As I drove with my cousins to the magical hills by Magdalena, New Mexico, we discussed the state of the Earth. My cousins are intimately familiar with ecological patterns, the growing and diminishing forms of plant life, and the results of encroaching civilization. The way they see it, this place is seriously screwed up.

There are some serious ecological problems brought to us by American culture. I live in the desert, and yet people continue to dump thousands of gallons of water in the quest for that luscious green lawn. Trash day in my area is every Wednesday, and it is inevitable that families fill up their containers every week. SUVs eat up gas and clog interstates as they transport people from the suburbs to the movie theater. Alfalfa farms (which require flooding the land) lie along the highway so farmers can feed livestock (which raze the rest of the land). Miners throughout the west scrape hills and mountains, sifting out the valuable contents. One middle class family uses as many resources as a village in Central America.

But if there is something that bugs me more than our ecological destruction, it's environmental activists. These people complain about what's wrong with world so much that they can't enjoy the simple joy of sitting in the forest without mentioning logging or how the spotted owl is going extinct. What angers them more is when I tell them it isn't that bad yet.

There are certain truths that I hold to be self evident. The older I get, the more everything will cost. When I die, I will decompose back into the land. And the Earth will punish humanity for all the crap we did to it.

That's why I can't get too upset about sprawl, burning rain forests and sucking all the oil out of the crust. People say we are ruining the Earth, but in fact, we are just ruining the Earth for the things on the surface. Whether you are a devout Christian or a pouting atheist, you should agree that humans are in charge on the surface of this planet. We can tear up or revere this place as much as we want. It's up to each person whether to be productive or destructive.

I have a personal and spiritual relationship with the Earth. While most religious people speak of God as someone way out there keeping an eye on things, I look at the Earth as the closest thing to a deity. The Earth is omnipotent, loving, vengeful, forgiving, resourceful, and yes, it even works in mysterious ways. Because of this view, I look at what we do to the Earth as what we do to God.

Whether the Earth is a creator or creation, I keep my spiritual side to myself. I don't go door to door, asking for donations to save the Earth. I don't sign petitions, tie myself to a tree or piss on the White House lawn in protest. What I am is conscious of my actions. I conserve water, minimize my waste, bike or walk if the distance is short (and the weather is nice), and appreciate all the nice days we have here. It's what I can do.

It's what all of us could do in our own way. I'm not saying we should get on our knees and kiss the ground five times a day, but if everyone as individuals thought about how their actions affected the Earth, we might fix a few of these problems on accident. We all make our mark on this planet, so we might as well keep the planet the way we found it.

Yesterday, I sat on top of a golden hill with nothing but rocks, juniper and pinon bushes and fresh air, and all I could think of was how good it felt to be there. If we don't change our ways, places like this will gradually disappear until the Earth has decided it has had enough. I can't tell you when the Earth will decide it is Judgment Day, but I hope I have fully decomposed before it comes.

Chris Jungle is made out of clay.