Healing Our World: Weekly Comment
By Jackie Alan Giuliano, Ph.D.
Out of the earth, I sing for them.
A horse nation, I sing for them.
Out of the earth, I sing for them.
The animals, I sing for them.
-- Teton Sioux Chant
News services across the nation are reporting the release of the World
Conservation Union's (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. According
to the new report, over 11,000 plant and animal species are in danger
of disappearing forever in the near future. Every child's textbook
speaks of it.
It is part of the common knowledge for most people and considered by
many as a necessary consequence of progress. Yet these extinctions
should not be considered just more sad statistics. They should be
viewed as an indication that life on Earth as we know it is seriously
threatened.
Possibly the scariest part of the statistics is the fact that the
Earth is home to an estimated 14 million species. But only 1.75
million have been identified and documented. This could mean that the
number of plants and animals at risk of being exterminated is more
like 88,000.
Since the 17th century, the rate of extinction of Earth's inhabitants
has been increasing, fueled by the Industrial Revolution and the race
to build everything bigger and better. Are extinctions a necessary
consequence of progress or are they the ultimate manifestation of our
profound disconnection from the natural world?
During the scientific revolution, a period in human history when it
was finally proven that Earth was not at the center of the universe,
much of today's way of viewing nature was formed. The work of Newton,
Galileo, Descartes, Bacon and others created for us a universe that
ceased being a dynamic part of our lives. Rather, nature was a machine
to be dissected, described, predicted and controlled.
Since the 16th century, the universe ceased to be the enchanted world
where, as Morris Berman says, "the cosmos was a place of belonging. A
member of this cosmos was not an alienated observer of it but a direct
participant in its drama."
For most of us in the urban world, we have ceased to be direct
participants in the drama of the natural world outside our doors. We
fear the thought of being outside, among the insects and the dirt and
the elements.
The move towards an industrial society four hundred years ago made
extinctions not only possible, but inevitable. Machines needed fuel.
Mass production required immense amounts of raw materials. The
decentralization of production required a dramatic increase in
transportation needs to deliver goods. The packaging required for all
those goods would eventually mean that entire forests would be
destroyed so that millions of hamburgers could be packaged each day.
But the greatest loss we sustained because of the scientific and
industrial revolutions that formed the basis for the world we live in
today is the loss of a reverence for life.
In our world today, we easily assign value to a piece of land, a
necklace, or the astronomy book I just sold on the Ebay online auction
service. Those items have a monetary value.
But what about life? It used to be widely believed on this Earth that
life had an intrinsic value as well. Intrinsic value is value for its
own sake, for moral, spiritual, symbolic, cultural or aesthetic
reasons. It is not a value that is assigned or given. It just is.
But the concept of intrinsic value for life doesn't fit in a world
that defines progress in terms of "units sold" or "shares traded" or
"accounts balanced."
But what about the economy? How can we afford to value the smallest
creatures or a plant that we may never see in our lifetime? The answer
to this question lies in one of the most nebulous concepts in modern
science - biodiversity. It cannot be adequately explained in purely
scientific terms why it is important to have a large diversity of life
forms in our world. But it is, and without that diversity, it is
questionable whether we can survive.
We recognize the concept of diversity intuitively. It is woven into
the fabric of our everyday existence. For example, you must diversify
your financial portfolio for it to be healthy. The more diverse the
plant community in your garden, the less susceptible it is to any one
insect pest. The more diverse your diet, the better chance you will
have taking in the vitamins and minerals you need. Intuitive evidence
abounds for the power and health of diversity.
When a forest is destroyed, it is gone for all time. Companies may
plant a tree farm in its place, usually containing one type of tree,
but this is not a forest. As advanced as our science is, we have no
idea how to build a forest. The diversity of life in a forest can
hardly be described in words. Each tiny pinch of soil and each breath
of air is teeming with thousands of different kinds of organisms, all
interacting with each other in a complex dance that cannot be
duplicated by all the power of the modern technological world.
