Addition to 'GREENING AUSTRALIA WITH MANY COLORS'
PEOPLE AND NATURE

More input on the question:
HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO HELP DEVELOP PEOPLE'S UNDERSTANDING OF THE NEED FOR RADICAL CHANGE IN OUR APPROACH TO THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT?

The important follow-up question is HOW to develop people's understanding of the need for radical change in our approach to the natural environment - which must include radical change in how each of us wastes the resources of the future. Below is a spin-off discussion starter on People and Nature , that can be part of the broader environmental discussion or separate, as it looks at another aspect of environmental issues.

When people think of the environment, they tend to think of something lying around us, fairly static, which we destroy or conserve.

Nature however, sounds alive - and it is alive - and can kick back. We are learning that Man does not have complete dominion over everythingalive and not alive.

Until recently, the definition of an engineer was 'an engineer harnesses the forces of Nature and organises men for the benefit of mankind'.

Today, however, they are changing their definition to 'an engineer works with Nature and people for the benefit of all creation.' Some gung-ho works of engineering are now being recognised as having consequencesthat are hard to deal with - e.g. reckless irrigation.
  • How do we 'work with Nature'?
  • How is Nature kicking back at what we have imposed? - in agriculture, health, pests of all sorts, consequences of what we do.
  • Can we be in harmony with all of Nature?
  • Are there extremes at both ends of human relations with Nature - too destructive of Nature at one extreme, too careless of human life at the other? The careful Jain tries not to breathe in insects or tread on them. Should his immune system kill off invaders?
On Fraser Island, can humans and dingos co-exist? Is it working with Nature to drop-feed dingos so that their increased populations cannot survive without human feeding?

Can the Melbourne Botanical Gardens flying fruit bats multiply without impediment, to damage all the suburban fruit trees within their range, until their populations crash 'naturally'? Can Australia's population multiply without further extinctions of native species? without further degradation of Australia's fragile soils? without risking national disaster when there comes the next 'Federation drought'?

  • How 'naturally' can we live ourselves? Or again, is there a moderate position between extremes? What is 'natural'? If as some religions think, contraception is wrong because it is 'unnatural', what other 'unnatural' practices should we also stop? eg. in healing and preserving life and making existence more comfortable? Is it natural for human beings to use their brains to improve their existence and make 'unnatural' products to do so?
  • What creatures would you consider that humans have a right to destroy to maintain their own lives, health or comfort? Or to increase human populations?
Many predators are now protected species, because they too, have a right to existence and be part of bio diversity - Australian crows, crocodiles, sharks, snakes, dingos etc. However, humans are the greatest predators of all, and their depredations on other some other species makes the extinction of those smaller, weaker creatures more likely, added to the predators they already have. What chance do blue wrens and other little birds have when humans and their feral cats, rats and dogs are added to the 'natural predators' they already have? Is there any case for keeping predator populations within some limits while avoiding extinctions?
  • Do human beings need contact with Nature and the fresh air and the green trees and the flowers, etc. to be able to be fully happy? Babies and toddlers often immediately improve their behaviour and became happy when taken outside - even crying babies taken outside to see the moon and stars. ( Note - many rural people are extremely unhappy).
  • Is loss of suburban home gardens and surrounding farmland a fair price to pay in order to have Melbourne's population continuing to increase?
  • What recommendations do you have for how humans - and us here in particular- can live more in harmony with Nature in some sort of ecological balance or homeostasis? Could we be happier if we did so?