TREES OF LIFE:FORESTS IN PERIL
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November 19th, 2020

11/19/2020

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THE LOST SUMMER
 
The covid 19 virus has changed our lives beyond anything I could have imagined. We are now ten months pretty much confined to our homes and unable to socialize much, even with our family. I understand the need, but it has taken some major adjustments to cope with the changed life-style.
It is difficult to understand how what has been considered the most advanced country on Earth, has failed worse than any other country, to contain this virus. The media is full of statistics measuring number of cases by different groupings, numbers of hospitalizations, deaths, outbreaks, tests and different measurements designed to describe the magnitude of the illness. The most meaningful facts that measures the United States success are that the US has only 4% of the world population yet nearly 20% of the cases worldwide and over 20% of the worldwide deaths. The statistics tell the story of the largest failure on the planet. Unbelievable, so what can we do?
I had to find something to take my mind off our situation. I decided to focus my time on trying to make a final effort to inform people of what we have done to our planet, how depended we are upon our natural world for life and can we do something about the future. I am entitling the book, HUMANITY’S CONNECTION TO THE NATURAL WORLD. I have finished the manuscript and am working with a professional editor to prepare a final product. It presents my concerns for what I have experienced and observed during my life and my hopes for a desirable future for generations to come.
My biggest worry is that we may have waited too long. I have observed the regenerative powers of nature, hopefully we will find sufficient energy to transition to an eco-friendlier relationship with the natural world, so generations to come will be able to enjoy this beautiful earthly home.
I am sure there are those that question how a forest scientist feels qualified to discuss humanity’s reliance on the natural world. The more I studied and understood the individual uniqueness of the vegetation communities, the more evident it became that the life sustaining processes designed into these communities were common to most communities of the various species, including humans. The relationships designed into communities are the elements that allow life to exist and function.
It is also evident that much of our remaining natural world are our tree covered lands we call forests, and the vast majority of species we have currently identified, require forests to survive. The connection between humanity and the natural world is so obvious, and the similarities are so real, there is only one community that we belong to, the Earth community.
Forest scientists must expand their horizons and realize they may be one of the most important professions required for future life on our planet. We must expand the ecological base of all our scientists and form broad-based interdisciplinary teams capable of working together to lead the people to realistic changes in life styles for the future. We are rapidly approaching Earth’s carrying-capacity and failure to act soon, will bring suffering and even death to all the people of the world.  
This pandemic has been devastating, but will be considered minor compared to the catastrophic results of exceeding Earth’s carrying-capacity. Scientists predict the carrying-capacity of Earth is approximately 10 billion people, which we will reach by 2050. We must now choose the path we will follow; spirituality and balance or materialism. To succeed, individualism must give way to group efforts. It is up to us and waiting is not an option!          
          
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September 22nd, 2020

9/22/2020

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HUMANITY’S CONNECTION TO THE NATURAL WORLD
 
Education, job experience and personal observation resulted in intensifying my desire for an in depth understanding of the complexity the natural world. Interest in my wife’s Native American heritage and Native traditional knowledge, amplified my desire for further understanding of the similarity between forest systems and human systems. The similarities soon activated the realization of the complex relationships designed into the evolutionary processes that created Earth. The biological processes and relationships provided the basis for identifying and understanding forest communities, and the similarity these communities shared with human communities.

The science of forestry provided an excellent basis for understanding the in-depth story of creation, key elements that sustain human and non-human life systems, the destructive impacts humans are having on the natural world and insight into humanity’s destiny. Personal experiences and observations, I have been privileged to participate in, have provided the basis for the following conclusions.    
The adverse impacts humans have bestowed on the natural world began 12,000 years ago when our species converted to an agricultural society. The destruction of Earth systems was gradual for thousands of years, but the Industrial Revolution 200 years ago, significantly accelerated the destruction process. Scientific data solidifies the truth about our current Earth state, and supports the conclusion that the two dominant environmental issues, we face worldwide, are population expansion and deforestation.
            
Global warming, atmospheric greenhouse gases and climate change are the result of the two major issues, and will require a worldwide approach to find realistic solutions.
Our worldwide population has now reached seven and three quarter billion people and the world population will continue to increase by seventy-five million annually. Although, birth rates in developed countries have slowed, the fastest growing age group is the 90-plus. Humanity’s increasing demand for resources, since the mid 1800’s, has been stressing Earth’s ability to supply.  Scientific projections predict the carrying capacity of our planet is in the vicinity of 10 billion people, and the U.S. Census Bureau predicts we will reach 10 billion in just 30 years. Time for action is slipping away!  


Our scientific community has assembled data that provides excellent insight into the story of creation and understanding of the natural world. We have discovered almost 10 million unique species of organisms, with 99 percent being plants and only 1 percent animals, which includes humans. Eighty percent of all life on Earth, requires forests for survival, with tropical forests storing 50 percent of atmospheric carbon dioxide while producing 30 percent of the required oxygen.


Seventy percent of Earth’s land base was once covered with trees; however, humans have reduced worldwide forest cover to 28 percent today. Deforestation is second only to burning fossil fuels, in causing climate change, and is a major contributor to increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

The “Industrial Revolution” established the leading Nation on planet Earth, but at what cost? In addition to the environmental issues we face worldwide, we have alienated ourselves from the natural world we depend upon for life. Today, 81 percent of The United States population live in congested urban cities, and believe advanced technology will provide for our future needs. Science and technology cannot manufacture and provide the basic elements required to sustain life systems on our planet! These basic elements were specifically designed into the creation of Earth and are finite. Once used up, they will never be available again.

