We are constantly on the verge of another breakthrough. An information revolution. A nano-world. We transformed. We are on the verge of colonizing space. We shall go to Mars, we shall go beyond, we shall conquer the universe, or we shall go extinct trying. It seems irresponsible that we should do so without first understanding how to live in harmony with the natural world. We still have not realized that money can’t be eaten.

The signs are clear. Our oceans are being overfished. Our wild-lands are surrounded by urban sprawl, forever becoming smaller fragments of wilderness against the pressing human need. A great extinction has begun. The holes in our knowledge are blinding. It is possible that we are losing thousands of species a day. We tinker foolishly and inanely, oblivious to the possible impact of our actions.

Currently, the building blocks of civilization are in jeopardy: forests, wildlife, rivers, soils, and mountains. In this statement it is difficult to point fingers; difficult because humanity itself is at fault: rich nations and poor, capitalists and communists, black and white. Everywhere our democracies are failing us, serving the oligarchs and squeezing the people dry. Poor nations are crippled by ineptitude, poverty, and corruption.

Americans are apathetic towards their communities. That’s why we pay so much in taxes. We let the government try to take care of it for us. A feeling of service towards the community is lacking. More alarming still, is the lack of awareness about how our lifestyle affects the rest of the world. We should be frightened. But we are not.

90% of human calories come from 15 crops, yet we have documented there are thousands of crops that have been domesticated through the course of human civilization. Industrial agriculture, with its myopic approach to ecosystem management, has begun to threaten the agricultural biodiversity that sustains millions of people around the world. We burn enormous amounts of carbon. We rely on carbon based fuels to power our very existence. And tomorrow if there were no more oil? Chaos. We should be frightened. But we are not.