Post by joe on Sept 30, 2006 7:55:47 GMT -5
Vision for a Sustainable Future
Is a sustainable future something that can be planned for? Until the present, post-colonial New England has had an organic quality, thriving in times of abundance and adjusting appropriately when resources were limited or depleted. The history of New England is one of adaptation and survival.. Mr. Smith, a fictional artificial intelligence being from the popular film The Matrix, states, “Humans are a virus, a parasite.” This does not preclude our culture from enjoying a sustainable future. What Mr. Smith may not have realized is that a parasite will, over time, reach an equilibrium with its host. It will not benefit the parasite to kill its home and food source, and nature prevents this. Humans seemed on the cusp of total environmental destruction as the 19th century wore on, but the natural world inherently seeks and strikes a balance. The human population gradually decreased in response to environmental degradation allowing the relationship between “host“ and “parasite“ to continue. In designing a plan for a sustainable future, the proclivity of humans to stress their environment past the breaking point must be anticipated. It is possible we have passed the crisis of the 19th century’s wastelands and there is only improvement ahead of us.
When I first moved to Vermont I was very excited about a statement in the introduction of a state atlas. The author claimed that if one were, hypothetically, to close the borders of Vermont the only thing we would need to import would be salt. In her book Ecological Revolutions, Carolyn Merchant gives detailed descriptions and lists inventories of food and goods needed for human sustenance in New England over three centuries. With awareness and diligence it is possible to distill what we need to support our population within our regional borders. A careful analysis is needed to determine the amount of land required to sustain the current population in a virtually closed system. On page 183 of Ecological Revolutions Merchant sums up the many components of subsistence farming to give us a figure of 45 to 65 acres of land needed per family. According to the US Census Bureau, the population of New England is 13,922,517
, and average family size is 3.14, so we need between 199526517.5acres and 288204969.7 acres to support everyone. Compulsory vegetarianism could maximize our benefits. Thoreau was able to survive as a vegetarian cultivating only two and one-half acres. Vegetable farming uses less land and water to produce an equal amount of food Through careful use of “companion“ and “giver/feeder” crops, soil nutrient depletion can be minimized.
In order to maintain a self-sustaining way of life we need to effectively learn from the agricultural successes of the past. The pre-colonial culture offers us the corn, beans, and squash complex, the “three sisters“. From colonial days we can retain the European crops rye, barley, oats, wheat, carrots, red beets, radishes, turnips, peas, cabbage, lettuce, garden beans, and cucumbers. The industrial period offers the lessons of cattle and sheep domestication, and in modern times we have begun to cultivate soy, kale and other nutrient-rich crops. Bio-intensive farming outlines not only which crops to plant, but how to space them for optimal land use, composting, bed preparation and natural insecticides. Industrial hemp will also need to reappear for production of paper, cloth, fuel oils, and nutrients.
The process of clear cutting has already been established as disastrous. Hopefully, wilderness preservation laws currently being considered by Congress will prevent a repetition of the destruction of forests in the past. For the future, forestry and agriculture will have to be once again merged. The Native American system of leaving fields to fallow is necessary to have a land that will support us for millennia into the future. If we alternate between forestry and agricultural production, both will benefit from enriched and productive soil. In order for this to be effective broader stretches of time need to be considered. It is very hard for our culture to consider benefits beyond the immediate future. Colonial advances in understanding fertilizer and soil composition are essential to maximizing productivity of the land, but we need to reincorporate cycles of production and recovery.
In comparison to colonial days, we now have a pattern of biological reproduction that can be much more sustainable. The need for a large family to work the farm is far less important now with mechanization and increased urbanization. The trend which started in the 19th century, of late marriage and smaller families has continued, and will be beneficial in keeping an equilibrium between production and consumption as we move into the future. In just the past fifty years the societal role of women has dramatically changed. Now women have greatly increased reproductive rights as compared with earlier times in part due to social and economic equality. After World War Two, women became equal partners in all aspects of modern life, no longer “property” meant primarily for reproduction. Today, most families are smaller. At times it seems we are on track for reaching the sustainable goal of zero population growth. Isaac Asimov often discussed the route to ending all of the world’s problems was through gender equality and women’s biological self-determination. Perhaps our success in this area is responsible for the culture in New England becoming stable, educated and peaceful.
