not role models in terms of climate change, ecology, permaculture in consideration of the oil wars, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the state those places have been left in because of the US’s international political agenda. Could you please enlighten me on all this?

M.G. In all the different sectors that I have worked, they believe they are the ones saving the world. The politicians, the financiers, the environmentalists. I think it’s about how people want to look at things, the message is not so black and white. The system is based on how people can use whatever they have and how can they use it for a higher purpose… In my background there are several different things, but there came a point in my career after listening to seven thousand people from the different conferences I organised in different sectors, when I asked myself, “what can I do to help?” That is the crucial question and that’s also what I am trying to do through the sustainable leadership programme. For example, people say, “I am in banking, and we deal with money” but in fact they make crucial changes in relation to the environment. That is what I want to highlight. It doesn’t matter what your background is or what you have done until now, what matters is what you want to do now for the future. Every person I have met along the way showed me something or made me reach this point in my life.

H.E. What would you say the cost of the war in Ukraine is to the environment? Especially when so much energy is being poured into the production of arms and weapons. How can we overcome environmental issues if we cannot overcome the political?

M.G. I think the crucial point is humanity and how humanity is losing once again with wars; trying to occupy or invade one another, trying to impose power over each other. And with that thought in mind, we are the environment. Within the ecological system, power struggle between species is common. However, it is so sad to see the same species killing itself for no reason. I think in the case of Ukraine we are observing a huge destruction to the climate as well as to cultural heritage, that’s equally devastating. At the end of the day, they are a major grain and food producer for Europe and the Middle East. If they cannot grow their crops, there will be a greater impact on the rest of the world. I think it’s just the beginning of things. It's not just about two countries at war.

H.E. What are your thoughts on the outcomes of Cop27? Do you think it’s all too little too late?

M.G. I do believe it's crucial to have global meetings, and with each COP, we see that there are new implementations and things are moving forward. With COP27, it has at last been recognized that all the 17 Sustainable Development Goals are all connected with climate action. This was one of the issues that people could not see; that the problems related to the climate at all inter-connected with poverty, lack of water, health and so on. As an outcome of COP27, there will also be more investment in Africa as the number of climate refugees increase. There is also a greater focus on climate insurance, and plans for huge growth in climate insurance to help people affected by natural disasters. Since the Global Compact for Migration, we see that there has been an increase in the collaboration between governments, the private sector, academia, and NGOs. So, each meeting is a little step towards moving forward. Is it too little or too late yes, it is hard to reach 2030 goals and scientists state that climate change is accelerating quicker than their previous estimations. Things are happening very slowly, and it is hard to break through the segmentation between departments, disciplines, continents, countries, and finance.

H.E. China has been the world’s biggest coal producer in the last 3 decades, the decades in which - together with emissions from the use of gas (top 3 producers US, Russia and Qatar) and oil (again top 3 producers, US, Russia, Qatar) (China is also in the top 10, along with others such as Canada and UAE) - the greatest recorded damage to the environment has taken place, both in terms of pollution and climate change. How can anything change for environmental health when certain countries in the world refuse to do their bit for it. How can this cycle of power, politics, greed, and money be brought to a halt?

M.G. This is exactly what we are all trying to do, even with the protests, changes in education, policies, projects and so on. Unfortunately, with politics, economy, and wars, it is a very hopeless situation.

H.E. The private sector has a vital role to play in the world moving towards a fossil-fuel free future. $4 trillion per year needs to be invested in renewable energy up until 2030 to be able to reach net zero emissions by 2050. In your personal experience of the private sector, do you see this level of commitment? Do you think it is realistic?

M.G. I cannot talk on behalf of the private sector but for sure we need greater investment, collaboration and zero greenwashes from the private sector. The realistic part of it comes from economic investments also changing accordingly. This could increase the investment in biodiversity, natural solutions, food security, renewable energies, and water solutions. So, policies and the financial sector have a crucial role to play in the movement of the private sector to invest more in a fossil fuel-free future.

H.E. Since the Industrial Revolution we rapidly changed our diets, our ways of nutrition. We now consume so much food that comes directly out of a packet, the fast-food. There is a great cost of that to the environment as well. So may be the solution is also in our eating habits, which you cover in your course, “archaeology, gastronomy and connecting to nature.” Shouldn’t we find a way of stopping all this plastic from being produced?

M.G. We saw all this during the COVID-19 pandemic as well, where there wasn’t any food left on supermarket shelves. Mainly it was because of the packaging. The factories in China came to a halt. You mentioned fast-food, and the problem is the “fast” part of it because everything is becoming fast and cheap to be able to be more accessible by greater numbers of people. It is exceedingly difficult to live in a city and to constantly be able to make healthy choices. I appreciate everyone who is trying to achieve zero-waste and sustainable living practices. Sustainable living becomes a happy thing when you try to do it in a rural area because you grow things and you recycle, but as soon as you are in the city it becomes extremely difficult and unpleasing, because you always feel guilty around the choices you have to make.

H.E. How effective do you think environmental activists such as Greta Thunberg, Xiye Bastida, Lesein Mutunkei or Isra Hirsi in creating awareness around environmental issues?

M.G. They are remarkably effective, and we are constantly seeing new young activists. They for sure made climate change the main issue. They placed urgency, stood up against older generations and demanded action. Also, they changed the way youth are being listened to; they have a voice, and they act for their future. I appreciate all their work. Young people amaze me. 

H.E. What would you say to people who say they are not interested in doing anything to help our damaged environment? Or, to those who speak a lot about it but don’t do anything in practice?

M.G. I think, why would anyone not want to be part of the solution? There are always things to do to help, and it's beyond our own self. Humans are a keystone species; we could engineer nature to help other species and our species to thrive, so we all have a crucial role to play. This is what I believe. I also design and deliver programs on ecological consciousness.

H.E. Is finding yourself the path to rediscovering and appreciating nature? How can people on lower incomes afford to think like that when the shelf price of ecological or organic/pesticide free products always higher than conventional products? How can we return to the ways of our ancestors/or the “old ways” in a world of dog-eat-dog?

M.G. There are many different ways for people to realize themselves. However, we are part of nature and of course, to see ourselves in nature is like going back to our origins. Ecopsychology focuses on humanity becoming so disconnected from nature that it suffers. Also, it highlights how through climate change people get anxieties and how they can deal with it by connecting more with nature. Wherever you are, you can connect with nature. Though it is particularly difficult if you live in an urban place, and having a lower income makes it almost impossible to eat healthy food for all the reasons you mentioned. Even though it is different in rural areas, with the rising cost of water and the separation of agriculture and farming, growing your own food in a rural area also becomes more expensive. Part of the solution is to live simpler, and in nature, with the ancestral ways. However, as you mentioned, it is not easy.

H.E. You live on Heybeliada, the second largest island in the Sea of Marmara near Istanbul, which is greener because the use of motorized vehicles – except those for public service such as police, fire department, refuse collection – is forbidden. I heard that you are building a vegetable garden of your own. What are some of the things you are growing?

M.G. I have salads, mint, parsley, chard, broccoli, spinach, thyme. Mainly herbs and greens. Unfortunately, I can’t grow any root vegetables now because I have stony soil. I am working on making good compost so I can grow root vegetables next year.

H.E. If you could pass down one message to future generations, what would it be?

M.G. There are solutions, just keep on acting and spread awareness to people.