[Terrapreta] A thoughtful article on the environment

[Michael Bailes]

Those on the list may be interested in reading this thoughtful article on
the environment.
It 'sort of' touches on some of the issues we have been discussing like
anthropomorphic climate change, stoves, 'wee beasties' global engineering
etc.,

The bit about cities is the weakest part of the article I thought.
 A lot more can be done to green indoor environments,
green building techniques and rooftop gardens for example.

eg some quotes or go straight to the URL at
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/20/science/earth/20MANA.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5070&en=cf9641d674858773&ex=1194584400
  <http://www.care2.com/news/member/753310143/535056>
-- 
*MANAGING PLANET EARTH*

Forget Nature. Even Eden Is Engineered.*By ANDREW C. REVKIN*

 [image: N]early 70 years ago, a Soviet geochemist, reflecting on his world,
made a startling observation: through technology and sheer numbers, he
wrote, people were becoming a geological force, shaping the planet's future
just as rivers and earthquakes had shaped its past.

. . .

Some scientists say it is anthropocentric hubris to think people understand
the living planet well enough to know how to manage it. But that prospect is
attracting more than 100 world leaders and thousands of other participants
to the United Nations' World Summit on Sustainable Development, which starts
on Monday in Johannesburg.

. . .

Human activity is such a pervasive influence on the planet's ecological
framework that it is no longer possible to separate people and nature.

. . .

Although global population appears headed for a 50 percent increase in the
next 50 years, for example, demand for food will likely double, as
prosperity raises the per capita consumption of calories.

. . .

Nonetheless, optimists say they see signs of hope. Not the least of them is
the intensifying dialogue on the problem, which includes parties as
disparate as multinational companies and tribal bands.

In essence, the human capacity for understanding the world is catching up
with the human capacity to change it, Dr. Clark at Harvard said. "

. . .

Scientists have concluded that humans not only now dominate the planet, but
have also become the dominant driver of natural selection, the machinery of
evolution.
Together, cooking fires and sputtering lanterns create indoor pollution that
causes asthma and other ailments and that, in India alone, is estimated to
kill 600,000 women a year.

Dr. Pachauri's group has experimented with distributing solar-powered
lanterns to rural communities. Other projects push cleaner ovens that use
less-polluting fuels.

. . .

f farming does not change drastically in the next few decades, enormous
ecological damage will result, many scientists say

. . .

The challenge now, he said, will be to double agricultural productivity
without using substantially more land.

. . .Some environmentalists say the whole notion of sustainable development
is an oxymoron, that the Western industrial model of endless growth, however
packaged, cannot possibly persist without grievous environmental damage

. . .

It may well end up being the case that local communities, here and abroad,
lead the way in harmonizing people and the planet, he said.

. . .

"Most growth now comes from increased knowledge, not from the mining of
nature," Professor Sachs said. "And knowledge isn't limited in the way that,
say, soil fertility is.", , ,

"That ferment," Dr. Kates said, "is the most encouraging sign."
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/20/science/earth/20MANA.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5070&en=cf9641d674858773&ex=1194584400


















Michael the Archangel

"You can fix all the world's problems in a garden. . . .
Most people don't know that"
FROM
http://www.blog.thesietch.org/wp-content/permaculture.swf
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