Social reproduction has become very complicated in today’s world. In the past, almost all social indoctrination was done in the home, coming directly from parents. In the twentieth century, two forces started playing a greater role: mass-media and government. Even a family that shelters a child from the television in their home will eventually be thwarted when the child goes to a friends house to play Grand Theft Auto. With the internet in most homes, children have access to popular culture to an unparalleled degree. The internet is uncensorable, so parents need to trust their children to a greater degree. The government’s role in social indoctrination is far reaching. Children start the day by saluting the flag, and then move on to study a strictly controlled view of history, as well as standardized incremental math and English curricula. Schools that do not meet federal requirements face loss of funding and possible privatization. Presently few families have the ability or desire for home schooling or the financial means for private schools. In the future, education should be controlled locally without fear of retribution from the “foreign” powers in Washington D.C.
Patterns of governance is a tricky thing. Has anything really changed since ancient Egypt? We live under the illusion of personal control over government policies, but the truth is that a small minority controls policy with power passed down hereditarily. This past weekend marked the anniversary of “World Peace Day.” In Montpellier a wealthy former governor cheered up the crowd by noting the effect that the public had in raising issues that could be passed into law by a “diverse group of legislatures”. Now, I know there are two parties here, but diverse? Get real. On page 22 of Ecological Revolutions Merchant reminds us that the world is controlled by the “eye of power” and subject to the “controlling scrutiny of the overseer.” Could the power of governance ever be truly extended to all citizens? It is possible that the benefits in communications technology could eventually extend to all citizens. Why waste money paying for prostitutes and liquor for legislators when matters of government could be put directly to the people via email. A sustainable future may not even include a body whose job is to make more laws. By definition a sustainable culture would not want to make unnecessary changes. One major step in the right direction would be a loosening of the bonds that hold our region to the federal government. We spend more money in taxes than we receive in benefits and that is hardly sustainable.
Sustainable economical production in New England would require turning away from the trend of globalization until the point is reached where there is a general economic equality in the world. Some communities are experimenting with local currencies. Most notably Ithaca, New York uses “Ithaca Dollars.” Members of the local economic system can trade goods or services at ten Ithaca dollars per hour. The Ithaca dollars are accepted at many local establishments including grocery stores. A more local economy would greatly benefit New England. The United States dollar is of questionable value. A problem in the economies of foreign investors could cause the collapse of our monetary system. Support of multinational corporations on the local level is removing the value of our work from our local economy. The greatest benefit of local currency such as the Ithaca dollar is that the value of work is recycled and spread within the community and is unlikely to be collected and hoarded by individuals or small groups of overseers. People love trading. Across the world, the universal language is cash. I think it would be unwise to take capitalism away from people in New England, but backing the currency locally would have many benefits. The founding fathers specifically forbade the creation of a national bank. Curiously, three of the richest and most powerful opponents of the Federal Reserve bank drowned on the Titanic, but that is the subject for a different paper. In order to have a sustainable future, economy will have to be localized, with foreign trade dominated by “free trade” items.
