Uh oh! Here we go again!

At 09:00 PM 8/10/97 -0400, Wildsider3 at aol.com wrote:
>Deeper Ecology: Essays on Ecological Spirituality
>
>Dear Colleagues:
>
> I have recently published a book entitled "Deeper Ecology: Essays on
>Ecological Spirituality," which outlines and discusses a protocol for the
>preservation and restoration of global ecology, wildlife populations, and
>ecosystems based on the degradation due to human exploitation. This book
>also delves into the "connectedness" aspect of humans to the natural world,
>with my own personal reflections on our role in the scheme of the finer
>workings of the world's flora and fauna. The Journal of Mammalogy and
>The Canadian Field Naturalist, as well as a dozen other publications, are
>planning to review this book in the near future. I invite you to read
>samples of the text; directly following. Ordering instructions for
>the book are shown at the end of these abstracts from the entire,
>50 page text (8 1/2" x 11" format). Please share this information
>with others, and enjoy! Note: The price for each copy has been drastically
>reduced to only $5.95 for each copy!!!
>**************************************************************
> "The figures are astounding in their portrayal of the worldwide rape
>of the land: Nearly 100% of the face of the earth in Ethiopia, Japan, and
>The United Kingdom has been disturbed; with a similar 75% rate in the U.S.,
>Mexico, and China. Also, 95% of the forests in the U.S. have been lost,
>while only 10.5% of the total land area in the country is protected there
>(The rest (89.5%) is exploited).
> As can be seen, the cancerous growth of human invasion has spread to
>the far reaches of every continent on mother earth. We have set aside for
>parks and refuges, which have shown to be increasingly ineffectual, because
>of the island biogeography theory of poor dispersal and geographic isolation,
>which causes populations of wildlife to go extinct.
> We simply can't section off a small plot of real estate in the midst of
>civilization and expect it to function as a micro-ecosystem with unlimited
>potential. Furthermore, zoos and captive breeding programs are hardly
>a match for true wilderness, for these animals are far less keen to
>predators, and often become habitualized and imprinted to humans
>and their interactions.
> Healthy populations must consist of a great amount of individuals
>in order to persist. This is because of genetic traits, mutation,
>inbreeding, and general heterozygosity of alleles in the traits shared
>and passed on to the offspring. Dispersal, via proximate patch
>availability and transportation corridors is the salvation of these
>remnants of the dissolved landscape, within which the flora and fauna
>have free reign.
> A long time before I learned this in my college courses, I keyed in to
>this process in the city park bordering nearby hillsides, which at that time
>were undeveloped due to rough, mountainous terrain. Over the years, as I
>hiked there, I noticed that the city was spreading up the hill, and probably
>now over, spilling into another valley, like an explosion with no end.
>What was once a wilderness park, with it's coyotes, deer, and rattlesnakes,
>readily witnessed; has now become just what I described: A city park,
>with a manicured lawn equipped with sprinkler systems and picnic tables
>for a Sunday afternoon for the family to "get out into nature."
> I bring to this discussion the recurrent buzzword called rainforest,
>which evokes majestic visions of valleys filled with rivers of fog, brightly
>colored birds; and low and behold, a pair of massive tractors, with a
>50-meter length of chain sweeping every tree in it's wake, decimating
>a grove in a matter of minutes.
> Yes, the tropical rainforest is the most diverse ecosystem on the
>planet, primarily because of the highly-specialized niches, incredible
>nutrient availability, and proportional energy influx from the rich
>and abundant biomass, which seemingly litters the terrain.
>Unfortunately, a large proportion of this quality habitat is found
>in undeveloped countries, where conservation is a luxury.
> A common practice which nearly literally brings tears to my eyes
>is the slash-and-burn technique of agricultural clearing of land of which
>impoverished, indigenous peoples practice for their livelihood. For, after
>a minimal amount of time, the soil in one area becomes nutrient-depleted,
>thus a new site must be obtained to produce viable crops, thus forests
>are decimated at a sickening and utterly evil rate.