Only the insistence of the citizens will provide the incentive to change the future. Do we insist on a better future, or are we prepared to sit by and fiddle while Earth burns?
                              
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September 03rd, 2020

9/3/2020

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OUR UNIVERSAL AND EARTH SYSTEMS
 
According to Dr. Thomas Berry our future requires achieving,” the realization that the universe is a communion of subjects not a collection of objects”. He goes on to explain we must realize and accept that “the Earth is primary and humans are only a derivative”. Life systems were derived from the primary evolutionary process designed in the creation of the Universe and Earth systems. We are but one species out of several million that belong to the Earth system. This scenario suggests, humans major concern must be to preserve the integrity of the Earth community. The Earth community is the natural world which sustains life systems including the human community. It is the world as it was prior to the introduction of the human species. The arrival of humans initiated the demand for resources, resulting in the gradual increase of detrimental impact on planet Earth. As the human population spread throughout the world and increased in numbers, the adverse impacts continued to expand. With the introduction of the agricultural age 12,000 years ago, the impacts of humans on the natural world accelerated. It wasn’t however, until the transition to the industrial age, over 200 years ago, that serious destruction of the natural world became a significant issue. This era ushered in a new human attitude which was unwilling to accept the biological limitations of life. The dependence of human life on the integral function of our natural world should be obvious, yet our denial of the life sustaining elements available only from Earth’s natural systems remains beyond comprehension. The human community is only a small part of this magnificent story of creation! Humanity’s believe that we are at the top of the pyramid and our intelligence allows us to forcibly alter the natural processes of nature, however this rationale has alienated humans from the natural world. With technological invention, humans believe they can surpass the limits of nature!
Planet Earth, as we know it today, has evolved over the past 4.5 billion years. Single cell life forms were introduced to the creation story 3.5 billion years ago, and have been evolving and changing ever since. The realization that we are but one of the millions of living organisms on Earth, is essential to understanding the dependent relationships we share with other living species.
Our advanced intelligence has allowed humanity to design weapons capable of total destruction of our planet. We have reshaped the surface geography of Earth, over-utilize Earth’s natural resources, drastically increased carbon dioxide levels in our atmosphere, polluted much of our water supply, caused unacceptable climate changes and deforested over half of Earths forest covered lands. This has all occurred in the name of progress!   
Forests are definitely a significant part of the remaining natural world, and provided the experience which led me to concerns for the future of humanity. It has become evident; the destiny of humanity demands a greater understanding and appreciation of the evolutionary process Earth has experienced. I have come to believe that the education of all the specialized professions must be built upon an ecological base. I am not concerned about the factual data science has discovered related to the timing and transitions Earth has gone through. My concern is with the natural processes, relationships and connections which are designed into the creation story. Remember Dr. Berry’s conclusion that it is vital we realize the universe is a communion of subjects, not a collection of objects. Ecology is the study of relationships; however, ecologists have focused on ecological relationships of non-human species. The foundation required for future academic studies, is the connections and relationships humans require from the natural world. These connections and relationships are the essential elements that sustain life on Earth. They are very complex and required by every individual living today, yet little emphasis is directed toward these vital natural processes.
Peter Wohlleben in his book, “The Hidden Life of Trees”, describes trees as far more complex organisms then we can imagine, and vital to life systems on Earth. They are gigantic beings thriving for hundreds of years and providing essential elements designed into the ecological evolution story of planet Earth. There are only a few species that can survive without trees.  
Dr. Ruth Wilson in her recent book, “Trees and the Human Spirit “, presents several examples of the positive impact’s trees provide to medical, educational and emotional human conditions. As an example, studies have shown that women living close to green vegetation experience fewer pre-mature births and young person’s suffering from attention deficit disorders improve when experiencing outdoor forest settings. Students participating in forest setting classrooms appear to learn and retain information better and improve their social skills. The story of creation is far more complex than we can imagine!    
 It is difficult, if not impossible, to think of a profession that would not benefit from this ecological foundation. Certainly, forestry and natural resource science should require this foundation prior to the specialized scientific studies. Managing our remaining forested lands is far beyond a simple agricultural process, and cannot be measured by the amount of board-feet of timber harvested annually.
Science has uncovered an incredible amount of information about the evolutionary development of our planet, the transitions Earth has gone through and the time frames involved. We know what our planet is made of, how long it has taken to develop and how life has evolved from a single-cell organism to modern humans. Unfortunately, we are just beginning to understand and appreciate humanity’s dependence on the natural world and the complex natural processes that exist within nature. Understanding and protecting these essential processes and relationships, provides the foundation for humanity’s future on Earth!      
 
