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Quotes about Ecosystems from the world's top natural health / natural living authors

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"With our increased understanding of the little rock on which we live comes a flood of evidence that we're royally screwing things up. ecosystems are trembling. Species that evolved over millions of years are being driven into extinction. The most troubling signs have to do with our climate. Every time we drive a car, we're participating in the largest planetary experiment ever conducted—we're changing the climate, acidifying the oceans, melting the ice caps, and generally wreaking havoc with the very systems that support life on earth." - Alex Steffen, Worldchanging: A User's Guide for the 21st Century (Get the book.)

"They are aspects of our interactive worlds, our ecosystems, that can perturb our biology and control our fate. Two have emerged that are particularly powerful and that threaten our longevity far more than such recognized causes as hypertension, obesity, or adult onset diabetes. Both of these life-course hazards relate to impediments to the pursuit of gainful employment. A lifetime tottering on the edge of poverty is a lifetime likely to be mean, often discouraging, sometimes desperate - and also short. What is it about a compromised socioeconomic status (ses) that is so malevolent?" - Nortin M. Hadler, The Last Well Person: How to Stay Well Despite the Health-Care System (Get the book.)

"Prior to the appearance of humans, the intersubjective culture of animals is connected to self-organizing holonic ecosystems and natural physical groupings such as flocks and herds. But as the intersubjective culture of humans rises above its biological roots, it is increasingly connected to the accumulating structures of artifacts and man-made organizations. The point is that every inside has an outside, but the "outside," the external universe that can be seen with the senses, is simply objective." - Steve McIntosh, Integral Consciousness and the Future of Evolution (Get the book.)

"It certainly happens on the micro level, where localized ecosystems and plant and animal communities crash when the balance is disturbed beyond repair. Ecologists tell us about "trophic cascade," when the crash of one system leads to the crash of another, and then of many related systems. Is the critical point on Earth located here in the Sierra Nevada? Are the spiritual rituals the prime focus of energy, the "seams" that hold the world intact? The Mamos believe so. "So what must be done to control this destruction?" I asked respectfully. The Mamo looked piercingly into my eyes." - Dean Cycon, Javatrekker: Dispatches From the World of Fair Trade Coffee (Get the book.)

"I I time zero level of organization (time scale illustrative only) Fig. 3. Evolution through bifurcations in nature then Solar radiation combined with submarine hot springs stirred the rich "molecular soup" in the shallow primeval seas of the young Earth and created progressively more complex structures: prokaryotic and then eukaryotic cells, then colonies of cells, and ultimately genuine multicellular organisms." - Ervin Laszlo, Quantum Shift in the Global Brain: How the New Scientific Reality Can Change Us and Our World (Get the book.)

"But the facr that it's being taken over by giant corporations means that the option of rejuvenating agriculture, rural communities, and ecosystems is being forsaken. I believe that an organic movement that Once we open 1S on^ a consumer movement will never be fully organic. U to the flow of rCa^ crianSe wm happen solely through consumerism .,, . alone. We have to recover our Earth citizenship, partly by energy within ., , making the extra effort to ensure it's the small farmer who our body, we can ,, , 7 is supported by ones consumption." - David H. Rippe, Jared Rosen, The Flip: Turn Your World Around (Get the book.)

"The litany of weather anomalies and disasters seems unending. Australia suffered through a drought that affected 60 percent of its 67,000 farms. Crop production fell by 31 percent. Even irrigated farms growing cotton and rice suffered from water shortages. Wind erosion blasted the dry grain fields and pastures. A dust storm in February 1983 carried at least 150,000 metric tons of soil from farms in Victoria into Melbourne and far offshore. Bush fires in southeast South Australia and Victoria consumed 500,000 hectares, killing 72 people and more than 300,000 animals." - Brian Fagan, Floods, Famines, and Emperors: El Nino and the Fate of Civilizations (Get the book.)