Human consciousness has slowly evolved over millions of years. I spent a semester last year researching the brain and consciousness. I had twenty books in my bibliography without a clear definition of consciousness. If only I had known about Carolyn Merchant then. In Ecological Revolutions Merchant succinctly defines consciousness at the bottom of page 19 as, “…the totality of one’s thoughts, feelings, and impressions, the awareness of one’s acts and volitions.” In order to have people accept sustainable living, we need to work towards demonstrating cultural values that will make sustainability invisible. People reject ideas they equate with hard work. Sustainability has to provide a superior lifestyle in order to be accepted internally and without conflict. Currently, our society values violence and domination of foreign cultures. This is reflected in our unsustainable practices domestically. We need to end participation in barbarism to have clear minds. Part of this requires a much greater degree of understanding the consequences of our thoughts and actions. Patterns of consciousness from earlier times can be useful as we move forward. The Native American idea of interconnectedness with nature is extremely valuable to consciousness. Awareness of our role in relation to all other parts of our environment is fundamental to sustainability. Sensory based perception seemed to be truncated through each cultural shift so far. Hopefully, in the future, education will help people learn to use all of their senses again for a richer understanding of reality, and a greater awareness of interconnectedness. We can benefit by increased awareness as Native American women benefited from connecting the rising of Pleiades with the start of the growing season. Europeans culture is rich in polytheism and nature worship when the preacher isn’t around. Hopefully this will continue. On page 10 of Ecological Revolution, Merchant points out that even the architects of mechanistic philosophies even believed in magic and internal energy of hidden spirits. The Shakers of new England demonstrated a great spiritual love for the Earth. Through communal living the Shakers were able to support a greater number of people on an area of land. The Shakers may have eventually dominated New England had it not been for the small problem of rejecting reproduction. In the 19th century, Romanticism brought renewed focus to the concept of earth as mother. Most notably, Thoreau exposed the popular culture to nature worship and sustainable living. Industrial and capitalistic consciousness of inventory is very important for a sustainable future. Waste needs to be minimized, and shortages are unacceptable to keep people content. Colonial era ideas of Mechanical Philosophy can be useful in creating a delicate balance between production and use. If we understand “nature as a machine” as a metaphor, parts of this philosophy can be retained into the future.
Tensions between production and ecology can be balanced through the use of better technology. Technology extends beyond machines to the world of ideas. Students today learning about ecology and sustainable resource management will be helping to shape our future world. Knowledge of the relationship between Ecology and production will hopefully prevent the descent into the wastelands of the late 19th century. It is profitable to have ecologically balanced ecosystems for farming, foresting and recreation. The days of limitless frontier are a distant memory now. The balance between production and ecology was not even a choice. Humans cannot survive without a healthy environment.
The tension between production and reproduction is less of an issue over time. Today men and women both work outside of the home to earn money for clothes and household items. Although often times women leave their jobs during child-bearing years, many return to the workplace or work from home. One major problem with the production of goods today is the reliance on imported goods. In order to have a sustainable future we will need to produce all of what we use regionaly. The low cost of imported goods is a temporary illusion. As less production is done domestically, we have a loss of wages to consumers. The foreign suppliers of inexpensive goods are headed toward their own environmental wall. Also, as we become more aware of the impact of our actions, we will turn away from industries that take advantage of their workers.
Often, I am reassured that the Earth will survive. Human accomplishments that seem permanent eventually crumble. I remember seeing a car in the woods once. All that remained was the axles. The rest had rusted away and trees were growing through the body. The 17th century puritan practice of wolf annihilation has had little more longevity than their goofy hats, with wolves starting to return. The wastelands of treeless landscape have been quickly reclaimed by forests.
My desired vision of future society requires human nature to be considered and allows for compromise. People don’t like change. People don’t like overt force. In order to progress towards a sustainable society, changes need to be invisible and profitable, and force needs to be covertly used. I would like to see a future of direct voting through use of electronic communications technology. Would we be at war if everyone really had a vote? Would we knock down hundreds of miles of forest to put up a power corridor to feed New York City? Would we have ”liberal” “progressive” politicians like Bernie and Peter Welch selling their souls to Entergy? The world is so complicated that it is difficult to understand what is happening today let alone predict the future. With the magic wand of social psychology we may be able to guide the masses. Education is an obvious place to start. Students learn to value the natural world more and more each day. In the future of electronic representation the voting age could be significantly lowered. Do you think kids would value cheap electric bills over natural ecosystems? Without small groups of beneficiaries we can move toward renewable energy in the future. Photovoltaics continue to increase in efficiency as they drop in cost and personal home wind turbines are becoming very common. In the future, every home could receive a larger share of its power through small scale renewables, while using technology for more efficient appliances and insulation. Through blending the Native American trio with the European tetrad, and using sustainable agricultural practices we can maximize crop production while promoting a diversified diet. Vegetarianism will be the only alternative to the problems of land use, mad cow disease, bird flu and Karma. Men and women will continue to reach equality in production. Consciousness will not change, people have been the same for three million years, but nature will force us into sustainability for survival’s sake.