  
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August 06th, 2020

8/6/2020

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TRADITIONAL AND INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGES
 
In an effort to better understand our natural world and its important connections to humanity, I have frequently referred to the traditional knowledges of our Native American people. We should probably label it Indigenous knowledges, as the concept is not unique to the American continent. Indigenous peoples around the world have preserved distinctive understandings, rooted in cultural experiences which guide relationships among human, non-human and other-than human beings to specific ecosystems. These understandings and relations have been developed through thousands of years of empirical observation and passed down from generation to generation. Indigenous knowledges are basically a collection of knowledges, beliefs, and traditions intended to preserve, communicate and contextualize the people’s relationships with culture and landscape over time. This knowledge is passed on formally and informally to the community through social encounter, oral traditions, ritual practices and other activities. Storytelling is a major communication tool. Other performances such as dance, song, chants and celebration convey traditional knowledge to the youth.
Indigenous knowledges are of particular interest due to the life style of the people. The people lived, and still live, as a part of the natural world and developed of a keen awareness of the ecological conditions of their environment. Unique skill sets, activities and localized knowledges had to be developed and learned. Survival depended upon one’s ability to learn and apply the knowledge passed down from the elders. Oral traditions, whether communicated as historical narratives or mythical stories constitute a form of Indigenous knowledge that can teach, clarify and reinforce other knowledges. Gerald Vizenor, 2008, Annishinaabe, said, “ Native stories of survivance are prompted by natural reason, by a consciousness and sense of incontestable presence that arises from experiences in the natural world, by the turn of the seasons, by sudden storms, by migration of cranes… by the favor of spirits in the water, rimy sumac, wild rice, thunder in the ice, bear, beaver, and faces in the stone”.
For centuries we have ignored this indigenous wisdom as primitive and unsophisticated. Indigenous beliefs and traditions were regarded as religious superstitions when compared to imperialistic ideologies and larger organized religious movements. The truth is all human knowledges are rooted in traditions passed down from one generation to the next, one community to another. One might consider the scientific approaches to archaeology as a body of traditions that emerged from the distinctive social relations and exercises of power that developed in the environment of modern European academies.
Although, my wife and I have been introduced to traditional knowledges, we have only a rudimentary appreciation for the vast amount of wisdom our Indigenous people have developed and the importance of how this knowledge guides their everyday lives. My wife’s native ancestry has provided a path to allow us to share our interests with several tribal elders and learn more about the traditional knowledges that guide their relationships with the natural world. Our interest has always focused on the remaining forest covered lands and the important role these lands play in supporting life on Earth. Soon after publishing my first book, “Trees of Life-Our Forests in Peril”, we had the privilege of having several meetings with citizens of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa & Chippewa Indians. Our friendship with some of the members grew and on our second meeting we were introduced to the “Seven Fire Prophecies of the Anishinaabe Nation. I was over whelmed by the Seventh Prophecy, which summarized the purpose of my book better than I ever could have. Seven prophets appeared to the people long ago and foretold what was to come in the future. The people believe the first six prophecies, which predicted the coming of the light-skinned, have been fulfilled and we are living in the time of the seventh prophecy. The seventh prophet said, the time would come when the waters would become so poisoned the plants and animals would fall sick and begin to die. Much of the forests and prairies would be gone so the air would begin to lose the power of life. The way of the red, black and yellow nation by the white nation would bring danger to the whole world. In this time a new people will arrive and re-trace their steps to find the treasures left by the trail. We will be given the opportunity to choose between two trails. If we choose the right path, the eighth and final fire will be lite and we will join hands as brothers and sisters to prolong live on Earth. If we choose the wrong path much harm and even death will come to all the people of the Earth. The depth of the people’s wisdom was overwhelming!    
A few years later, I was asked to review a proposed legal document designed to initiate a cooperative agreement between the U.S. Department of Interior and several Tribes in the Great Lakes Region. The purpose of the document was to share traditional knowledges to support a study on climate change and suggest possible solutions. Discussions with members of other Tribes and continued friendships we had made, have intensified my belief that rebuilding our relations with our Native American brothers and sisters, sharing their traditional wisdom with modern day science and working as partners, offers the best opportunities and realistic solutions for environmental issues we face together. The insights that emerge from these collaborations will continue to inform, expand and complicate scientific understandings of the Indigenous past, present and future. Dr. Thomas Berry and Dr. Kyle Whyte, along with a handful of other scholars, philosophers and archeologists have recognized the important contribution Indigenous knowledge can provide in understanding and managing our natural world. The knowledge and insight these scholars have presented has intensified my findings as to the necessity of a collaborative effort to join modern day science with Indigenous knowledge and wisdom. It also suggests the need for major adjustments in the education of natural resource scientists and managers. Indigenous people are increasingly being recognized, not just as cultural informants, but as intellectual partners in cultural, ecological and landscape studies. The question is, have we ignored this knowledge base to long, do we have time and can we develop the trust necessary to allow this partnership to function? Humanity’s future is calling us to action!      
 
 

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July 07th, 2020

7/7/2020

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RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY AND SUSTAINABILITY
 