Without this diversity, all that remains may be destined to be a
wasteland, devoid of life.
How far can we go in the relentless quest for more? When will enough
be enough?
Why is it so hard to value another living thing for no other reason
than because it is alive?
We had better find a way to answer these questions soon. The Earth may
not wait much longer.
RESOURCES
1. The Environment News Service summarized the IUCN report at
[26]http://www.ens.lycos.com/ens/sep2000/2000L-09-28-03.html. See the
report itself at [27]http://www.redlist.org/
2. Read about biodiversity in a hypertext book by Peter Bryant at
[28]http://darwin.bio.uci.edu/~sustain/bio65/lec01/b65lec01.htm
<snip>
[Jackie Alan Giuliano, Ph.D. is a writer and teacher in Seattle. He
can be found looking out his office window at the forest across the
street, wondering what species he will never know. Please send your
thoughts, comments, and visions to him at
[37][EMAIL PROTECTED] and visit his web site at
[38]http://www.healingourworld.com] >>
Environment [25]ENS -- Environment News Service
Healing Our World: Weekly Comment
By Jackie Alan Giuliano, Ph.D.
Out of the earth, I sing for them.
A horse nation, I sing for them.
Out of the earth, I sing for them.
The animals, I sing for them.
-- Teton Sioux Chant
News services across the nation are reporting the release of the World
Conservation Union's (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. According
to the new report, over 11,000 plant and animal species are in danger
of disappearing forever in the near future. Every child's textbook
speaks of it.
It is part of the common knowledge for most people and considered by
many as a necessary consequence of progress. Yet these extinctions
should not be considered just more sad statistics. They should be
viewed as an indication that life on Earth as we know it is seriously
threatened.
Possibly the scariest part of the statistics is the fact that the
Earth is home to an estimated 14 million species. But only 1.75
million have been identified and documented. This could mean that the
number of plants and animals at risk of being exterminated is more
like 88,000.
bird
Lord Howe Swamphen, extinct 1834 (Drawing courtesy American Museum of
Natural History)
Since the 17th century, the rate of extinction of Earth's inhabitants
has been increasing, fueled by the Industrial Revolution and the race
to build everything bigger and better. Are extinctions a necessary
consequence of progress or are they the ultimate manifestation of our
profound disconnection from the natural world?
During the scientific revolution, a period in human history when it
was finally proven that Earth was not at the center of the universe,
much of today's way of viewing nature was formed. The work of Newton,
Galileo, Descartes, Bacon and others created for us a universe that
ceased being a dynamic part of our lives. Rather, nature was a machine
to be dissected, described, predicted and controlled.
Since the 16th century, the universe ceased to be the enchanted world
where, as Morris Berman says, "the cosmos was a place of belonging. A
member of this cosmos was not an alienated observer of it but a direct
participant in its drama."
For most of us in the urban world, we have ceased to be direct
participants in the drama of the natural world outside our doors. We
fear the thought of being outside, among the insects and the dirt and
the elements.
The move towards an industrial society four hundred years ago made
extinctions not only possible, but inevitable. Machines needed fuel.
Mass production required immense amounts of raw materials. The
decentralization of production required a dramatic increase in
transportation needs to deliver goods. The packaging required for all
those goods would eventually mean that entire forests would be
destroyed so that millions of hamburgers could be packaged each day.
wolf
Tasmanian wolf, extinct 1936 (Drawing courtesy American Museum of Natural
History)
But the greatest loss we sustained because of the scientific and
industrial revolutions that formed the basis for the world we live in
today is the loss of a reverence for life.
In our world today, we easily assign value to a piece of land, a
necklace, or the astronomy book I just sold on the Ebay online auction
service. Those items have a monetary value.
But what about life? It used to be widely believed on this Earth that
life had an intrinsic value as well. Intrinsic value is value for its
own sake, for moral, spiritual, symbolic, cultural or aesthetic
reasons. It is not a value that is assigned or given. It just is.
