For many of us in the Global South, the Earth was our garden until colonizers arrived. In our ethnic cultures, the Earth is revered. We have prayed to trees, to plants, animals, and the sun for centuries. Yet we were demonized and called heathens by Abrahamic faiths who sought to convert us to their religions, and destroy our pagan beliefs. Abrahamic faiths are the foundation on which exploitation of the planet was built. After all, didn’t Papal Bulls and the doctrine of manifest destiny authorize the theft and destruction of indigenous communities? A civilization did exist, which revered the Earth yet at the same time generated extraordinary wealthto the extent that it was the wealthiest land for 17 centuries, without ever colonizing a single country, or firing a single bullet. A civilization that lived in harmony with the environment while contributing more than 35% to the global GDP at the time, and this was a mere 250 years ago. That was until Muslim and European invaders arrived. I’ll let you guess the name of that civilization, it is well known to the British and was known throughout the world as the Golden Bird. Its ethos still exists today. The Golden Bird is rising again. Perhaps it offers a solution to our environmental crisis, as an alternative to Western so-called civilization with its endless consumerism and exploitation of the planet.