What in the world does religion and spirituality have to do with sustainability? I have come to believe there is a strong relationship between the three that needs to be explained, if we are to understand the requirements for humanity’s future. Sustainability basically requires a life style that is in balance with the limited carrying-capacity of planet Earth. To understand the concept of sustainability, requires an in-depth knowledge of the evolutionary creation of this majestic planet. A planet upon which we have discovered nearly 10 million different species of plants and animals, and to this day probably have found less than 20% of all living organisms that exist. The creation of Earth is truly a magical story, which becomes more complex as more knowledge is uncovered. Science has learned much, but as more is discovered the more we realize our limited ability to comprehend the mysterious concept of life.
It was the inquisitive mind of the human species that led to the introduction of religion. The quest to understand our planet and life systems triggered the belief in the super-natural and scared things. Efforts to define religion have resulted in a variety of definitions. Generally, it is defined as a belief in, and worship of, a superhuman controlling power, and includes a unified system of beliefs or practices relative to sacred things. Religion has provided the satisfying explanation for the understanding of life for thousands of years. As our scientific knowledge expanded, a split between the concept of intelligent design and an accidental cosmic happening has developed. Some continue to search for the link that proves intelligent design. The more detail of the creation process we uncover, the more difficult it becomes for me to accept this was an accidental happening.
The religious belief in intelligent design set the stage for a spiritual relationship between nature and our indigenous cultures and societies of the past. They saw Earth as a gift from the Great Creator. It was the sustenance of life, therefore sacred and requiring a caring, stewardship relationship between humanity and Mother Earth. During the early hunter-gather period, early humans attempted to recognized the necessity of sharing with other non-human species and the need to avoid over utilization in order to protect their future requirements. 12,000 years ago, when humans transitioned to an agriculturally based life style, they became dependent upon the productivity of the land. This major adjustment further strengthened the spiritual relationship humanity shared with the natural world. Stemming from our religious beliefs, this spiritual relationship with the natural world lasted for many thousands of years, resulting in the development of an appreciation for the necessity of living in balance with their environment.
To better understand the current relationship between science and religion, I examined the United Methodist Book of Discipline and their position on the natural world. It states, “All creation is the Lord’s, and we are responsible for the ways in which we use and abuse it. God has granted us stewardship of creation. We should meet these stewardship duties through acts of loving care and respect. …….. Therefore, let us recognize the responsibility of the church and its members to place a high priority on ……. supporting a more ecological equitable and sustainable world leading to a higher quality of life for all of God’s creation”. They go on to explain, “We recognize science as a legitimate interpretation of God’s natural world. We affirm the validity of the claims of science in describing the natural world and in determining what is science. We find that science’s descriptions of cosmological, geological and biological evolution are not in conflict with theology”.
Advanced knowledge of the detail and complexity of creation, has brought us closer together and provided a deeper appreciation for the limited carrying capacity of this fragile planet. Religion established a spiritual relationship between humans and Mother Earth, the sustenance of life.  
Spirituality is often defined as the spiritual practices of living out a person’s act of faith. It is actually experiencing one’s religious beliefs. A contemporary movement seeks to focus on the lived experiences of spirituality over historical dogmatic claims, and accepts that spiritual experiences are psychologically and neutrally real and useful.
Today, we face a problem of humanity’s alienation from the natural world, which has destroyed our spiritual connection to our natural environment. This dis-connect was initiated by the introduction of the “Industrial Revolution” in the mid 1800’s. Modern science and advanced technology has strengthened our belief that Earth belonged to us, and we can dominate, manipulate, change, control and make better, everything about this planet.
Today, as we are approaching the limits of available resources required to support our rapidly expanding worldwide population, our focus has shifted to sustainability. The question is, sustainability of what? Are we concerned about a sustainable flow of resources and products, a sustainable supply of elements provided only by our remaining natural world, or possibly providing for the sustenance of human life itself? It is a complex problem that requires a focus on the total not individual parts, and is further complicated by the necessity of having to change our social values developed over the last 200 years.  
My interest is sustainable forest management. I have read a large number of the catalogs from the forestry schools throughout the United States, and found they typically define their program as teaching the students to manage the renewable natural resources from the forests. Forest land owners and managers usually define their goals as providing a sustainable flow of products from the forests. Forests represent a large portion of our remaining natural world and consequently require management principles that assure their ability to provide the elements necessary for future life on planet Earth! This means forest management must focus on the health, vitality and diversity of our remaining forest cover as its primary goal, with forest products becoming a by-product of good management. I was encouraged to find a definition of sustainable forest management by the Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe.
“The stewardship and use of forests and forest lands in a                                                     way, and at a rate, that maintains their biodiversity, productivity, regeneration capacity, vitality and their potential to fulfill, now and in the future, relevant ecological, economic and social functions, at local, national and global levels, and that does not cause damage to other ecosystems”.
I still have difficulty accepting the continued insistence on economics and forest product dependent-communities as a measure of sustainability. Local communities must be depended upon to provide the energy to implement the much-needed management actions required to achieve the health, vitality and diversity desperately needed by the unique individual forest communities. It is simply re-defining jobs from what we take from the forests to what the forests require. Religious institutions need to energize the people to redeem their stewardship responsibility’s and rekindle our spiritual relationship with the land. Forest scientists must develop a comprehensive appreciation for the complexity of creation, a deep understanding of the essential elements our remaining forest communities provide which sustains life systems and provide the leadership required for a sustainable future for humanity!  Sustainability must focus on a sustainable environment where our remaining natural world maintains its ability to provide the required elements that allow life to exist on Earth! Sustainable forest management requires a religious and scientific appreciation for the story of creation, a spiritual relationship with the natural world, an in-depth knowledge of the relationships life systems depend upon from our remaining forested lands and a recognition that forest communities are far more complex than the simple application of agricultural or economic concepts. 
Sustainability must focus on living in balance with Mother Earth!                                              
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June 20th, 2020

6/20/2020

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THE FUTURE DEPENDS ON HUMANITY III
 