But the concept of intrinsic value for life doesn't fit in a world
that defines progress in terms of "units sold" or "shares traded" or
"accounts balanced."
But what about the economy? How can we afford to value the smallest
creatures or a plant that we may never see in our lifetime? The answer
to this question lies in one of the most nebulous concepts in modern
science - biodiversity. It cannot be adequately explained in purely
scientific terms why it is important to have a large diversity of life
forms in our world. But it is, and without that diversity, it is
questionable whether we can survive.
forest
The Ho rainforest in Washington state contains diversity that cannot be
duplicated. (Photo (c) J.A. Giuliano)
We recognize the concept of diversity intuitively. It is woven into
the fabric of our everyday existence. For example, you must diversify
your financial portfolio for it to be healthy. The more diverse the
plant community in your garden, the less susceptible it is to any one
insect pest. The more diverse your diet, the better chance you will
have taking in the vitamins and minerals you need. Intuitive evidence
abounds for the power and health of diversity.
When a forest is destroyed, it is gone for all time. Companies may
plant a tree farm in its place, usually containing one type of tree,
but this is not a forest. As advanced as our science is, we have no
idea how to build a forest. The diversity of life in a forest can
hardly be described in words. Each tiny pinch of soil and each breath
of air is teeming with thousands of different kinds of organisms, all
interacting with each other in a complex dance that cannot be
duplicated by all the power of the modern technological world.
Without this diversity, all that remains may be destined to be a
wasteland, devoid of life.
How far can we go in the relentless quest for more? When will enough
be enough?
Why is it so hard to value another living thing for no other reason
than because it is alive?
We had better find a way to answer these questions soon. The Earth may
not wait much longer.
RESOURCES
1. The Environment News Service summarized the IUCN report at
[26]http://www.ens.lycos.com/ens/sep2000/2000L-09-28-03.html. See the
report itself at [27]http://www.redlist.org/
2. Read about biodiversity in a hypertext book by Peter Bryant at
[28]http://darwin.bio.uci.edu/~sustain/bio65/lec01/b65lec01.htm
3. Visit [29]http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook09.html for a
comprehensive list of resources about the scientific revolution.
4. See the World Wildlife Fund's Living Planet Report at
[30]http://www.panda.org/livingplanet/lpr99/indexthx.html for details
on the human impact on the world.
5. See at website dedicated to mourning the loss of species by the
Earth Witness Community at [31]http://www.earthwitness.com/Home.htm
6. The American Museum of Natural History has an online exhibit on
extinctions at [32]http://nimidi.amnh.org/gallery/exhibitspace.html
7. For the endangered and threatened species in the U.S., visit
[33]http://eelink.net/EndSpp.old.bak/ES.lists.html
8. Find out who your Congressional representatives are and e-mail
them. Tell them that the time of compromising our very existence for
greed must end. If you know your Zip code, you can find them at
[34]http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/ziptoit.html or you can search
by state at
[35]http://www.webslingerz.com/jhoffman/congress-email.html. You can
also find your representatives at
[36]http://congress.nw.dc.us/innovate/index.html.
[Jackie Alan Giuliano, Ph.D. is a writer and teacher in Seattle. He
can be found looking out his office window at the forest across the
street, wondering what species he will never know. Please send your
thoughts, comments, and visions to him at
[37][EMAIL PROTECTED] and visit his web site at
[38]http://www.healingourworld.com]
48. http://ens.lycos.com/
-------------------------- eGroups Sponsor -------------------------~-~>
<FONT COLOR="#000099">Get a NextCard Visa with rates as low as 2.99% Intro APR!
1. Fill in the brief application
2. Get approval decisions in 30 seconds!
</FONT><A HREF="http://click.egroups.com/1/9336/6/_/410978/_/970922334/"><B>Click
Here!</B></A>
---------------------------------------------------------------------_->