Is a sustainable future something that can be planned for? Until the present, post-colonial New England has had an organic quality, thriving in times of abundance and adjusting appropriately when resources were limited or depleted. The history of New England is one of adaptation and survival.. Mr. Smith, a fictional artificial intelligence being from the popular film The Matrix, states, “Humans are a virus, a parasite.” This does not preclude our culture from enjoying a sustainable future. What Mr. Smith may not have realized is that a parasite will, over time, reach an equilibrium with its host. It will not benefit the parasite to kill its home and food source, and nature prevents this. Humans seemed on the cusp of total environmental destruction as the 19th century wore on, but the natural world inherently seeks and strikes a balance. The human population gradually decreased in response to environmental degradation allowing the relationship between “host“ and “parasite“ to continue. In designing a plan for a sustainable future, the proclivity of humans to stress their environment past the breaking point must be anticipated. It is possible we have passed the crisis of the 19th century’s wastelands and there is only improvement ahead of us.
When I first moved to Vermont I was very excited about a statement in the introduction of a state atlas. The author claimed that if one were, hypothetically, to close the borders of Vermont the only thing we would need to import would be salt. In her book Ecological Revolutions, Carolyn Merchant gives detailed descriptions and lists inventories of food and goods needed for human sustenance in New England over three centuries. With awareness and diligence it is possible to distill what we need to support our population within our regional borders. A careful analysis is needed to determine the amount of land required to sustain the current population in a virtually closed system. On page 183 of Ecological Revolutions Merchant sums up the many components of subsistence farming to give us a figure of 45 to 65 acres of land needed per family. According to the US Census Bureau, the population of New England is 13,922,517
, and average family size is 3.14, so we need between 199526517.5acres and 288204969.7 acres to support everyone. Compulsory vegetarianism could maximize our benefits. Thoreau was able to survive as a vegetarian cultivating only two and one-half acres. Vegetable farming uses less land and water to produce an equal amount of food Through careful use of “companion“ and “giver/feeder” crops, soil nutrient depletion can be minimized.
In order to maintain a self-sustaining way of life we need to effectively learn from the agricultural successes of the past. The pre-colonial culture offers us the corn, beans, and squash complex, the “three sisters“. From colonial days we can retain the European crops rye, barley, oats, wheat, carrots, red beets, radishes, turnips, peas, cabbage, lettuce, garden beans, and cucumbers. The industrial period offers the lessons of cattle and sheep domestication, and in modern times we have begun to cultivate soy, kale and other nutrient-rich crops. Bio-intensive farming outlines not only which crops to plant, but how to space them for optimal land use, composting, bed preparation and natural insecticides. Industrial hemp will also need to reappear for production of paper, cloth, fuel oils, and nutrients.
The process of clear cutting has already been established as disastrous. Hopefully, wilderness preservation laws currently being considered by Congress will prevent a repetition of the destruction of forests in the past. For the future, forestry and agriculture will have to be once again merged. The Native American system of leaving fields to fallow is necessary to have a land that will support us for millennia into the future. If we alternate between forestry and agricultural production, both will benefit from enriched and productive soil. In order for this to be effective broader stretches of time need to be considered. It is very hard for our culture to consider benefits beyond the immediate future. Colonial advances in understanding fertilizer and soil composition are essential to maximizing productivity of the land, but we need to reincorporate cycles of production and recovery.
In comparison to colonial days, we now have a pattern of biological reproduction that can be much more sustainable. The need for a large family to work the farm is far less important now with mechanization and increased urbanization. The trend which started in the 19th century, of late marriage and smaller families has continued, and will be beneficial in keeping an equilibrium between production and consumption as we move into the future. In just the past fifty years the societal role of women has dramatically changed. Now women have greatly increased reproductive rights as compared with earlier times in part due to social and economic equality. After World War Two, women became equal partners in all aspects of modern life, no longer “property” meant primarily for reproduction. Today, most families are smaller. At times it seems we are on track for reaching the sustainable goal of zero population growth. Isaac Asimov often discussed the route to ending all of the world’s problems was through gender equality and women’s biological self-determination. Perhaps our success in this area is responsible for the culture in New England becoming stable, educated and peaceful.