"The plant thrives in numerous ecosystems including dry deserts, grasslands, and Juniper-Oak Woodlands. Look for Prickly pear on hillsides, canyon bottoms, and lower desert basins. From coast to coast, there are dozens of species of Prickly pear of similar morphology, but primarily this species is a plant of the arid west." - Charles W. Kane, Herbal Medicine of the American Southwest (Get the book.)

"In sum, westem ecosystems supported the behavior of those large grazing mammals that evolved within them; it is the intensive and widespread grazing of imposed livestock that these same ecosystems cannot sustain. It's not only other land animals, but fish and birds that woidd plead with us, if oidy they coidd, to get rid of the Hvestock. A study of an Oregon wildlife refuge found bird counts five to seven times higher in its ungrazed areas, compared to simdar areas grazed annually." - Howard F. Lyman, Glen Merzer, MAD COWBOY: Plain Truth from the Cattle Rancher Who Won't Eat Meat (Get the book.)

"If we are to stand up to corporate practices that threaten the health of farmers, rural communities, consumers, and ecosystems, we must vote with our mouths. By refusing to eat irradiated foods, commercially grown pesticided and herbicided foods, and genetically engineered food, we are making a very clear statement to the corporations and the governments that are influenced by corporate donations. We are saying that we, the public, will not buy your story or your food; we will not support the poisoning of the plants and all living creatures on this Earth." - Gabriel Cousens, M.D., Spiritual Nutrition: Six Foundations for Spiritual Life and the Awakening of Kundalini (Get the book.) "Genetically Engineered Foods - "If It's Not Broken, Don't Fix It" Genetically engineered (GE) foods provide a more significant threat to our subtle worldwide ecosystems than even pesticides and herbicides. John Hagelin, an award-winning quantum physicist and candidate for president on the Natural Law Party ticket, said, "When genetic engineers disregard the genetic boundaries set in place by Natural law, they run the risk of destroying our genetic encyclopedia, compromising the richness of our biodiversity, creating a genetic soup. What this means for the future of our ecosystem, no one knows." - Gabriel Cousens, M.D., Spiritual Nutrition: Six Foundations for Spiritual Life and the Awakening of Kundalini (Get the book.)

"Right now, our understanding of constructed ecosystems is still primitive. Biosphere 2, built in Arizona by a private foundation, was a bold test of our capability to construct ecosystems in enclosed spaces, but key support systems failed.24 Instead of trying again on a larger scale, the owners turned it over to a university for "open-flow" rather than closed-systems energy and climate simulations. This may produce other useful results, but it was wrong to abandon the original goal. That goal requires renewed support. The Mars missions or other space habitat projects may take this over." - Douglas Mulhall, Our Molecular Future: How Nanotechnology, Robotics, Genetics and Artificial Intelligence Will Transform Our World (Get the book.)

"Damage to Ecosystems Severe degradation of some ecosystems due to acid rain has already been reported in the United States, Canada, Scotland, Norway, Sweden, and other parts of Europe. The loss of fish, as well as other animal and vegetable life, has been attributed to acid rain. Although no clear proof has yet emerged concerning the toxic effects of acid rain on humans, it would be surprising if it were not causing at least subtle damage to our health. ACID RAIN AND OSTEOPOROSIS Excessively acidic rain could promote osteoporosis in two ways." - Alan Gaby, Preventing and Reversing Osteoporosis: What You Can Do About Bone Loss (Get the book.)

"Driven out of its host by rival vaccinia, variola would have no niche left in the ecosystems of the earth. This was, in fact, a daring plan, since no one could claim to under- stand the structure of natural ecosystems, especially in microbiology, or to have a clue as to whether the strategy would really work. Nature is full of surprises. Henderson wondered, for example, if smallpox just might have a little unnoticed reservoir somewhere in rodents. If so, that would destroy the dream of eradication, for humans have never been any good at getting rid of rodents." - Richard Preston, The Demon in the Freezer (Get the book.)

"Most importantly, the high Andean ecosystems and sacred lagoons where many medicinally active species are found are in danger of being destroyed by large-scale mining activities [112, 113]." - Rainer W. Bussmann and Douglas Sharon, Plants of the four winds - The magic and medicinal flora of Peru (Get the book.)