> I became morbidly depressed in ecology course years ago when I saw
>satellite photographs of the earth taken at night, which showed scores
>of "wildfires" burning across the planet, primarily located in rainforests,
>caused by what I have just described. The feelings that are conjured by
>this atrocity are those of deep pain and a very strong motherly instinct
>for the nurturing and healing of this sickness, which is plainly seen to
>those, who, like me, have the stomach, or perhaps the honesty to look upon.
> The naturalist side of me cannot bear the site of a tree which has been
>harvested for human use. For the dismembered stump which remains
>is a mockery of the dignity once claimed by the testimonial lifesource
>by the one who wields the ax. The simple fact is that trees produce
>the oxygen which we breathe. It is pitiful enough to have to stay indoors
>on a warm day in a large city to avoid being rendered unconscious from
>the poisonous fumes of industry.
> The accounts of air pollution are endless, with some of the most
>striking to my mind being the Black Forest in Germany, which is nearly
>gone, from acid rain caused by the rapid advancement of modern
>machinery in that country. A professor of mine once told the class that
>air pollution didn't matter, because it was simply blown "somewhere else."
>This did not sit well with me, and does not to this day. This will not
>suffice.
> Another example of corporate madness is in a seemingly pristine,
>alpine lake, located outside of New York City, where another professor
>of mine expected to find countless circles on the top of the water in the
>morning from trout foraging for insects (A common site in a typical
>wilderness setting). Yet, he found the lake to be entirely, and without
>exception, a motionless void of highly acidic water.
> Furthermore, scientists have documented a one degree overall increase
>in global temperature in recent history, giving evidence to the "greenhouse
>effect" of the diminishment of the ozone layer; this perverse, proverbial
>newsflash, which has captured the interest of millions over the last few
>decades. Again, satellite images show that this risk in our protective
>coating from the sun's ultraviolet rays is increasing as time goes on,
>caused by the build-up of carbon dioxide, stemming from the overharvest of
>trees.
> Thus I pose a solution in the broadest sense, to deal with a combined
>sum of local catastrophes, which has become a global epidemic. What is
>needed is a committee composed of leaders from each and every country,
>representing each city, state, and tribe which consists of that region.
>There must be a protocol for every nation to follow, in order to succeed in
>our goal as a race, in the longevity of Homo sapiens as well as all other
>forms of life on the biosphere.
> I would hope that the petty wars would end, which to outside observers
>must seem as trivial as the "too many rats in a cage with no place to go"
>syndrome. First and foremost on the agenda will be a global birth rate
>of one-child-per-couple throughout their lifetime, and subsidies, as in
>China, for those who willingly go without giving birth at all,
>and severe penalties for those who exceed this one-child limit.
> We must incorporate scientists into our political systems, for any of
>this to succeed. My fear and dread comes with the urgency that this process
>must be implemented within the next 25 years, or the doom-and-gloom
>philosophies of many ecologists will come to prevail. For even though
>I may not see one of the mighty black rhinos in Africa in my lifetime,
>it simply feels good to know that they are there, and that they are well.
> For how can we have respect for ourselves as a species, if we do not
>treat other organisms with the same honor and integrity? As a final note,
>to synthesize this whole establishment of population control, I believe that
>once this is in effect, many, if not all, of our environmental problems will
>take care of themselves, since the basic premise of this movement is that
>too many humans, requiring too many resources, have basically
>mucked it all up."