Social reproduction has become very complicated in today’s world. In the past, almost all social indoctrination was done in the home, coming directly from parents. In the twentieth century, two forces started playing a greater role: mass-media and government. Even a family that shelters a child from the television in their home will eventually be thwarted when the child goes to a friends house to play Grand Theft Auto. With the internet in most homes, children have access to popular culture to an unparalleled degree. The internet is uncensorable, so parents need to trust their children to a greater degree. The government’s role in social indoctrination is far reaching. Children start the day by saluting the flag, and then move on to study a strictly controlled view of history, as well as standardized incremental math and English curricula. Schools that do not meet federal requirements face loss of funding and possible privatization. Presently few families have the ability or desire for home schooling or the financial means for private schools. In the future, education should be controlled locally without fear of retribution from the “foreign” powers in Washington D.C.
Patterns of governance is a tricky thing. Has anything really changed since ancient Egypt? We live under the illusion of personal control over government policies, but the truth is that a small minority controls policy with power passed down hereditarily. This past weekend marked the anniversary of “World Peace Day.” In Montpellier a wealthy former governor cheered up the crowd by noting the effect that the public had in raising issues that could be passed into law by a “diverse group of legislatures”. Now, I know there are two parties here, but diverse? Get real. On page 22 of Ecological Revolutions Merchant reminds us that the world is controlled by the “eye of power” and subject to the “controlling scrutiny of the overseer.” Could the power of governance ever be truly extended to all citizens? It is possible that the benefits in communications technology could eventually extend to all citizens. Why waste money paying for prostitutes and liquor for legislators when matters of government could be put directly to the people via email. A sustainable future may not even include a body whose job is to make more laws. By definition a sustainable culture would not want to make unnecessary changes. One major step in the right direction would be a loosening of the bonds that hold our region to the federal government. We spend more money in taxes than we receive in benefits and that is hardly sustainable.
Sustainable economical production in New England would require turning away from the trend of globalization until the point is reached where there is a general economic equality in the world. Some communities are experimenting with local currencies. Most notably Ithaca, New York uses “Ithaca Dollars.” Members of the local economic system can trade goods or services at ten Ithaca dollars per hour. The Ithaca dollars are accepted at many local establishments including grocery stores. A more local economy would greatly benefit New England. The United States dollar is of questionable value. A problem in the economies of foreign investors could cause the collapse of our monetary system. Support of multinational corporations on the local level is removing the value of our work from our local economy. The greatest benefit of local currency such as the Ithaca dollar is that the value of work is recycled and spread within the community and is unlikely to be collected and hoarded by individuals or small groups of overseers. People love trading. Across the world, the universal language is cash. I think it would be unwise to take capitalism away from people in New England, but backing the currency locally would have many benefits. The founding fathers specifically forbade the creation of a national bank. Curiously, three of the richest and most powerful opponents of the Federal Reserve bank drowned on the Titanic, but that is the subject for a different paper. In order to have a sustainable future, economy will have to be localized, with foreign trade dominated by “free trade” items.
