An Invisible Chain of our Time

An Invisible Chain of our Time.

Iam Willgreen

A critical insight over the assumed changes that we have done and do, which have never had any logical basis.

Reasons to change the point of view about our way of life: health, food, time, relationships, work, home, as well as all are related.

What feels and thinks an environmentalist that is lacking within all of us.

Published by Iam Willgreen at Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2013 Iam Willgreen

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 9781301771356

Some pictures are under public domain or attributed. The own pictures are under license Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported. This book does not follows nor promote the copy-paste. The text is under license Safe Creative. The 82% of total incomes from the book, once paid all taxes, go to projects checked on little communities where environmental and social agreements changes can be fulfilled. The 15% goes to maintain the own general costs, and web. The book could have free access to a website, which will be improved along at least 3 years, but slowly.

Introduction. Open your ears, please (words from the author).

This book is headed to common people: to students who are making that they imagine as their own future; to industrialists who naively believe to be in the edge, the peak, or to be going on the way; teachers who have such wonderful things to tell their students; to simple farmers who do not know exactly what to do, whether to go ahead or go back, if leaving out all, perhaps go to the town; to those persons who come questioning what might make sense. I am sure people has the capacity to think, but the thinking and reflection are sleeping among a muddy mix of what is a supposed information. In this regard, that is the common sense, stop for a while and think about. This book is headed also to you, laboratory technician, researcher, written from a humble floor: to you, who goes for years thinking and assuming that everything is clear, you are walking by a clever trail, despite the outlook we already have seen. Said outright: you may think it awhile, before continue ahead. Thereby this book is not headed neither to politicians nor bankers: make money do not needs think the right things, only complicate and make it necessary. Somehow, I would like achieve you to understand that there are two fields that need a thorough review from below, not from above: the economy and the technology. That review will begin in the hands of people who glimpse despite the noise that goes against that idea. If is well done, including some issues as are the role of both sexes and the behavior, it will affect positively the other fields.

Could be we healthiest, quieter, happiest and less stressed spending a few minutes to think? Perhaps since one time in your life you have sold your thought in return of something called well being, which now is disappearing slowly; a bad business! Could you recover this? Maybe, if you make this little effort.

Since the first time that one voice showed up disagreeing with the use of chemical compounds, with possible and later demonstrated effects over the health of so many beings -the voice of Rachel Carson (Silent spring, 1963)-, doubts and disagreements not only have increased, instead have been extended and have been known in very different fields. Still some fields are barely mentioned, like it would not exist: the slow, large, deep, or the complex and hidden cycle of seas, this huge drive chain. Despite this, a simple and understandable relationship between issues from different fields and its natural connections, has been pointed vaguely, but never has been clearly recognized, no one attempt has been performed sufficiently for it, it is very costly. Some names, as has been the brightly name of Monsanto, could seem to be the only central point by to the we could be worried, but that is history: nowadays things are more complex yet. Honesty is a free choice, and allows us to tell to others, what is blatantly true and real. See the world with only this threat over the food is too simple, so everybody forebodes it in private.

Anyway, the true is a commercial product. My fourth engaged work as environmentalist was the investigation of a company, which was suspicious to not accomplish various environmental and safety rules, and the customer was a strong environmental association. Two people worked on it. Who does not meet the rules finally ends confidently relaxed, and this allows to knowing him fine and deepening into their performance. The contract tied me to secrecy, and I understood the aftermath of give away the results of the report. Three weeks after sign the initial contract, the task was finished, and I was sure about weight and evidence of proofs, and the clear forethought from the firm: the breach was known since the first time internally. The shocking surprise for me was to be silent witness of the client response: until now, I never heard anything about this matter, and I saw grow up and strengthen itself the association, living comfortably a few executives, claiming to a green world. This gave me a clear and simple: never leave in the hands of others nor decisions or knowledge involving risks to life: money is too strong and may be camouflage, so do yourself responsible.

Try to connect some modern things as chemicals, with changes in our nature, the up and down of diseases, scientific papers, and target objects as organs, functions or ecosystems, is a strong work (I would say a monstrous job), not impossible, but needed from workgroups strongly committed. That could be the aim of some book, hopefully, and whatever the case it never could be achieved easily. That book does not pretends it, because attain establish those relationships that could exist (maybe that we can say actually exist) it requires besides a big effort, research, and time for it, as well a difficult thing to find: an honest attitude, in front of the possibilities there are arising to make a living without make face to music, all those questions that keep buried unexplained.

I only try to make a sketch and connect things like the vegetal surface on the Earth, its simplification and modification, the build of new anthropogenic systems, the overall effect of all this over our lives, the zigzagging course of many diseases, the lifestyle, the rate and sort of consumption, and especially the notion and subtle degree of ignorance with what we enjoy this, could not have brought us other outcome than a long list of doubts and reviews, some of them being collected on the book. We do not need to talk so much about ecosystems and wildlife; we need talk a lot about us, the evils in the story.

