xi
Prologue
For a generation Michael Tobias and Jane Morrison have been among the leading
voices helping us understand the intricacies of the interconnectiveness of the web of
life. Their perspective stands out because it goes beyond science and includes our
religious beliefs and philosophical foundations. They earned their credibility by
traveling to the very places they speak of, seeing droughts, famines and population
dislocations on the one hand, and on the other experiencing the sublime through the
beauty of the earth’s remotest places and the people who live there.
I met Michael and Jane when I was serving as the secretary of the Smithsonian
Institution because of their interest in the work of the Smithsonian Environmental
Research Center. They were intrigued by the findings of the Smithsonian’s Global
Earth Observatory (GEO), a project that brings together multiple entities around the
world observing changes in forests over time, and sharing the information using a
common format. It was apparent that the GEO concept resonated with their interest
in understanding how the earth’s systems are responding to the overarching effects
of humankind on the natural world.
During the course of their lives they have written, together and individually, over
70 books, and produced a similar number of film documentaries. This new book
distills their insights as examined through the lenses of art, human sensibility, philosophy, religion, animal rights, statistics and conservation, among others. No stone
is left unturned in the search for examples that can help us save ourselves, both
physically and spiritually.
They probe the question as to why our species, with a brain large enough to
appreciate the beauty and complexity of the natural world, seems unable to contain
the damage done by its own choices and actions. Whether in the end we can find the
will to save our fragile planet and the life on it, or if we will be the agent of our own
destruction. Hence, the ecological paradox, the focus of this book.
As the authors note, in a 1993 essay, the scientist/sociologist E.O. Wilson was
asked if humanity is suicidal. His answer, “no, we aren’t suicidal, but we are death
for much of the rest of life and, hence, in ultimate prospect, unwittingly dangerous
to ourselves.” Their new book points out in the interim between 1993 and today,
while we have made some efforts to save species, protect wilderness, and develop
Prologue
For a generation Michael Tobias and Jane Morrison have been among the leading
voices helping us understand the intricacies of the interconnectiveness of the web of
life. Their perspective stands out because it goes beyond science and includes our
religious beliefs and philosophical foundations. They earned their credibility by
traveling to the very places they speak of, seeing droughts, famines and population
dislocations on the one hand, and on the other experiencing the sublime through the
beauty of the earth’s remotest places and the people who live there.
I met Michael and Jane when I was serving as the secretary of the Smithsonian
Institution because of their interest in the work of the Smithsonian Environmental
Research Center. They were intrigued by the findings of the Smithsonian’s Global
Earth Observatory (GEO), a project that brings together multiple entities around the
world observing changes in forests over time, and sharing the information using a
common format. It was apparent that the GEO concept resonated with their interest
in understanding how the earth’s systems are responding to the overarching effects
of humankind on the natural world.
During the course of their lives they have written, together and individually, over
70 books, and produced a similar number of film documentaries. This new book
distills their insights as examined through the lenses of art, human sensibility, philosophy, religion, animal rights, statistics and conservation, among others. No stone
is left unturned in the search for examples that can help us save ourselves, both
physically and spiritually.
They probe the question as to why our species, with a brain large enough to
appreciate the beauty and complexity of the natural world, seems unable to contain
the damage done by its own choices and actions. Whether in the end we can find the
will to save our fragile planet and the life on it, or if we will be the agent of our own
destruction. Hence, the ecological paradox, the focus of this book.
As the authors note, in a 1993 essay, the scientist/sociologist E.O. Wilson was
asked if humanity is suicidal. His answer, “no, we aren’t suicidal, but we are death
for much of the rest of life and, hence, in ultimate prospect, unwittingly dangerous
to ourselves.” Their new book points out in the interim between 1993 and today,
while we have made some efforts to save species, protect wilderness, and develop