Human consciousness has slowly evolved over millions of years. I spent a semester last year researching the brain and consciousness. I had twenty books in my bibliography without a clear definition of consciousness. If only I had known about Carolyn Merchant then. In Ecological Revolutions Merchant succinctly defines consciousness at the bottom of page 19 as, “…the totality of one’s thoughts, feelings, and impressions, the awareness of one’s acts and volitions.” In order to have people accept sustainable living, we need to work towards demonstrating cultural values that will make sustainability invisible. People reject ideas they equate with hard work. Sustainability has to provide a superior lifestyle in order to be accepted internally and without conflict. Currently, our society values violence and domination of foreign cultures. This is reflected in our unsustainable practices domestically. We need to end participation in barbarism to have clear minds. Part of this requires a much greater degree of understanding the consequences of our thoughts and actions. Patterns of consciousness from earlier times can be useful as we move forward. The Native American idea of interconnectedness with nature is extremely valuable to consciousness. Awareness of our role in relation to all other parts of our environment is fundamental to sustainability. Sensory based perception seemed to be truncated through each cultural shift so far. Hopefully, in the future, education will help people learn to use all of their senses again for a richer understanding of reality, and a greater awareness of interconnectedness. We can benefit by increased awareness as Native American women benefited from connecting the rising of Pleiades with the start of the growing season. Europeans culture is rich in polytheism and nature worship when the preacher isn’t around. Hopefully this will continue. On page 10 of Ecological Revolution, Merchant points out that even the architects of mechanistic philosophies even believed in magic and internal energy of hidden spirits. The Shakers of new England demonstrated a great spiritual love for the Earth. Through communal living the Shakers were able to support a greater number of people on an area of land. The Shakers may have eventually dominated New England had it not been for the small problem of rejecting reproduction. In the 19th century, Romanticism brought renewed focus to the concept of earth as mother. Most notably, Thoreau exposed the popular culture to nature worship and sustainable living. Industrial and capitalistic consciousness of inventory is very important for a sustainable future. Waste needs to be minimized, and shortages are unacceptable to keep people content. Colonial era ideas of Mechanical Philosophy can be useful in creating a delicate balance between production and use. If we understand “nature as a machine” as a metaphor, parts of this philosophy can be retained into the future.
Tensions between production and ecology can be balanced through the use of better technology. Technology extends beyond machines to the world of ideas. Students today learning about ecology and sustainable resource management will be helping to shape our future world. Knowledge of the relationship between Ecology and production will hopefully prevent the descent into the wastelands of the late 19th century. It is profitable to have ecologically balanced ecosystems for farming, foresting and recreation. The days of limitless frontier are a distant memory now. The balance between production and ecology was not even a choice. Humans cannot survive without a healthy environment.
The tension between production and reproduction is less of an issue over time. Today men and women both work outside of the home to earn money for clothes and household items. Although often times women leave their jobs during child-bearing years, many return to the workplace or work from home. One major problem with the production of goods today is the reliance on imported goods. In order to have a sustainable future we will need to produce all of what we use regionaly. The low cost of imported goods is a temporary illusion. As less production is done domestically, we have a loss of wages to consumers. The foreign suppliers of inexpensive goods are headed toward their own environmental wall. Also, as we become more aware of the impact of our actions, we will turn away from industries that take advantage of their workers.
Often, I am reassured that the Earth will survive. Human accomplishments that seem permanent eventually crumble. I remember seeing a car in the woods once. All that remained was the axles. The rest had rusted away and trees were growing through the body. The 17th century puritan practice of wolf annihilation has had little more longevity than their goofy hats, with wolves starting to return. The wastelands of treeless landscape have been quickly reclaimed by forests.
My desired vision of future society requires human nature to be considered and allows for compromise. People don’t like change. People don’t like overt force. In order to progress towards a sustainable society, changes need to be invisible and profitable, and force needs to be covertly used. I would like to see a future of direct voting through use of electronic communications technology. Would we be at war if everyone really had a vote? Would we knock down hundreds of miles of forest to put up a power corridor to feed New York City? Would we have ”liberal” “progressive” politicians like Bernie and Peter Welch selling their souls to Entergy? The world is so complicated that it is difficult to understand what is happening today let alone predict the future. With the magic wand of social psychology we may be able to guide the masses. Education is an obvious place to start. Students learn to value the natural world more and more each day. In the future of electronic representation the voting age could be significantly lowered. Do you think kids would value cheap electric bills over natural ecosystems? Without small groups of beneficiaries we can move toward renewable energy in the future. Photovoltaics continue to increase in efficiency as they drop in cost and personal home wind turbines are becoming very common. In the future, every home could receive a larger share of its power through small scale renewables, while using technology for more efficient appliances and insulation. Through blending the Native American trio with the European tetrad, and using sustainable agricultural practices we can maximize crop production while promoting a diversified diet. Vegetarianism will be the only alternative to the problems of land use, mad cow disease, bird flu and Karma. Men and women will continue to reach equality in production. Consciousness will not change, people have been the same for three million years, but nature will force us into sustainability for survival’s sake.