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A short review of NATURE'S OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS for Martyn Goss and Devon Churches Green Action at Glenn House, Exeter
3 December, 2005 Most books about the environment and human beings are depressing. They tell us repeatedly what we're doing wrong, how much damage has been done, the level of pollution or how many of this or that are left, what will happen if and when. . Rarely do you come across something positive, hopeful or practical in an everyday sense. It's even rarer to find workable solutions. Then I attended the Schumacher Lectures in Bristol and because it sounded good, bought a book titled Nature's Operating Instructions, and discovered that it's an anthology of pieces written by various individuals acknowledged as experts in their particular field-----how to clean up oil spills, cleanse polluted water, restore grasslands, respond to the GMO issue, how to fix this and that---and couldn't put it down. The writing is wonderful-clear, specific, eye-opening, illuminating, and mainly realistically useful. I have never come across such an encouraging and positive collection of 'instructions' for how to repair the damage we have done to the earth, and in consequence, to ourselves. If there is one volume I would offer society about how to get it right, it would be this. Everyone would have to take it on board; from college students, up through all levels of officialdom, right to the very top. The one serious omission is a response to the debate on the efficacy of nuclear power as a viable energy source. But all in all, the title categorically states whose ballpark we're playing in. Nature has evolved the best methods for interacting and co-existing, and it's nature's instructions we need to follow if we want to carry on. If you are interested in answers and solutions, don't pass up this opportunity to become the brightest kid on the block. By learning what's possible, you can become part of the cure. Nature's
Operating Instructions (The True Biotechnologies) was published in
2003 by SIERRA CLUB BOOKS in California. ISBN: 1-57805-099-5. It's
available from the GreenSpirit
Books and Schumacher Book Service in Wiltshire. (They provide
a quick, efficient service. The cost is £10 plus £2 packaging
and shipping.)
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