Bill Truesdell: “We actually have the science, desire and affluence to do something about our problems.” I agree. Do you suppose that we could use those assets to figure out how to feed everyone without burning the ecological candle at both ends? I'm concerned that if we take the position that everything is fine, and don’t agressively question where our practices might be taking us to in the future, we are going to be, and in fact have been, traveling blind. Human nature being what it is, science and technology are just as likely to be used to solve our most immediate need for material gratification as they are to be used for securing a healthy environment for the future. Perhaps it’s this short sighted aspect of our nature that needs closer examination, especially in relation to how, in our hell bent pursuit of wealth and comfort, we may tend to overlook certain inconvenient realities. I almost said truths. "Luddites" are of value in that they annoyingly force us to put the brakes on and examine more closely whether what we are doing really makes sense in a meaningfully broad context. I have no doubt that we humans are capable of racing head long to a certain doom - victims of our own insatiability. I also know that science and technology along with common sense and healthy skepticism will be indispensable to our continued success as a species, but we can’t be objective about the usefulness of our inventions without being able to examine our motives for using them with ruthless detachment. Maybe the reason we spend so little of our income on food is because we aren’t paying the full cost of that food. Maybe the reason we pay so little attention to the real cost of our food is because paying the full cost would mean having to give up something else. Do you see how objectivity gets lost in that shuffle? You don’t have to imagine how, without stiff resistance from the “Luddites” of the world, all objectivity on the part of chemical companies, when it comes to evaluating anything that might adversely impact revenue, would tend to suffer a similar fate? Steve Noble Thinking anything Bill Treusdell says will here-to-for be taken in consideration of the fact that, as a kid, he played in clouds of DDT. ;>) **************************************************** * General Information About BEE-L is available at: * * http://www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/default.htm * ****************************************************