Book report

I had to write a paper recently for my biology class, The Diversity of Life. The paper was actually a book report, and the book we (were supposed to have) read was entitled The Diversity of Life. I did read the first 100 pages, and then skimmed the rest, as I had of course procrastinated until the day before it was due to even attempt to finish reading the book. The book is worthy of my full attention at some point in the future. Anyway, for this book report, we were asked to write about how the topic of the book (encapsulated nicely in the title) relates, first, to our society, and then, directly to me. It was actually fun to write, so I wanted to share it with you. It was supposed to be four pages long (1.5 spaced), but mine came out to just over 3 (working up to right before class, you know?). Nevertheless, I scored a 95, whatever that means. So here is my paper...

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Civilization is killing the planet. Well, not so much the planet but rather the thin veil of life that covers every inch of the planet. Life is both very delicate and very resilient, and civilization is putting both of those claims to the test. Edward Wilson’s book, The Diversity of Life, seeks to describe this life, how it works and evolves, and what relationship we, as humans, have to it. The way I just worded that last sentence is very telling, revealing an insight into the root of the problem we are now facing, the decimation of the biological systems of the world that allow us to exist. What is telling is that distinction made between humans and the rest of the biological world, as if we are not a part of it, as if we are above it, as if we are gods. By viewing the biosphere as something distinct from humanity, something that we can be extracted from and govern over, we make ourselves prone to the very dangerous mistake of viewing the earth as simply a resource to be exploited instead of the mother, who made life for all of us possible, that she really is.

The topic discussed in the book has very severe and important implications for our present society, or more widely, for our global civilization. Humans are very much part of the biosphere. We are mammals. We are animals. Simply because we have the mental capability to recognize that fact does not remove us from our interdependence with every other species on the planet. The most prominent and immediate manifestation of this interdependence and our corresponding warped attitude towards the biological world is in our procurement of food. Ten thousand years ago, before the Agricultural Revolution, humans were hunter-gatherers. They lived off the fruit of the land, just as every other animal does, secure with a faith in Nature’s bounty. Then, a strange thing happened. Suddenly, one group of people lost their faith that Nature would always provide them with the food they need to survive, so they attempted to take matters into their own hands and produce all of the food they needed by themselves. This loss of faith was the biological equivalent of blasphemy, with humans proclaiming themselves gods, complete with knowledge of what species should live (those that directly contribute as food for humans) and what species should die (any species that is in the way of or competes with humans and their food sources). Thus, intensive agriculture was spawned, with monoculture fields that wipe out all diversity, providing humans with a surplus of food – but a surplus constantly threatened by diseases (since there is no diversity in the fields to offer any protection). Ironically, by assuming control over the production of food for the security of that supply, humans introduced famine upon themselves for the first time. In the past, when food was short, one could simply move on to new lands, but sedentary people of agriculture have that option closed to them. Nevertheless, those that adopt agriculture as a way of life do obtain a surplus of food, as all available land is being directed towards food for humans, neglecting all other species in the ecosystem. That surplus begins a vicious cycle of population growth and increase in the available food supply, a cycle which eventually leads to the population explosion we have on our hands now, overshooting the carrying capacity of the planet.[1]

Our species is in a very precarious position now, as we continue to act as though our actions have no serious consequences for the rest of the life on this planet or even for ourselves, when in reality, this behavior on our part has begun the sixth great extinction period in the history of the planet, and at a much faster rate. As a species often considered to be on the top of the food chain, wiping out the foundational species below is not good practice if we desire to stay in that position on the food chain – or even to stay around at all. Indeed, we are not actually on the top of a food chain because there is no top. The energy and fire of life passes through this world as a web, not as a hierarchical chain. Such images of dominance are again products of the fundamental division between humans and the rest of the biosphere, as we choose to ignore the fact that we do indeed get eaten upon death by bacteria and plants and scavenging animals.

Our current society and civilization is built upon the assumptions of human separateness and superiority that are now most clearly showing themselves to be very deleterious to the continuation of life on earth. I do not see how such a civilization can be changed or reformed in any way to revert such direct consequences of our foundational myth. Our current population and way of life is being propped up by technological complexity and cheap energy in the form of petroleum, but petroleum production will peak very soon. After that, it is only a short time before the comforts of civilization that we have become so accustomed to will not only not be sustainable – they will not even be possible (not on the scale that they are today, at least). Society, then, should prepare for a great many changes in the future, in both the status of the biological world and in how our relation to it is felt and perceived. It’s time for us to wake up to the reality of our situation. We are animals, currently biting off the hand that feeds us. We need to first acknowledge the first statement, and then stop the second.

I am an animal. I am a very small part of the biological world. I contribute to the diversity of life by simply existing. Admittedly, that contribution is infinitesimally small considering that I am a member of an omnivorous species that has an inordinate number of individuals, 6.5 billion, and growing (exponentially). Also, any small amount of diversity I might bring to an ecosystem is cancelled out many times over at the moment by the way of life that I have been raised in this society to lead. Even though within the context of the United States, my family is very much a middle class family, when the context is expanded to the rest of the world, my family if immensely rich. We lead lives of extreme comfort and ease compared to the majority of the world. This situation is the product of a capitalist system – the few living very well upon the backs of the many. I have read the “State of the Village Report,” and I have taken the online ecological footprint quiz. I am well aware that my lifestyle is outrageously unjust and unsustainable. According to the quiz, if everyone were to live the same way that I live, there would need to be 3 earths to support the demand. And that is with being a vegetarian of two years and no longer owning a car. One of my lifelong goals is to not only no longer contribute to the continued destruction of the earth through the way I daily live my life but to also begin to reverse the process and find effective ways to increase diversity in the ecosystem in which I live. This is the whole idea behind permaculture – beyond simply gardening to provide a portion of my food, I want to encourage the development sustainable and functional ecosystems. This summer, I will be visiting an eco-village in northeastern Missouri called Dancing Rabbit, visiting with the intent of exploring the possibility of moving there and beginning to enact my dream and goal of more than sustainable living. In this way, I also hope to prepare for the impending collapse of civilization (because all civilizations are destined to collapse – such complexity is never indefinitely sustainable). My grand scheme to “save the world” is simply to walk away from participation in those institutions that diminish diversity and learn about or create a new way of living that increases diversity.

This book, The Diversity of Life, presents a very good and thorough account of the beauty and necessity of diversity. It shows how life is created and proliferated through evolution, how diversity comes out of that evolution and strengthens the hold life has on earth, and then how humans have set out to unintentionally destroy that diversity for their own benefit. This book is a call to action, crying out as a wake up call to a people put asleep by the drug of material affluence, or the seeking of such affluence. I hope more people are listening.

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[1] My understanding of the Agricultural Revolution and its consequences was influenced by not only The Diversity of Life, but also Ishmael, by Daniel Quinn.

Tags:

• ecology
• civilization