Could be possible another title?

This book could have been titled Citizen 0, another way to say what I think: now we do not own our lives, mainly because the exchange accepted: enjoy life in return of be able to think but do not decide nothing. That is why we are a 0. I written this book with one aim, as is made when the village is joined to talk about the last storm, the loss of cows and the poor harvest (only a bit more seriously): what is happening? Everybody crosses his ideas, and each one heats the common heart. Everything comes to light. In the same way, I hope at the end you can know how much may do yourself, despite not everybody believe it. You could lead your life with criteria and personal decisions, without need of free advices from the best advertisers. I do not go talk about publicity, exactly: I go talk about the huge amount of words that do not seem to be advertising, but really are, and already are present in all fields of the life. I hope you notice it is a radical approach as attitude, but not a radical approach about religion, culture, race and other issues. I never got inside me this pose.

As I am an environmentalist, my eyes need to see things that could be applied to everybody everywhere, or almost: partial laws are not laws. If this is not so, we could suspect something could be wrong. Could we be better by agreeing with Nature? I think so well, I guess it would be our best partner, but we never have agreed nothing with Nature as at the present is clear. Perhaps you already are grinning with these words. Other name for an agreement could be "common sense". Do you rely in common sense?

I hope you listen the sound of words and facts, really just from heart. I learnt that everybody can add a bit of common sense, and surely you have a lot of it, but hidden under a large number of beliefs that you acquired sometime and somewhere: a lot of beautiful beliefs are available flying in the air waiting to be chosen. Once we start to thinking, and we go discovering those bricks that we do not need in any way in our life -and there are a lot of that-, life is not completely easy, but a little easier. Please, do not put your criteria in strange hands. I thank you for your patience reading and after think... a bit: do not mind if you are religious, scientist, performer, or student.

Thank you.

A foreword: what is here, how was written this book.

As is essential, a report must be conducted following a fully structured script, but this is not another report more. Some time ago, when I was writing the first lines, I tried organize the book, reflecting the teaching and training that I received, neatly, like everybody needs and likes, this kind of order that make us feel very good. But it was not possible, why? I noticed a strange feeling of disconformity, a shake inside, and my own voice saying: too perfect, too neat, too logic, too... marketable, and I know perfectly that is not what I am feeling! Stop and think: you are already aware of all those things that are waiting to be connected by a sort of strings, and light up the whole ensemble! I am also aware that is a hard task, it cannot be coped alone, but yes put a face. And I said: "it is true, sorry, let's go write as really I am thinking, what I am suspecting!"

And this was the result: sincerely, I cannot lay out the thoughts in other way, exposing lacks and muddy matters in the story. Thereby, you will see the chapters and sections go as passengers in a train, in a trip that I called invisible chain as many things we live with are part of an invisible chain but as we can see currently a real chain. Thus, order stays for my own work, where I need it for working with caution.

The purpose for this book is connect, within a humble conditions and the means that I have, various fields of interest and concern, collecting events and facts, and touching it with two hands (I would like you to remember this issues one year later after let it sleep): a scientific hand, because nothing can be accepted unless it is demonstrated; and a common sense hand, which recover the sense of things there where ability of some folks has hidden. And with both hands try find when are connected and when not. Yet more, to make noticeable that we could finish accepting every stupidity that is created or said, and lead us to behave anything as addicts without control.

You will find that each chapter is warmer than the previous one, and sometimes the words are strange and hard; I think you will see throughout all of them the string that connects what I wrote.

Chapters

Imagine that those who you must persuade do not need money, no religion, no wage: they only need space and be able to eat someone or something, are not humans and only know react to natural laws: they cannot be purchased. You depend from altogether them, and all together. You should be "very cogent"; they will not understand anything other than natural laws. Hence, the chapter one "The Baseline from scratch" collects the operating bases of living beings and natural systems which form, and belong all of them, and a few points that permit understand how is coordinated our life with its environ. They all together are the partners we have to persuade. There is a lot written in black over white, and a lot is being rewriting continuously; but focusing on some issues from a distant point of view, looking for the whole forest, it allows settle pillars and references that due their weight, define and draw clearly how runs the life. Is it unnecessary? I do not think so, I am tired to hear stupid ideas, like this one of have converted one-third of the Earth in a surface of dead ground, and more by seeing it.

Once we have touched this basis with the hands dirty, then will appear all those enormous things with we are enjoyed in the Earth (with a sting of a bug, I am sorry): all the wildlife. Over all this, like an arrogant king, one day appeared the mankind as such -the older bones have 200,000 years but we could have presented here 1,000,000 years ago-, and started to change some things. From there, this is the moment for see what we have done. The chapter two "The color of our human world" points to the ensemble of processes, phenomena and resources that have been of human interest, in front of those others that being part of the system were forgotten, pushed aside or undervalued. Our attention has been focused in only some issues by some motif, and others are been scorned despite it contradicts the definition of a system, which is formed by all the pieces, relations and processes that belong to the defined system. To note this deviation may light up and make touchable the purpose of the book and questions posed. It is remarkable for me the idea that launched one day a biologist: "who exerts pressure, the crowd or the dominnt minority? The ants are neither intelligent nor disorganized".

