Antarctica, now the Mars lab. I'm seeing a pattern here! Are you trying to qualify for the next moon landing? What a great post!
On Dartmoor this summer, I was surprised to learn that it used to be forest. Hut circles are all that's left of the bronze age population that burned the forest to graze sheep. The land eventually became so depleted that they moved on.
Here on my island, the original claimant Captain Vancover saw "green lawns" on the west side, areas where the tribes had cleared forest to grow camas. Settlers took that land for agriculture which persists to this day.
We've just scaled it up, razing whole rainforests to grow soy for animals.
It's part of why I have a beef with animal agriculture and stay vegan.
There's really no rhyme or reason for the places I've been other than luck that I've had the opportunities.
I didn't know that about Dartmoor. I always had the idea it was naturally that way. Really fascinating. I'm not used to landscapes which have had a long human influence.
The NASA scientists were an interesting bunch. There were two who were there the whole two weeks, then we had a couple of others for part of the time. All I'll say publicly is that there are no generalisations apart from that they were all very smart in at least one way. They were all really different. They ranged the full spectrum from people who were just fabulously easy to get along with to people who were completely self-absorbed.
I think that the ones I met, with one exception, would definitely have been entirely unprepared and unsuited for Mars. They were more the back room science types, firmly planted on the Earth.
I get that, I find it hard to comprehend sometimes. I also feel the same way about solutions sometimes, but then I remember that we've made positive changes too.
Melanie this is a well produced piece, that helps to put our sorry planet's history into clear perspective.
More intelligent than doom scrolling initiated moaning, and an arrow to thinking clearly about solutions. I believe that we, the writers have a duty to prompt such thinking, and I perceive a growing trend here. A trend that some of us are attempting to accelerate. Perhaps this will interest you....
Thank you, I'm glad you liked it. I'll check out the link. I'm also planning more articles featuring people who are making a difference. I'll check out the link too.
Yes, Please check the link, maybe submit an essay, maybe promo the concept....... I'd be happy to restack, those articles too. Some good folk out there, worth boosting...
When I read this I was reminded of the wonderful book by Jared Diamond titled "Guns, Germs and Steel". It was a wonderful and broad theory on the development of civilization. What was critical, why did it happen and where did it lead. I often return to the observation that amid perhaps 200,000 years of upright walking ape, we mostly splashed around in the mud until recently. I fear our rate of change nowadays finally exceeds the carrying capacity of the planet for a lot of critical parameters that keep life in balance. This article was great at describing a lot of the critical changes we discovered. We started slow and now we seem so far beyond a lot of capacity limits.
Fascinating post, Melanie! You've pulled together a lot of information here. Have you read "Guns, Germs, and Steel" by Jared Diamond? It's a fascinating look at human history. Even though I've read it twice the details keep fading from my memory, but he discusses much of what you mention here. I'm fascinated by your pointing out that agriculture arose almost simultaneously in so many separate areas.
Antarctica, now the Mars lab. I'm seeing a pattern here! Are you trying to qualify for the next moon landing? What a great post!
On Dartmoor this summer, I was surprised to learn that it used to be forest. Hut circles are all that's left of the bronze age population that burned the forest to graze sheep. The land eventually became so depleted that they moved on.
Here on my island, the original claimant Captain Vancover saw "green lawns" on the west side, areas where the tribes had cleared forest to grow camas. Settlers took that land for agriculture which persists to this day.
We've just scaled it up, razing whole rainforests to grow soy for animals.
It's part of why I have a beef with animal agriculture and stay vegan.
I'm really glad you liked it John.
There's really no rhyme or reason for the places I've been other than luck that I've had the opportunities.
I didn't know that about Dartmoor. I always had the idea it was naturally that way. Really fascinating. I'm not used to landscapes which have had a long human influence.
Excellent post, Melanie—lots of important and fascinating information!
Thanks Joan, I'm really glad you liked it.
Wonderful info. I want to know more about your “Mars mission”— or rather, the NASA scientists who you bunked with.
Thanks so much, I'm really glad you liked it.
The NASA scientists were an interesting bunch. There were two who were there the whole two weeks, then we had a couple of others for part of the time. All I'll say publicly is that there are no generalisations apart from that they were all very smart in at least one way. They were all really different. They ranged the full spectrum from people who were just fabulously easy to get along with to people who were completely self-absorbed.
Interesting. And did Antartica prepare them for Mars psychologically?
I think that the ones I met, with one exception, would definitely have been entirely unprepared and unsuited for Mars. They were more the back room science types, firmly planted on the Earth.
That’s an eye opening post Melanie. I always used to think that nature is so big and human actions are so small.
Well, humans are nature too, and parasitic at that.... But there is a better, non violent way....
I get that, I find it hard to comprehend sometimes. I also feel the same way about solutions sometimes, but then I remember that we've made positive changes too.
Melanie this is a well produced piece, that helps to put our sorry planet's history into clear perspective.
More intelligent than doom scrolling initiated moaning, and an arrow to thinking clearly about solutions. I believe that we, the writers have a duty to prompt such thinking, and I perceive a growing trend here. A trend that some of us are attempting to accelerate. Perhaps this will interest you....
https://suzannetaylor.substack.com/p/an-essay-contest-its-january-1-2050 Peace, Maurice
Thank you, I'm glad you liked it. I'll check out the link. I'm also planning more articles featuring people who are making a difference. I'll check out the link too.
Yes, Please check the link, maybe submit an essay, maybe promo the concept....... I'd be happy to restack, those articles too. Some good folk out there, worth boosting...
This is an excellent article. Thank you so much!
I'm really glad you liked it.
When I read this I was reminded of the wonderful book by Jared Diamond titled "Guns, Germs and Steel". It was a wonderful and broad theory on the development of civilization. What was critical, why did it happen and where did it lead. I often return to the observation that amid perhaps 200,000 years of upright walking ape, we mostly splashed around in the mud until recently. I fear our rate of change nowadays finally exceeds the carrying capacity of the planet for a lot of critical parameters that keep life in balance. This article was great at describing a lot of the critical changes we discovered. We started slow and now we seem so far beyond a lot of capacity limits.
I did enjoy that book. I do find it fascinating to think about those developments like cooking and agriculture and how they came about.
I get overwhelmed when I think about the many ways we've exceeded Earth's capacity though. I try to compartmentalise what I'm worrying about.
Fascinating post, Melanie! You've pulled together a lot of information here. Have you read "Guns, Germs, and Steel" by Jared Diamond? It's a fascinating look at human history. Even though I've read it twice the details keep fading from my memory, but he discusses much of what you mention here. I'm fascinated by your pointing out that agriculture arose almost simultaneously in so many separate areas.
Thank you for another wonderful issue!