>
>****************************************************************
> "The universe is in a constant state of entropy; that is, all matter is
>trying to break into a simpler form, and life strives to alter this course
>by building and creating an environment of sustainable use. As someone
>once told me: Going against nature is a part of nature too. I think that
>this is why I prefer simpler living, because it is quite frankly an easier
>mode of existence, in such a world of molecular diffusion. For this
>thought I introduce, finally, my concept of Deeper Ecology, which
>to my thinking is a synthesis of what the Native American Indians
>and Buddhists and Taoists were trying to accomplish. With these three
>disciplines I shed a light of science and biology into the grand scheme
>of cosmic, inter-related metaphysics which seem to dominate the Homo
>sapien struggle to at once master the planet and attain a sense of humility
>through the process. Deeper Ecology is a realization that we are composed
>of the same elements that exist in nature, and thus we are no more important
>than all living and non-living material around us. Some suggest that I am
>giving up the cause of environmental restoration, and perhaps denying my
>species of it's grandeur (Which for some odd reason individuals insist on
>promoting). All I am trying to do is propose a level of consciousness which
>surpasses most modern belief systems, and which I believe can lead to a
>richer and more fulfilling span of life on Spaceship Earth, before each
>and every one of our physical bodies returns to the soil. To me this is
>reality in it's truest form. This is the skeleton of every argument posed
>by every critical thinker that has ever been, and that will set foot upon
>this realm. Humans have only been on the biosphere for a fraction
>of it's entirety, and we must keep this in mind when trying to establish
>notions of mastery and dominance over an entity which gave birth to us
>to begin with and will persist long after we have wasted much valuable
>time, attempting to reverse it's inherent processes of homeostasis."
>
>*****************************************************************
> TABLE OF CONTENTS:
> 1. Sequoia sempervirens
> 2. Homo sapiens
> 3. Extinction
> 4. Genetic Viability
> 5. Hierarchy
> 6. Homo sapiens II
> 7. Ursus americanus
> 8. Lions, Tigers, and Bears
> 9. Social Darwinism
>10. Spaceship Earth
>11. Biology
>12. Oncorhynchus tshawytscha
>13. Nirvana
>14. Cyanocitta stelleri
>15. Carpe diem
>16. First Law of Thermodynamics
>17. Ecological Angst
>18. Homo sapiens III
>19. Eve
>20. The Circus
>21. Tyto alba
>22. Lady of the Lake
>23. Iguana iguana
>24. Tyto alba II
>25. "Spotted Owl Tastes Like Chicken"
>26. Coexistence
>27. Anthropocentrism
>28. Tyto alba III
>29. Academia
>30. Deeper Ecology
>31. Colaptes auratus
>32. "The Chicken or the Egg" Hypothesis
>33. Ignorance is Bliss
>34. Reality Check
>35. Homo sapiens IV
>36. Global Ecology
>37. Earth Day
>38. Canis lupus
>39. The "Umbrella" Approach
>40. Man's Best Friend
>41. The Killing Jar
>42. Stochasticity
>43. Earth Summit
>44. Ecosystems
>45. Testament
>
>EPILOGUE
>
>APPENDIX A: Bear Myths and Neanderthals
>APPENDIX B: Important Ecological Reasons For Conserving
> Ecosystems Rather Than Simply Individual Species
>
>*************************************************************
> To order a copy of "Deeper Ecology: Essays on Ecological Spirituality,"
>send your name and address and a check or money order (in U.S. funds)
>for $5.95 for each copy, plus $3.00 ($1.50 for each additional copy after the
>first) to pay for shipping and handling ($10 shipping to countries outside
>of U.S. and Canada, $5.00 for additional copies after the first) to:
>
> Wild Side Publishing
> P.O. Box 5241
> Eureka, CA 95502
> U.S.A.
>
> Please make your check or money order out to Wild Side Publishing.
>You will receive your copie(s) within 4 to 6 weeks from the time we
>receive your order! Orders will be sent as Priority First Class U.S. Mail.
>For orders of 10 or more copies of the book, please inquire as to discount
>rates!
>
> Thank you very much for your order!
>
> David Doyle
> Wild Side Publishing
>
>P.S. My apologies for any cross-postings and/or duplications of this
>message.
>P.P.S. All text in this message is copywritten by Wild Side Publishing,
>1997.
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>
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>
Michael B. Brown
Puyallup, Washington
H-253-841-4281
W-253-841-8733
C-253-208-9588
borealis at borealis.seanet.com

"...I am glad I shall never be young without
wild country to be young in." -Aldo Leopold

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(o!o)
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