Wirt Wrote:
>to preserve the last bit of biodiversity on the planet in whatever state of
pristineness it still exists, need to work to make the world equally
prosperous and educated
I whole-heartedly agree. If I may, I would like to follow a tangent of this
idea. In addition to education, we need attitude adjustment.
Here is an example. I have just come into possession of a 1913 Harris Seed
Catalogue. Harris seed is from San Diego, Ca. Among the items promoted for
use is burr clover. They tout how this plant needs little or no water, loves
the heat and fixes nitrogen.
Anyone from California in general and the southern part of the state in
particular is probably thinking to themselves, "You mean they introduced
that noxious weed on purpose?" For people not familiar with burr clover it
is a low ground cover that produces seedpods with little stickers, burrs.
This is an ingenious method of moving the seeds from place to place. It
works because the burrs get into everything, you, you clothes, your pets
etc. So while planting burr clover may be a great way to fix nitrogen in the
soil it really detracts from the environment.
The introduction of a foreign species corrupts the pristine state of the
original environment. In our attempt to "out smart" nature we have brought
devastation to whole continents. The introduction of foreign flora and fauna
has caused many native species to become extinct. By decreasing
biodiversity, we increase the risk of a single point of failure.
Western thinking is full of illusions to "overcoming nature." We take an
adversarial approach to nature. We must stop trying to change nature. Nature
is not elastic it is a fabric*. If you pull it to cover one side the other,
side is exposed.
If there is, one thing I have learned since I started farming it is that
nature will not bend to my needs. It is therefore incumbent upon my to
figure out how too use nature to my advantage. That has been my attitude
adjustment.
Work for Peace,
The opinions expressed herein are my own and not necessarily those of my
employer.
Yosef Rosenblatt

* I was thinking that maybe it is not so much a fabric as it is an
arbitrated loop. You may not have direct access to everything and you need
to get permission to get on the bus. ;-)

* To join/leave the list, search archives, change list settings, *
* etc., please visit http://raven.utc.edu/archives/hp3000-l.html *