We shall never understand the natural environment until we see it as a living organism. Land can be healthy or sick, fertile or barren, rich or poor, lovingly nurtured or bled white. Our present attitudes and laws governing the ownership and use of land represent an abuse of the concept of private property.... Today you can murder land for private profit. You can leave the corpse for all to see and nobody calls the cops.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the necessity of viewing the environment as a living entity to comprehend its health and sustainability.
Paul Brooks advocates for a fundamental shift in our perception of the natural environment. He argues that land should not be merely seen as a commodity for private profit, but rather as a vital and living organism that can be nurtured or harmed. Our current legal frameworks and societal attitudes towards land ownership allow for its exploitation without accountability, equating such actions to a form of environmental murder. By recognizing the interconnectedness of ecosystems, we can foster a more responsible approach to land use and environmental stewardship.
In practice
In a speech on environmental conservation.
Peering down into the water where the morning sun fashioned wheels of light, coronets fanwise in which lay trapped each twig, each grain of sediment, long flakes and blades of light in the dusty water sliding away like optic strobes where motes sifted and spun.
Jordan has a strange, haunting beauty and a sense of timelessness. Dotted with the ruins of empires once great, it is the last resort of yesterday in the world of tomorrow. I love every inch of it.
Active conservation [of gorillas] involves simply going out into the forest, on foot, day after day after day, attempting to capture poachers, killing-regretfully-poacher dogs, which spread rabies within the park, and cutting down traps.
I have made my home among the mountain gorillas.
Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.
All the world was before me and every day was a holiday, so it did not seem important to which one of the world's wildernesses I first should wander.
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