[Terrapreta] Fwd: Fwd: Global Carbon Cycle

[code suidae]

On 6/4/07, lou gold <lou.gold at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Hi Code,
>
> We have vastly greater technology than the original inventors of TP, it is
> > likely that we can determine (eventually) why it works so well and how we
> > can produce something similar, tailored for whatever environment is
> > necessary, without necessarily using only one sort of feedstock.
> >
>
> Well, yup, we have vastly greater INDUSTRIAL technologies than the
> original inventors of TP who might have had vastly greater ECOSYSTEM
> technologies, enough greater to figure out some stuff that remains as
> mystery to us today.
>

I agree, though I'd say it differently: Our biotechnology capacity is
undeniably superior (from basic selective breeding techniques to genetic
engineering). What we lack is the domain knowledge necessary to apply the
technology we have, or even to fully understand the scope of the problem, to
achieve the ecosystem management we believe is necessary. Fortunately, our
command of investigative tools and availability of existing TP might help to
give us a head start. Unfortunately I think we lack the social engineering
tools necessary to effect a quick change in modern lifestyles that would
alleviate much of the problem.

I think we need to be more humble in our assessment of past civilizations
>

Absolutely. I marvel at not only at what durable evidence has been left
behind, but at what I can only image has been lost. A few months ago I
watched a documentary about a primitive South American tribe. At one point
they documented the local shaman preparing a poultice to treat an infected
leg wound. He collected a number of herbs and prepared them in the
prescribed manner and then applied them with liberal hand-waving and
ceremony. When queried later he freely acknowledged that much of the process
was superstition, but that in his society superstition was a strong
motivator. It was important not only that he get that right herbs, but that
the patient believed in the power of the shaman and the cure.

Coming from a western background where ceremony is often considered little
more than window dressing (a curious expression, that, considering how
essential literal window dressing is), it was interesting to me how plainly
the shaman, without what we would consider formal education, recognized the
different functional and psychological aspects of his tools. This reinforced
my impression that while ancient peoples were low-tech, they certainly were
not no-tech and had effective techniques for maintaining and applying deep
knowledge of their environment, both natural and societal.

It also increases my appreciation for the marvels we've achieved to date, I
hope the thoughtless pleasure seeking so endemic to many of our cultures
today won't end up spoiling the whole deal. It would be a shame to come so
far at such a great cost in human and animal suffering and environmental
destruction only to have it all slip away.

DOK
-- 
"Our ignorance is not so vast as our failure to use what we know." - M. King
Hubbert


-- 
"Our ignorance is not so vast as our failure to use what we know." - M. King
Hubbert
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