Article May 25, 2009 Issue

Humanity and the environment—in harmony

BY SHANNON HORST

A FEW WEEKS ago, a major news radio program reported that Mexico City will begin shutting off water that services five million of its inhabitants because of ongoing water shortages. At the same time, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, called for a 20 percent reduction in water use by the state's residents. Australia, once more lush than it is today, has been struggling with increasing drought for many years.

These conditions and others speak to a question that is as old as human existence: How can people live without depleting or contaminating natural resources that are crucial to human survival? Increasingly, scientists, politicians, and the general public are recognizing that many of the resource problems humans face are not natural but man-made. Views of the subject run the gamut from absolutely no concern over resource depletion (sometimes coupled with a belief that humans always find technical solutions to save themselves) to deep fear, or even despair. Some believe that humans are depleting the earth's natural resources so fast that we will hit a wall where drought, famine, and collapse of civilizations will occur.

For almost 30 years now, I've worked in the field of agriculture (in its broadest sense) and the environment, on four continents. This work has exposed me to almost every example of resource depletion and the debates about people versus nature. There have also been instances where people have come together and found solutions that reversed the deterioration of resources and increased the production of food and other items. What I've found is that willingness and humility are wonderful qualities for working out how to live in harmony with other creatures and to welcome a changed lifestyle that will bless everyone.