Ecological Literacy - Agri-culture: Reconnecting People, Land and Nature - page 151

This is perceived as an order that brings freedom from the constraints of
history, and the promise of liberty. But simplified rules and technologies
can never create properly functioning communities. There will always be
something missing. Sadly, during the 20th century, we pushed nature and
our communities far from equilibrium. Now we need to discover new
equilibria by reshaping the world. Barry Lopez says, 'To keep landscape intact
and the memory of them, our history in them alive, seems as imperative a task in modern
times as finding the extent to which individual expression can be accommodated.' 5
The fundamental contradiction of modernity centres on standardiz-
ation, which goes against the idea of self-made, or autopoie - tic , systems. For
Maturana and Varela, cognition involves perception, emotion and action.
We can shape, do and think differently. But modern life has witnessed
those with an intimate knowledge of land and landscape being disen-
franchised. It has removed their linkages, their structural coupling, their
meaning. A world faced by fundamental ecological challenges must
therefore be reshaped by collective cognitive action.
A persistent problem is that the dualistic modes of thought go very
deep. 6 We have learned them well, and find it difficult to shake them off.
Technological determinism is a dominant feature of modernist thought
and action, and science and technology are understood as having control
over nature, with the solutions to nature's problems lying in cleverer and
more sophisticated technologies. At the other end of the spectrum are
those who suggest that nature itself is no more than a social construction,
with no ecological absolutes or opportunities for technologies to provide
any value. In truth, the answer lies somewhere in the middle. We are not
separated from nature; we are a fundamental part of a larger whole, and
we do have some technological fixes. But we still need clear thinking and
theories in order to ensure that we do not imply that by simply joining
hands with nature, all will be well.
Nonetheless, from regular use comes accumulated knowledge, and with
the knowledge comes understanding and value for local resources. Since
these are shaped by the specificities of climate, soil, biodiversity and social
circumstances, they differ from place to place. This inherent, ingrained
diversity is what we value. It is what gives a place its character and its unique-
ness. If we are to protect it, then we have to find new ways of understanding
and of creating the collective will to act differently. Niels Röling uses the
terms 'beta and gamma science' to describe the need for new forms of
interactive design and management in order to help us move away from
ecological catastrophe. These terms go beyond alpha science, which tends
to be single disciplinary. Röling coins the phrase 'global garden' to reflect
the 'conviction that the Earth must be looked upon as a garden tended by human collective
action. . . no ecosystem, be it wetland, forest, mountain range, or watershed will continue