Repositioning our economic and food systems is critical for the future. The third element requiring change, is the way we manage and treat the world’s oceans. The atmosphere’s increasing abundance of carbon dioxide is increasing the ocean waters acidity, and the net accumulation of heat energy is increasing water temperatures. With the physical and chemical properties changing the ocean’s acidity and temperature, humans are exasperating the problem by contaminating the oceans with billions of pounds of trash and other pollutants annually. Twenty-five years ago, we were investigating the possibility of expanding our world food supply by use of the ocean environments, and today we are experiencing shrinking marine populations due to our mis-use of our vast ocean environment. In 1994, I was asked to review a proposed project that would fertilize the waters off the coast of the Carolinas, in an attempt to increase fish production. I reported my concerns as to the adverse impacts which would result by adding artificial nutrients to the natural ocean environment, and questioned the difficulty in obtaining the required permits for such a project. Since, our ocean conditions have continued to experience unacceptable changes at an accelerated rate. Changes in ocean parameters; such as temperature, carbon-dioxide content, oxygen levels, nutrient-availability, currents, salinity, and sea-ice extent; have affected marine life and lead to large-scale shifts in the patterns of marine productivity, biodiversity, community composition, and ecosystem structure. Eighty percent of the chemical pollution and nutrients being released in to the world’s oceans are from chemicals and fertilizers applied to the land, where it runs off and into our ocean waters. We are still dumping the equivalent of one dump-truck full of waste into our oceans every minute, of which 75% are plastics. Scientists predict that if nothing is done, the rate of dumping will increase to three dump-trucks every minute by 2050. They also predict that, at the current rate of dumping, by 2050 the volume of waste will exceed the fish population.
The ocean temperatures are raising .6 degrees Celsius annually, resulting in sea-levels rising eight to nine inches since 1880. Warmer temperatures also cause increased frequency and intensity of ocean storms, and higher sea-levels allow the storms to penetrate further inland. Accidents, such as oil spills, seem to happen more frequently, and the spreading of millions of tons of chemical dispersants on the spills are adding tons of toxins to the ocean environments.
Changing the way, we treat our ocean environments is critical for our future, the good news is we know what must be done. The question is are we willing to accept the economic and social transitions required to resolve the problem?
The fourth and final element requires the world to think carefully about the best ways to resolve the climate change issue. The timber and agriculture industries are causing rapid deforestation, with devastating consequences for the stability of the Amazon rain-forests, the world’s climate, and many species. Attempts to combat global warming by large-scale planting of bio-energy crops and plantation reforestation, will greatly harm biodiversity and fragile ecosystems. Well-planned efforts, following “Nature’s Way”, can enhance biodiversity, improve soil productivity, and capture and store carbon dioxide.
Protecting the living world calls for systematic changes that go far beyond narrowly focused policies on biodiversity and climate. Fighting poverty and inequality are essential parts of the solution. Unfortunately, these transformative actions will occur only if we start treating the current situation as the crisis it truly is! The United States has formally withdrawn from the Worldwide Global Warming and Climate Change group organized by the United Nations and involving over 190 nations. This withdrawal was based on our refusal to accept scientific facts and actual recorded climate data that as been collected over the last 100 years. It is time to open our eyes and accept our responsibility to care for Earth. Change will occur based upon the insistence of the citizens! Let’s make 2020 a “Super Year” for International Environmental Policy!     
 
 
 
 

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June 07th, 2020

6/7/2020

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THE FUTURE DEPENDS ON HUMANITY

 
Human impacts on the Natural World have been devastating; the good news is we can do something about it! The last article introduced a report on how to live better by the Centre for Complex Systems in Transition. This report highlights four fundamental changes humanity needs to implement. Last time, we discussed the need to transform economic models to prolong and provide a better life.
The second major transformation the world must make is our food system. The way we currently produce and consume food is a major cause of ecological destruction. We must find ways to feed a growing worldwide population a healthy diet without destroying Earth and provide an improved quality of life for the people. This can be done by implementing several sustainable agricultural processes like integrated pest and nutrient management, organic farming, soil and water conservation, and measures to improve animal welfare.
Over 820 million people are undernourished worldwide. Unfortunately, current food systems are failing us in terms of livelihoods, human health and the environment, according to the UN Environmental Program’s (UNEP). According to the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystems (IPBES), one third of all the food produced never makes it to the plate. Waste is a significant problem with current food systems. Recent statistics show that about 30% of the food in grocery stores is discarded as waste. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization statistics show, food waste costs a global annual average of 2.6 trillion dollars.    We have got to look beyond the idea that more food in the world and greater productivity will solve our problems. National and local food systems must be strengthened to adapt to the climate crisis and provide better diverse diets for people in food-insecure communities. Diversity in diets helps producers diversify their risk, provide markets for variety of crops, reduce their dependency on commodity crops, and increase biodiversity and resilience.
While hundreds of millions of people are undernourished, 672 million suffer from obesity and another 1.3 billion are overweight. There is clear evidence that current food systems, its price, and obesity along with other diseases like type 2 diabetes are linked. There is also evidence that people are eating a less diverse diet today, than in the past. This has resulted in excessive tillage of arable land which is degrading soils, releasing carbon dioxide and locking farmers into unprofitable production systems.  According to UNEP, agricultural subsidies are exacerbating the problem rather than improving it.
The world spending about one million dollars a minute on agricultural subsidies that are causing biodiversity loss and climate change. The UN reports that about two thirds of these subsidies are negatively influencing long-term livelihoods, the environment and our health. We need to reprogram these subsidies for regeneration and restoration of our agricultural systems, leading to long-term food security and nutrition. 
It is no longer acceptable to work on these worldwide issues in isolation. We must require governments to look at food and agriculture as an issue to be addressed by public health specialists, agricultural policymakers, water and environmental specialists, and planning and finance specialists. If we continue to reduce the nature-based foundation of our food systems through how and what we produce and consume, the human right to food will continue to erode. 
The good news is that feeding a growing global population a healthy diet without damaging Earth is not only possible, but will improve people’s quality of life. Leadership will respond when required to do so by the voting public! We will defeat our current worldwide pandemic and if we join together, we can initiate the changes required to provide a more desirable future!
Next time, we will examine the need to change the way we treat the world’s oceans.       
 

