Where are we?

　

I have started to read a book for science class because I finished the book, You are Here. I liked that book very much, but now I have started to read another book on the care of the Earth and Ecology. This book seems to be mainly about Ecology. The book is called For the Beauty of the Earth. It is by Steven Bouma-Prediger, and he is writing from a Christian perspective. This blog is about the first chapter.
　

Ch. 1: Where are We?

An ecological perception of place

　

Prediger starts off this chapter with having us imagine what we remember most from our childhood, about nature. I, of course, would not say that I OUT of childhood yet, but it did get me thinking about where I am now. In this chapter, the author wants to point out several points.
That everything is connected
That we can learn from our planet
That we NEED to learn about our planetLet us begin with the first point. Everything is connected. He supports this statement by listing three places that he knows, and has come to love. He states the forms of wildlife in those places, and how they all depend on each other.
For example, leaf-cutter ants and fungi depend on each other. These ants are gardeners. They basically grow fungi in their nests.
The fungi is their only food, and the ants are the only known cultivators of fungi. So these two species are interdependent on each other.
I think I agree with this first point. After all, are not all the states in the USA all interdependent, and all are looking to each other for the food and services that they provide.
The second point is that we can learn from our planet. Prediger supports this point by using those three places to show us what he learned from them. For instance, in the rain forest, you can find tarantulas. These animals are not easily angered and are really not as dangerous as most people think them to be. That is something we can learn from the rain forest. I think that that is a correct assumption. Scientists often use the work of animals or their skeletons to learn how to make something. The airplane is only one example.
The third point that this author wants us to realize is that we need to learn from the environment, or we will not survive. You adapt or you die. And that is what many animals do, adapt. The author says that we need to learn from our mistakes about the world, learn how to use its resources properly, and how to care for it. He says that if we learn about the world, we will begin to see all the good things about it, and we will begin to care for those things. If we care about the polar bears, then we will turn off our lights when we leave the house, we will use a washing line as much as we can instead of a dryer so that energy will not be wasted instead of being used for something that would benefit the environment, and if we care about plants, butterflies, and panda bears, we will recycle our paper so that it is not wasted.
I really liked the 1^st chapter and I am excited about reading the next one.

　

End of Note