on an Eaarth of much prejudice
i have benefited as an anglo, a u. s. citizen, a heterosexual male
born healthy into a middle-class family
from being a recipient of a Texas A&M University Opportunity Award Scholarship
based in part on need
and from the GI Bill
and as a capitalistic ecosocialist …
i am not … xenophobic or generally phobic otherwise, a patriot or a nationalist
catholic … but by most standards, i am not religious!
i simply, quite simply … strongly feel we need to all strive for a world with more climax ecological communities
communities in a dynamic homeostatic symbioses
a nature which includes caring and sharing humans
with small ecological footprints and sustainable livelihoods
mostly working to achieve socio-ecological justice
*************
the goal should be climax* ecological communities
(including fire climax ecological communities)
ecological communities which by the way are never set in concrete
many are in stages of very dynamic succession*
and there should be many ecotones and effects from edges
……………………..
you must start here … with this goal of climax ecological community
in central texas blackland prairie, for example, such a climax ecological community
might consist of great soil cover with little & big bluestem, indian grass, eastern grama, switch grass, and additional various vegetation- and other biotic-types
including american bison (or exotic domesticated cattle managed to “behave” more like bison populations*)
but also with grasshoppers, and many other herbivores including birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, segmented and roundworms, .. other arthropods … and a diversity of others up the trophic levels and in the food webs
(moreover, the goal of climax biota in dynamic homeostatic symbioses* can not preclude lower successional species like wildflowers and amaranthus and lambsquarters, etc.)
………………………
a climax ecological community in concert with
a good soil of seven percent organic matter (texas blacklands) rich with a good diversity of deep roots, microbes, mesofauna, and mycorrhizae
excellent water infiltration capacity and water-holding capacity
including a healthy protection from vegetation in various processes of being biotically recycled
and of great net primary productivity
this should be a goal and a strategy
………………………
therefore, start with a goal in your whole(s) and develop a strategic plan under guidelines … in this example of texas blackland prairie where there are currently many holes … and monitor well, analyze and evaluate, and replan after critical thinking, decison-making, and cautious collective actions in solidarity toward meeting maslow’s needs for all
in this time of 2023+ and a texas blackland prairie including many humans with maslow’s needs dependent on it …
seriously consider working with wes jackson’s and the land institute’s perennial grains*, legumes, and oilseed crops in a sustainable local community (milling around) approach
and with honeybees and dandelions and sheep and goats and poultry and even the porcine species
and easy to grow vegetables and herbs
even though they are invasive species!
…………………………..
impossible you say!
with eight billion humans on Eaarth* going on ten
and one percent having more power
(“horsepower/watts/BTUs, joules, or calories over a time period”)
than the poorest fifty percent* …
and seeking even more power
……………………………
impossible you say!
with a destructive u.s. global-military, u.s. super-overproduction of arms for the globe … feeding War machines and War
with neoliberal capitalism … and entrepreneurial businesspeople, rather than sustainable livelihoods
with conspicuous consumption running rampant
with high-input/-throughput systems
with cars/big not-needed pick ’em up trucks/”monstrous” campers and planes and cruise ships as transportation
with humongous mcmansions and personal swimming pools
with a global over-abundance of exotic foods
with manicured, heavily-fertilized, -watered, and -biocided golf courses and large domed playing fields of plastic turf
with such a fossil-plastic economy overwhelming nature’s economy
(and yes!
despite the rhetoric and propaganda of pro-growthers,
and some neoliberal capitalistic pseudo-ecologists
what we are in is basically a zero-sum game; if artificial gains, “Natural Nature” loses)
………………………………
a goal of climax ecological community is impossible to communicate about and discuss … you say
because of the noise of so much information, untruths, misinformation, disinformation, negative propaganda
from the news media and other ubiquitous electronic inputs to all the senses and more
which does not lead to a collective learning in solidarity of “positively ethical applied community ecology/PEACE”
which does not lead to knowledge, wisdom, prudence, critical thinking and decision-making
(largely because of out-of-control consumerism, neoliberal capitalism
and war… war … war … … War … War … War …
and little time to individually & collectively think … unless it is a toxic groupthink)
………………………..
impossible? perhaps???
nevertheless, “one small thing” as a start for sustainability is: “less is more*” toward reaching climax ecological communities
………………………..
(an aside which is really not an aside but central to good lives for all
is that heaven away from Eaarth is not the goal
nor is a highly fossil energy/matter dependent, high energy- and synthetic-Eaarth
the goal is a neo-Earth of dynamic homeostatic symbioses
including sustainable demes of caring/sharing humans working toward climax ecological communities
collective beauty and happiness in nature [or dynamic homeostatic symbioses] is the desired goal
not individual/selective “beauty” and “happiness” in the extremely noisy artificial
sustainable happiness is in natural nature, not in artificial chaos)
………………………….
therefore, i repeat …
The Way is “less is more” toward climax ecological communities
************************
*yes!
the hard science and rhetoric i heard from and read of:
e.j. dyksterhuis, eugene odum, frederic clements, timothy morton, allan savory, wes jackson, bill mckibben, david pimentel, h.t. odum, vaclav smil, e.f. schumacher, herman daly, jason hickel
were obviously compelling to me during my journey to date here on Eaarth of going on 77 years!!!
pbm 7 S’s / VV->^^