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May 20th, 2020

5/20/2020

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THE FUTURE DEPENDS UPON HUMANITY!
 
For the past seven years, I have been expressing my concerns for human degradation of our natural world, by writing a twice-monthly blog and publishing two books. The scientific statistics leave no question as to the validity of the current state of the natural world, required to sustain life on Earth. A recent United Nations backed report highlighted the scale of destruction humans are inflicting on our planet and offers hope for better life if we take actions to stop destroying Earth. My interest has been to find, organize and present the scientific data in a way others might begin to appreciate the importance finding realistic methods to insure our future. Recently, the Intergovernmental Science-Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystems released a report which presented a bleak global assessment of the shocking state of life on Earth. The report stated that 12% of all known animal and plant species are now threatened with extinction. Worse, humanity is destroying entire habitats, and with them the web of life that supports societies and economies.
The gloom and doom reports can have devastating emotional impacts on our people, but the truth is before our eyes and must be recognized. There is good news, once we accept the true, we can do something about it. What we do to Earth we do to ourselves! It is also true that what we have done to Earth we can help undo. The truth also tells us we have limited time to initiate positive action.
So, how do we start? To reverse the past trends, humanity must transform its economic models and food systems, treat the world’s oceans far better, and think carefully about the best ways to tackle climate change. The Centre for Complex Systems in Transition suggests humans need to undertake four major transformations immediately.
First, we must substantially change our legal, economic and technological systems. Conservation steps are clearly needed, but humans will have to make far more fundamental changes. The report concludes that sustaining Earth’s living systems will require redefining what a good quality of life means. Societies will have to cast aside the idea that a good and meaningful life can be found only through increasing material consumption. If we look closely, it is apparent that well-being has been stagnating in most developed countries over the past decades, even as consumption has continued to increase. Realistic solutions would have to focus on building new social and political narratives that show happiness can be achieved with lowering total consumption and reducing waste.  The report also recognized the importance of local and indigenous knowledge, in finding realistic solutions for managing the sustainability of the various ecosystems. This requires re-building a trusting relationship with our indigenous people. The world desperately needs to adopt new economic paradigms that look beyond a single focus on Gross Domestic Product (GDP). New Zealand, for example, has just announced its first “Well-being budget”, while China is again developing measures of “Green GDP”. Green GDP seeks to quantify the cost of environmental damage caused by economic growth. The first effort, by China, to introduce green GDP failed. China is reintroducing “green GDP” due to the urgency of environmental protection as the country is being plagued with serious smog and air pollution in recent years. Proponents of green GDP believe it promotes a more comprehensive accounting of economic development and gross domestic product (GDP) growth, and allows the authorities to chart and assess the progress of conservation efforts.
New Zealand’s well-being budget approach represents new ways of working and thinking about how we measure success as a country and government. Their 2019 budget has five priorities: creating opportunities for productive businesses to transition to a sustainable and low-emissions economy; supporting a thriving nation in the digital age through innovation, social and economic opportunities; lifting incomes, skills and opportunities; reducing child poverty, child well-being including addressing family violence; and supporting mental well-being for all, with special emphasis on under 24 year-olds. Economic growth is an important contributor to well-being but not an end in itself, and not an adequate measure of what we value in our lives. A well-being approach is described as enabling people to have the capabilities they need to live lives of purpose, balance, and meaning for them. Faced with complex issues like child poverty, inequality, and climate change; we cannot hope to make the best choices for current and future generations if we do not search beyond economic growth and consider social, environmental, and economic implications together.   
The United States Greedy Capitalistic focus on GDP is continuing to have devastating adverse impacts on our natural world. Reducing gender and wealth inequities will help improve society’s well-being, as demonstrated by the Nordic countries. A society where 2% of the people control 90% of the wealth, fails to support the wellbeing of the majority. We hear the discussions between capitalism and socialism and what is good and what is bad. If you study the history of the development of the Democratic fundamentals of the United States, it is evident we have always been a blend of capitalism and socialism.  
The drastic fundamental changes being proposed, will require strong knowledgeable leadership, which is obviously lacking in the United States today. We cannot even agree there is a problem, let alone work together to identify possible solutions. Our economic system and focus on building wealth and affluence is preventing the needed changes to provide for future life. Historically, significant change like we are describing comes from the bottom up, not top down. The new concept is, “Purposeful Capitalism”. Under this concept, we must not only deliver financial performance, but also show how it makes a positive contribution to society. The question is, how do we find and direct leadership to initiate these changes? When the people have had enough, they ably pressure to get the leaders to agree to lead the parade.
We will continue next time with information on the remaining three fundamental changes humans need to implement.   
 
