The Turning Point

                                              The Turning Point

                                               (Fritjof Capra)

p.238

As Henderson writes,”They tell us about the sparkling dishes and clothes, but forget to mention the loss of those sparkling rivers and lakes.”

Private profits are being made increasingly at public costs in the deterioration of the environment and the genral quality of life.

P.239

American system of agriculture exerts its inflationary impact on the economy at many levels.Production is achieved with the help of energy intensive machines and by means of heavy doses of oil-based pesticides and fertilizers.these methods not only destroy theorganic balance in th soil and produce poisonous chemical substance in our food but are also yielding ever diminishing returns.

The same is true of animal farming. Most of the grain is eaten by the livestock and then they are eaten by men which lead to obesity and sicknesses.

246

Attitude to work

High status is granted to all administrative work connected with high technology , however dull it may be….the hierarchy of work is exactly opposite in spiritual traditions. There high-entropy work is highly valued and plays a significant role in the daily ritual spiritual practice…Doing work that has to be done over and over again  helps us to recognize the natural cycles of growth and decay , of birth and death , and thus become aware of the dynamic order of the universe. Ordinary work , as the root meaning of the term indicates , is work that is in harmony with the order of the universe. Such ecological awareness is lost in our culture. What we need therefore is to revise the concept and practice of work in such a way that it becomes meaningful and fulfilling for the individual worker.. and part of the harmonious order of the ecosystem.

The new model is likely to involve a systems approach  that will integrate biology, psychology etc..into a broad ecological framework.

The Dark Side of Growth

p.270

A fertile soil is a living soil containing billions of living organisms in every cubic centimeter. Carbon and nitrogen are two basic chemical elements that go through these ecological cycles. Solar energy is the natural fuel that drives the soil cycles…

Bacteria carry out various chemical transformations, such as the process of nitrogen fixation which makes nutrients accessible to plants ; deep rooted- weeds bring trace minerals  to the soil surface where crops can make use of them; earthworms break up the soil and loosen  its texture; and all these activities are interdependent  and combine harmoniously  to provide the nourishment that sustains all lif eon earth.

271

The age old practice of ecological farming changed drastically about three decades ago  when farmers switched from organic to synthetic products which opened up vast markets for the oil companies.

The new era of chemical farming was hailed as the Green Revolution. Soon the dark side of the new technology became apparent. The Green Revolution  has helped neither the farmers nor the land nor the starving millions. The only ones to gain from it were the petrochemical corporations.

Encouraged the practice of planting large fields with a single highly profitable crop.

The results of this single crop-monocultures were great losses of genetic variety in thefields. Monocultures also affected the health of the people who were no longer able to obtain a balanced diet from locally grown foods…

p.274

The massive uses of chemical fertilizers  has seriously affected the natural process of nitrogen fixation by damaging soil bacteria involved in the process.

275

This ecological imbalance caused by monocropping and by excessive use of chemical fertilizers results in enormous increases in pests and cop diseases

276

Disastrous consequences of the Green Revolution—great quantities of toxic chemicals seeping through the soil contaminating the water table and showing up in food.

One of the principal justifications of Green Revolution –feeding the world’s hungry…

The problem of world hunger is not at all a technical problem; it is social and political.

p.278

World hunger can be overcome  only by transforming social relations..the primary problem is not the redistribution of food but the redistribution of control over agricultural resources.