We are at an extraordinary time in the
history of both humanity and Earths.
In that since the Industrial Revolution
we have now post-1950 our activities as
an industrial society driven by this
great story we tell ourselves and all
civilizations have a great story they
tell themselves. Ours is this suicidal one of
economic rationalism growth for the sake of growth which means endless
destruction. And so particularly say 1960s and 70s on that activity of destroying
forests increase in the area of deserts
40% of the world suitable for
agriculture was now desert. Pumping up carbon as it's re-burning of coal
and fossil fuel. We have this
extraordinary earth with its nine
interrelated systems that sustains this
sort of very thin layer a film if you
like around our planet that sustains these conditions for life. Our behavior post 2nd
World War is destabilized all of those
nine systems.
Back through history over
the last 10,000 years or so you will
find civilizations that have collapsed
all over the world and they generally
collapse when agriculture collapses.
The root cause of all civilization collapses
is is environmental damage so it's
damage to the water cycle the
hydrological cycle its erosion its land
degradation its loss of food production
often that then leads to things like
civil wars and famines and diseases and
so on which finishes things off but the
root cause is environmental damage. This is reality we're on a trajectory to
nowhere right now and as a human race.
People wonder why we have tree dieback
well a big part of that is the lack of
ground cover there's a balance that
we've got to try and learn.
It's more complicated than than we can nearly comprehend.
New England dieback was caused from the imbalance.
I think the main thing is that we recognize it's complex.
The only thing that's gonna save us is
the holism of regenerative agriculture.
You could see that as the next phase for
one of a better word the new organic
revolution where we do if you like that
full circle. Like the indigenous organic
mind back to where we see ourselves as
not surviving without nurturing the
substrate that sustains us which is
Mother Earth and her systems and whether
we're going to do that in time as we go
up into the Anthropocene it is the
question before us but we have to cling
to hope and the big hope I see is this
new movement of regenerative agriculture
understanding of Earth System science
and bringing a partnership with the
urban consumer and the urban people that
are getting into no sustainable energy
and better food, healthier food and all
that sort of thing.
It will change before it reaches disaster.
What the human race
tends to do is go right to the brink
almost of total collapse before it will change.