After doing all this transformations that we call always proudly development, we build for us an image of the world, our actions, and our footprints, neither always reasonable nor logical. The chapter three "Trying connecting the strings" is a proposal of relationship between the bases, all changes performed and factors which press over us, and our present and future lifestyle and purposes that at least we assume have in our modern societies. From this relationships should appear questions and conclusions, understandable for anyone, especially all those issues that are squeaking shockingly. Certainly, I am not neither a magician nor a genius, simply are squeaking in my ears the words of so many people responsible, who see from the distance the same stupid situation. And there are a lot of people responsible.

The chapter four "I am a little puzzled by all this" is a personal confession about the feeling that one environmentalist scientist may have keeping the feet on floor, knowing only a few about facts but rejecting to die saying yes to so many contradictions, nonsenses, hand games and beautiful words. All said of course with politeness and sense of humor (is that I wish), this wonderful pill that our body provides us. Are collected a list of possible amends and corrections: of actions, self-criticism, approach of technologies, and a criticism of the same scientific notion, questions that could not continue being indefinitely forgotten, at least consciously. I guess that a biologist, an agronomist, a physician or engineer could have a feeling akin. At the end, some stories and links that I think can offer something positive to all this.

The reader would ask how I am letting aside the great amount of references that habitually go with this sort of texts and are needed: well, I thought keep the obvious ones -I should include as necessary at least 1,300-, but could be it understandable and useful for a shepherd, just when what must be valid for a microbiologist who traces the genetic map finally must be also valid for him? Perhaps have we assumed some kind of difference between them? It is not necessary anyone can understand it?

I do not agree that thinking way. Because all this, I will mark some references that there are aside in the web. One day I was on the countryside talking with a herder, and after almost two hours listening to him, I learnt how much can understand a man who never gone to the school, and reason out when he is not polluted with TV and press (he has not the time to waste on this). The tricks are not valid with these people, and that is good. Many decades ago that which was a sort of Kabbalah knowledge, today is nothing absolutely, everybody understands that the Earth is round. And the herders, they understand immediately every true explanation about nature, if it is simple and direct. No more references here, that is for projects or papers.

Some explanations are attached to graphics or pictures, including links to websites (always safe), to the extent that allow to visualize things or phenomenon that are invisible, are so distant, or we cannot see directly, despite being part of our lives all of them.

The Baseline from scratch.

We already have knowledge about our relationships between beings, those big and those small; we are not utterly ignorant. We are not paying attention to this, because almost two-third of us have moved to live within cement beehives, and at least one generation has not smelled a blade of wildlife. How will understand we that we depend from Nature as other beings if yet we do not know how it smells?

If a bird is quacking, it only crosses our mind that the bird will attack us. And the free fields seem to us to be as gardens forsaken. We are misguided, clueless and brainless.

The further away we are, the less we know.

The less we know, the more we need believe.

The more we believe, the less we need to know.

The less we want know, more we belong to other.

The more we belong to others, less we do in the life.

1. The basis for almost everything: the soils.

A meeting point, the soils.

Likely we could say that the most important of ever elements that belong the Earth system is the water, but the soil is the most important for us, is the place where the water can run. The soils hold the processes which allow us feeding and living, and depend on them if not two, one of the vital needs that we have: eat. Here meet all the important phenomena, which altogether allow and provoke the life. That probably which seems you do not have sense (then you belong to 50% of population who thinks so), do not serves to nothing than produce food, seems to do not need care, is being in fact the base for all the life and resources we enjoy, except the seas. As the two-thirds of population only live surrounded of sidewalks, roads, and parks for leisure, all these dwellers of towns consider this goods as natural, and so they only ask to have parks. Thus, the state and importance of soils is an invisible issue.

(The expected evolution of surfaces uses and state in the coming decades)

The soils have been continuously degraded, unconsciously, in a steady rhythm for centuries, what is today unacceptable, not only as theory but as a fact. Just in a few years it will be reached the point of inflection in the extension of surfaces in the Earth that could be exploited by the first time: along the wealthy extensions of Amazonia, Indonesia, Borneo, and Africa, has been developed a massive transformation of pristine and primitive forests into crops and pastures for livestock (not really for saving nobody from hunger), while the total surface of degraded and abandoned lands has had a continued increase. By so, it continues being profitable the first action (the logging) in front of the second action (the restoration) for the loggers and industrialized farmers.

Let me point out a first key point; this profit will not be for you, the rest of humans. The maximum edge, the pinnacle, the peak in numbers will be roughly the 2040: on this date some trends will reverse the