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May 03rd, 2020

5/3/2020

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THE CURRENT STATE OF THE NATURAL WORLD
 
The natural world as we know it today has required over 4 billion years of slow evolutionary change. The introduction of the human species, at least 200 thousand years ago, set the stage for an accelerated rate of change to the natural world. Human beings’ inquisitive nature soon began to raise questions about this magical planet. How and where did Earth originate? How do we understand the origin of life? It was these basic questions that provided the basis for religion beliefs among early human cultures and led to the development of the great religions of the world. For thousands of years religious beliefs have provided the satisfactory explanation for the understanding of the story of creation. Human beings, being the dominate species, initiated ever-increasing demands for Earth’s resources that would impact the natural worlds ability to provide the requirements for an expanding world population.
Much of our remaining natural surroundings are the lands covered with trees or forested lands. These remaining forested acres are vital to future life on Earth as eighty percent of life on our planet require forests for survival. There are isolated incidences of ancient civilizations that have failed and collapsed in the past which offer historical evidence of how and why they failed. Examples like the Easter Island people; the Aztec, Inca and Mayan Indian societies; the Nordic people on Greenland are examples of failed populations resulting from living out of balance with their natural surroundings. These ancient societies failed within the environment they lived in and it’s limited carrying-capacity. Today, there are no new lands to discover and the world population has expanded to the point we must now consider the limited carrying-capacity of planet Earth. This requires understanding the current state of our natural world planetwide.
 The Earth formed from both rocky and volatile compounds, the latter escaping from the interior of Earth and forming the atmosphere. These volatile elements included carbon dioxide (CO2), which started out as a major compound within the atmosphere, but became significantly depleted by plant species after the introduction of photosynthesis into the natural world. CO2 is only a relatively small trace gas in our atmosphere, but it remains important as it is a strong green-house gas that absorbs heat and warms the atmosphere. Knowing the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere is critical as scientific data validates that the Earth’s average surface temperatures are directly correlated to the amount of CO2 within the atmosphere. A certain amount of CO2 in the atmosphere is important, but when it gets to high it has serious adverse impacts on Earth’s life systems. Back at the height of the last glacial period our atmosphere had about 180 parts CO2 per million parts of air. The amount of CO2 gradually increased as the Earth warmed and the glaciers receded about 12,000 years ago, averaging about 280 ppm until the start of the industrial revolution almost 200 years ago. Over the past 200 years atmospheric levels of CO2 have been raising dramatically. 2013 brought a new milestone with CO2 levels exceeding 400 ppm, the highest level over the last 800,000 years. This increase is the result of releasing CO2 and other greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere from factory exhausts, burning fossil fuels, population expansion and deforestation. Methane gas is now almost as large a problem as CO2. The results of these changes are global warming, climate change, water pollution and loss of species. Science currently predicts the loss of 28,000 different species of plants and animals over the next 25 years if we continue on our current path. Despite reports that global emissions of potent green-house gas, were almost eliminated in 2017, an international team of scientists led by the University of Bristol, has concluded atmospheric levels are growing at record values.  
Raising green-house gas emissions are the direct result of human demands due to population expansion and are resulting in global warming, raising ocean temperatures, climate change, loss of species and reductions in food crop production levels.
Water covers almost seventy percent of Earth’s surface and is a vital element in sustaining life systems on our planet. Today, we are faced with raising ocean sea levels and temperatures, pollution of our surface water supplies and serious water shortages worldwide. Scientists say our world’s oceans are warming much more rapidly than thought, resulting in major implications for climate change, since most all excess heat absorbed by our planet is stored in our ocean waters. A new report in the Journal of Science suggests our oceans are heating up forty percent faster than had been estimated by a United Nations panel just five years earlier. 2016,17 18 and 19 each set record warm temperature increases for our oceans. Associate professor Malin L. Pinsky, from Rutgers University, states, “our oceans are providing a critical buffer by absorbing 93 percent of the heat trapped by the green-house gases being released by humans into the atmosphere”. Surging water temperatures are already killing off marine ecosystems, raising sea levels and intensifying hurricane destruction. As oceans heat up, sea levels rise as a result of warmer water taking more space than colder water. Rising sea levels so far are more the result of temperature increases than ice melt, however ice melt is increasing at a rapid rate. Global mean sea level has risen between 8 and 9 inches since 1880, with almost a third of that rise in the last two and a half decades. By the end of the century, global mean sea levels will rise at least 12 inches above the 2000 levels, even if green-house gas emissions continue on a lower rate of increase.
Almost forty percent of the United States population live in high density coastal areas. Eight of the world’s ten largest cities are found in coastal regions and highly subject to flooding due to rising sea levels. In addition to cities, major infrastructures will be threatened, like roads, bridges, water treatment plants, landfills, power plants, factories and more. Warming sea temperatures will result in increased frequency and intensity of storms that form over heated ocean waters, and loss of shoreline will allow these storms to move further inland.
The rising sea temperatures and general global warming is already resulting in significant impacts on our food sources. The Friday evening fish fries are one of the traditional restaurant events in the Great Lake’s region. The specialties were the Great Lakes yellow perch and smelt, which were abundant. Due to raising water temperature these species are now scarce and have tripled and quadrupled in price per pound. Atlantic coast oysters are rapidly dying as ocean temperature rise and today are being farm raised to meet human demand. Alaska salmon fisheries are reporting major reductions in the population, and scientists are attributing the losses to warming Pacific Ocean temperatures. Farmers throughout the United States are reporting loss of productivity and increased failures in crops as a result of warming temperatures and climate change.
Weather and meteorological records clearly disclose that these changes have accelerated significantly since 1830, the start of the industrial revolution. These records validate that although some of the changes may be due to natural occurrences, the acceleration of these changes is the direct result of human demands upon our natural world.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation projects the demand for water will increase by 55% from 2010 to 2050. This growing demand will come from manufacturing, energy generation and domestic requirements. The increased demand will cause increased competition among uses and users, and result in adverse impacts on natural ecosystems. Groundwater depletion will threaten agriculture and urban water supplies in many regions of the world in the next decade.
One of the major contributors to reductions in ground water quantities is deforestation. Removing trees disrupts the transpiration process resulting in significant amounts and distribution of rainfall. Drought conditions become more prevalent and underground aquafers begin to dry up. Paul Dickinson, Executive Chairman of the Carbon Disclosure Project, has stated, “Demand for water is projected to outstrip supply by a staggering forty percent by 2030, and an estimated half of the world’s population will likely live in areas of high-water stress by the same year”.
An even larger problem is water quality. Water quality is rapidly declining in most regions of Earth. Regional over-population, increased industrialization and lack of adequate waste treatment facilities are constantly contributing to the pollution of our fresh water lakes and streams. Every day two million tons of sewage and other effluents drain into the world’s water. Every year more people die from unsafe water than from all forms of violence, including war. The most significant sources of water pollution are inadequate treatment of human wastes and inadequately managed and treated industrial and agricultural wastes.
Today, you are hard-pressed to find a pristine surface water supply considered safe for human consumption. Treatment facilities are required to produce water considered safe for human use in developed countries throughout the world.  Many parts of the world are still faced with unsafe water issues contributing to serous health problems. Tree covered lands are one of the best filtering systems, but are being lost to deforestation. In many countries, including the United States, corporate profits seem to take precedence over major environmental issues such as water quality. Past efforts to protect water quantity and quality have been dropped recently by government officials, clearing the way for our water issues to intensify.       
 