"Potentially highly profitable pharmaceutical products are developed, based on the biological and chemical diversity of the various ecosystems of the earth; this requires an enormous financial input. The research starts with the collection of biogenic samples (plants, fungi, other microorganisms and animals), progresses through analysis of the chemical, biological and pharmacological activities to the development of drug templates or new drugs. A key process in this search is high-throughput screening systems such as those that have been established by major Table 5." - Dr. Michael Heinrich, Joanne Barnes, Simon Gibbons and Elizabeth M. Williamson, Fundamentals of Pharmacognosy and Phytotherapy (Get the book.) "Distribution More than 21,000 species are known from practically all parts of the world, with the exception of Antarctica, and the family has found niches in a large variety of ecosystems. The family is particularly well-represented in Central America and southern North America (Mexico). Chemical characteristics of the family A typical chemical trait of this family is the presence of polyfructanes (especially inulin) as storage carbohydrates (instead of polysaccharides) in perennial taxa. Inulin-containing drugs are used for preparing malted coffee (e.g." - Dr. Michael Heinrich, Joanne Barnes, Simon Gibbons and Elizabeth M. Williamson, Fundamentals of Pharmacognosy and Phytotherapy (Get the book.) "They are trees and shrubs common in alpine ecosystems, flooded areas and along the margins of streams. Willow bark is a European phytomedicine with a long tradition of use for chronic forms of pain, rheumatoid diseases, fever and headache. As is well known, one of its main compounds, salicin, served as a lead molecule for the development of aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid). Constituents Phenolic glycosides, including salicin (Fig. 20.1), phenolic acids, flavonoids and tannins are the most prominent groups of compounds known for this botanical drug." - Dr. Michael Heinrich, Joanne Barnes, Simon Gibbons and Elizabeth M. Williamson, Fundamentals of Pharmacognosy and Phytotherapy (Get the book.) "Further investment in research is needed to extend searches into many of the world's ecosystems, some of which may well disappear with changes in climate. Very often access to microbially derived chemical diversity is limited to the supply of certain types of organisms (e.g. readily culturable actinomycetes). It has been estimated that less than 1% of bacterial species and less than 5% of fungal species are currently known; thus millions of species remain undiscovered and enormous chemical diversity remains to be tapped." - Dr. Michael Heinrich, Joanne Barnes, Simon Gibbons and Elizabeth M. Williamson, Fundamentals of Pharmacognosy and Phytotherapy (Get the book.)

"If deforestation continues at current rates, scientists estimate nearly 80 to 90 percent of tropical rainforest ecosystems will be destroyed by the year 2020. This destruction is the main force driving a species extinction rate unmatched in 65 million years. The Amazon Rainforest has been described as the "lungs of our planet" because it provides the essential service of continuously recycling carbon dioxide into oxygen. THE AMAZON RAINFOREST . . . THE LAST FRONTIER ON EARTH If Amazonia were a country, it would be the ninth largest in the world." - Leslie Taylor, ND, The Healing Power of Rainforest Herbs: A Guide to Understanding and Using Herbal Medicinals (Get the book.) "The loss of tropical rainforests has a profound and devastating impact on the world because rainforests are so biologically diverse, more so than other ecosystems (e.g., temperate forests) on Earth. Consider these facts: • A single pond in Brazil can sustain a greater variety of fish than is found in all of Europe's rivers. • A 25-acre plot of rainforest in Borneo may contain more than 700 species of trees—a number equal to the total tree diversity of North America. • A single rainforest reserve in Peru is home to more species of birds than are found in the entire United States." - Leslie Taylor, ND, The Healing Power of Rainforest Herbs: A Guide to Understanding and Using Herbal Medicinals (Get the book.) "Consumption of everything on the planet has risen—at a cost to our ecosystems. In 2001, The World Resources Institute estimated that the demand for The Amazon is being destroyed at an estimated rate of 20,000 square miles a year. If nothing is done to curb this trend, the entire Amazon could be gone within fifty years. Loggers transporting Amazon timber down the river. rice, wheat, and corn is expected to grow by 40 percent by 2020, increasing irrigation water demands by 50 percent or more." - Leslie Taylor, ND, The Healing Power of Rainforest Herbs: A Guide to Understanding and Using Herbal Medicinals (Get the book.) "Graviola is certainly a promising natural remedy and one that again emphasizes the importance of preserving our remaining rainforest ecosystems. Perhaps—if enough people believe that the possible cure for cancer truly is locked away in a rainforest plant—we will take the steps needed to protect our remaining rainforests from destruction. One researcher studying graviola summarized this idea eloquently: "At the time of preparation of this current review, over 350 Annonaceous acetogenins have been isolated from 37 species." - Leslie Taylor, ND, The Healing Power of Rainforest Herbs: A Guide to Understanding and Using Herbal Medicinals (Get the book.)

