The Barley Mow

"I once heard that humans seek out natural environments because nature is not in resistance to itself. Having finally accepted the truth that my father is gone, I am surrendering my resistance as well. ... When my father died in late 2010 of a sudden heart attack, my driving ambition for material wealth and social status fell in pieces around me. Security, I had irrevocably learned, was an illusion. While I packed away his tools for wood, leather or machine and their resulting products, one impulse filled me: If I can't take it with me, then I want to leave behind things I made, not bought. A giving instead of a getting."

The Third Industrial Revolution by J. Rifkin, The False Promise of Green Energy by A. P. Morriss, W. T. Bogart, R. E. Meiners and A. Dorchak., Elixir: A History of Water and Humankind by B. Fagan.

On October 31, 2011, major news outlets around the world proclaimed that the earth’s population had officially hit 7 billion. Since then, that number has been growing by three to four per second, with most projections suggesting that by 2050, more than 9 billion people will call this planet home. ... At a time of strain on our already damaged and depleted world, this expected increase will further compromise the supply of food, water and energy. Will we therefore begrudge the newcomers the opportunity of life? What can we learn from the dilemma we collectively face?

Three newly released books describe the challenges that lie ahead, each addressing relevant issues from a different perspective.

In the face of mass deforestation of the Amazon, recent findings indicate that we could learn from its earliest inhabitants who managed their farmland sustainably.