Thursday, January 20, 2011
The Web of Life
After reading the essay "From The Web of Life" I decided to make a comment on the authors thoughts. He claims that we need to be ecoliterate. Ecosystems developed complex ways in order to maximize sustainability and if we study these ecosystems then they will show us how we can become sustainable. I agree with his description of interdependence, the sucess of the whole community depends on the success of its individual members, and, the success of the individual members depends on the sucess of the community. If we are going to survive, and thrive, then we need to work together. In our previous readings we get the notion that the Indians were at one with nature. One reason for this is that they were not focused on monetary gain. Their focus was more on spiritual issues and on ways to survive. I have heard it said that if we have shelter, food and good health then there is nothing else that we need. The author suggests an Eco-tax. This may be a good way to get us to work together and focus on sustainability. Today, we as a society are driven by money, but, money is not one of the three necessities. If we are penalized monetarily when we are going in the wrong direction then maybe we will think twice and reroute ourselves in the right direction.
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Your post is on something that I found extremely interesting in that reading as well. You make an excellent point here and I agree, money is not one of the three necessities outlined. It is almost like that web talked about in the reading, if one piece gets cut from the system then other parts will make up for the loss. If we cut money from our system, could we possibly make up for the loss through other things? Better relationships? Stronger families? A better environment and world?
ReplyDeleteI agree that your post is interesting, and so was the reading, but it seems to me to be an ideal. I highly doubt money can ever be cut from the system in reality because there are too many politicians, businesses, and even individuals, that rely upon it. If money as we know it did not exist, then something else would take its place, like seashells, etc. Humanity is a bit too greedy and materialistic for money to ever completely vanish, and I admit, I'm as much a part of the problem as anyone, enjoying the benefits that money gets me (clothing, shoes, computers, etc...)
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