 
 
 
 

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April 18th, 2020

4/18/2020

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DEFINING THE NATURAL WORLD
 
Discussions and concerns over the natural world and the environment are becoming common today. When we refer to the natural world, do we really know what we are talking about? Concerns about nature tend to focus on the availability of resources humanity demands to support our current life styles and our technical ability to find substitutes for future shortages. Defining the natural world requires careful consideration, as the evolutionary development of planet Earth involves complex connections and relationships necessary to support life. Regardless of how you believe this planet started, the processes that have created Earth as we know it today, remain beyond total human comprehension.
Very simply, the natural world is Earth before human beings began to utilize, interfere, manipulate and dominate the planet. It encompasses all the living and non-living things occurring naturally on planet Earth. The natural world includes all the plant and animal species, micro-organisms, soils, rocks and atmosphere which make this planet so unique, but it is so much more. Included in this magical world are the unique processes and phenomena that have evolved through the evolutionary process of creation. The changing of the seasons every year that cleanse, grow, harvest and provide re-birth each year, the process of photosynthesis that converts carbon dioxide to plant food and produces oxygen for animal life, transpiration that cycles the water from Earth to the atmosphere and back to Earth, the reproductive process that provides new life, are all part of the complex natural world. The most important element which has been designed into nature and life, is diversity. We have only begun to understand this unique world and there remains much to learn. The one thing we do know, is that the sustenance of life is directly dependent upon this complex natural world and its ability to continue to provide the elements required for life in the future. It is also obvious, that as our world population continues to expand the adverse impacts on the natural world will intensify. This raises the question of what is the carrying capacity of planet Earth?
The Earth is what we call a “closed system” in that it produces everything needed to ensure the life and growth of all inhabitants, including humans. In other words, our ability to live and grow depends upon the elements provided by Mother Earth, as do all living creatures that live on earth. We are therefore, connected to and dependent upon our natural surroundings for life. People are but a small link in the circle of life and we depend upon nature to provide the essential requirements to sustain life on this planet. Within the system, where all things are connected, there is a delicate balance that must be maintained. When we upset the balance of nature, it directly effects all people and other creatures.
Our remaining forest covered lands are a vital part of the natural world, and are being lost at an alarming rate. We have already lost over half of the original forest cover that once existed, and recent data indicates we are still losing as much as 36 million acres of forestland annually worldwide. Eighty percent of the forestlands being cleared are being converted to agricultural use. Removing the tree cover from these lands has a major impact on climate change, global warming and life on Earth. Scientists tell us the current rate of deforestation will result in the loss of 28,000 different living species in the next twenty-five years.
Like the natural world, forests, which are a major part of the world, are far more complex then we think. Most people look at the side of a mountain as a forest, but what you are viewing is a mosaic of individual forest communities. These communities are usually quite small and result from the physical conditions of the site the vegetation is growing on. Soil type, soil characteristics, slope, slope position, aspect and moisture availability are all factors that define individual community boundaries. Most of today’s forests are second-growth, having regenerated from past destructive activities or old age. The majority of America’s eastern forests were allowed to regenerate without human assistance relying on local natural seed sources and re-establishing the bio-diversity of the parent vegetation. The late ninetieth century brought humans and forest science into the equation, and things began to change. Instead of focusing on the vital elements from the natural world required to support life systems on Earth, we re-focused on how to increase the flow of forest products to support current life-styles. We envisioned forests as fields of corn, an agricultural process that maximizes production of units per acre. To this day we still perceive tree plantations as a positive way of providing for the future, even though we have completely destroyed bio-diversity within these plantations. The agricultural concept of forestry is accelerating the demise of the hidden life of trees as described in Peter Wallenben’s book, “The Hidden Life of Trees”. 
The natural world is shrinking as a result of increasing human demands and will challenge Earth’s ability to provide for the future. It is a complex world, yet easily understood as it is simply nature without human interference. Unfortunately, setting aside a few wilderness areas will not provide for the future, and today’s population will continue to expand and have adverse impacts on our natural surroundings. What humanity has done; humanity has the power to help undo! The question remains; are we willing to make the necessary changes?  
 
 
 
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