Prairie land around the world is fast disappearing, but demand for the meat products of large ruminants keeps growing. The vast grasslands where American cowboys, Mongolian nomads and Argentinian Gauchos alike tended large herds of cattle are being taken over by industrialized agriculture, hydroelectric dams, mines, urban sprawl and creeping desertification. Many have raised the …
Author Archives: ecosocialdesign
Bugs in the Dirt: The Importance of Soil Ecology and Why it Could save Us All
It is no secret that industrialized agriculture causes a sharp decline in soil fertility. With ever larger and more efficient tractors to plant and harvest, fields have grown to massive sizes in the past century, farms have consolidated into large corporate operations, and the allure of focusing on one or two cash crops has grown …
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Restoration Highlight: The Tudor Creek Mangroves
“What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and to one another:” -Mahatma Ghandi This jewel of Ghandean wisdom is the inspiring principle of the Brain Youth Group, an ecosystem restoration and awareness initiative in Kenya and the brain child of …
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Restorative Environmentalism – The Rise of a New Green Economy
Ecological conservation will always be important as long as there are ecosystems left to conserve, but the future of biological diversity – and by extension the viability of a planet habitable for humans – will hinge on our ability and willingness to reforest, rewild and restore landscapes, transforming them from devastated and often toxic deserts …
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King Palm
The nutrient and calorie density of the red palm fruit makes it a true wonder of Nature. Of the innumerable contributions of Nature to people, the oil palm stands out for it’s power. This power is exemplified by the cultural and religious importance given to this tree (and more specifically its fruit and seed), in …
Communal conservation
A return to The Commons is in order, but on a different scale and with more focus than ever before. The Commons is defined as the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, and which are not owned privately. This vast definition encompasses all kinds of tangible and intangible assets throughout …
Forest Community
Community management of natural landscapes is our best and maybe only hope. Community and culture have thrived in the days and territories where humans have taken their livelihoods directly from their environments. We seem to do very well without the complex markets, commercial trade routes and value added commodification that our current technology allows for, …
The Pristine Illusion
Conservationist are set on the idea that to preserve nature is to remove humans form the equation and leave habitats alone. But is this even possible in today’s world? And has it ever been that way? It seems that in every corner of the globe, animals not only inhabit an ecosystem, but shape it and …
Black Gold Negative: The value of Carbon in landscape
The above graphic shows implemented or scheduled carbon tax and emission trading schemes worldwide. Source: World Bank (“State and Trends of Carbon Pricing, 2016”). It is immediately obvious that more developed and industrialized nations, the ones that pollute the most, also have made the most progress in implementing carbon tax regulations. This is hopeful sign, …
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We are Forest
Why do we feel a deep sense of calm when we spend time in a mature forest? Brain science is confirming that Nature is a strong medicine against depression and anxiety, but how have we drifted so far from our natural habitat? What has driven us to destroy it and live in an unhealthy and …
Integrative Eco Social Design 