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. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---------