"Ponderosa pine ecosystems; M. nervosa, one to two feet tall with holly, found in lower elevations in coastal forests and interior cedar-hemlock ecosystems; and M. aquifolium, known as tall Oregon grape, which is three to five feet tall. They are used interchangeably for medicinal purposes. All have bright yellow flowers and green berries that ripen to a blue-purple color. The name Oregon grape comes from its use as a medicine and food along the Oregon Trail. Its popularity as a food and medicine nearly led to its extinction in the late nineteenth century." - Phyllis A. Balch, CNC, Prescription for Herbal Healing: An Easy-to-Use A-Z Reference to Hundreds of Common Disorders and Their Herbal Remedies (Get the book.)

"Maintaining swordfish and other top predators in the Atlantic is critically important to the health of ocean ecosystems that sustain life on Earth. On the ecological bright side, swordfish are prolific egg producers—a large female can produce 30 million eggs each year. Swordfish are capable of rapid recovery if only given the chance, which will necessitate effective conservation by all countries fishing for them. Like other large ocean-roaming species such as tuna and marlin, swordfish migrate over large distances and are caught not only by U.S." - Michael Murray, N.D. and Joseph Pizzorno, N.D., The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods (Get the book.)

"It has been reported that the Office of Homeland Security has urged toxic pesticide spraying of urban areas and ecosystems throughout the United States—even if there is no danger of the West Nile virus.U6a- Doris J. Rapp, M.D., Our Toxic World: A Wake Up Call (Get the book.)

"And it is a reality that, in its obliviousness, causes all-too-real real suffering to other creatures and to the world's endangered ecosystems. fading Tropical Rainforests for Cheeseburgers The tropical rainforests are among the planet's most precious natural resources. They contain 80 percent of the world's species of land vegetation and account for much of the global oxygen supply. These forests are the oldest terrestrial ecosystems on Earth and have developed extraordinary ecological richness. Half of all species on Earth live in the moist tropical rainforests." - John Robbins, Food Revolution: How your diet can help save your life and our world (Get the book.)

"V societies 5 \. .. uroboric6 WE '"^"S ^^^t groups/families typhoniCj^^ 7 7 V" archaic-^^ 8 8^^^ tribes 9 Lower Left Lower Right Interior-Collective Exterior-Collective (Cultural) (Social) Figure B-l. A validfour-quadrant diagram of evolution prior to the appearance of humans. Note that the lower-right quadrant ends with "tribes" and the upper-right quadrant ends with "neocortex." found in organizations such as flocks of geese or families of apes." - Steve McIntosh, Integral Consciousness and the Future of Evolution (Get the book.)

"As the loss of species and habitats spreads farther and farther it is less and less likely that children will encounter wild ecosystems with a diversity of life during the period of their development when biophilia normally awakens. Those ecosystems they do encounter are more and more likely to be unhealthy. Few people have explored what the likely result will be of children regularly encountering only diminished and unhealthy landscapes. Will any biophilia at all be generated in diminished landscapes? What kind of biophilia will it be? Will or can it be healthy? Public schooling." - Stephen Harrod Buhner, The Lost Language of Plants: The Ecological Importance of Plant Medicines for Life on Earth (Get the book.)

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