Ariadne Systems

What is an ecologically harmonious lifestyle anyway? What does it mean to live in harmony with nature? It basically just means that we are increasing the health and vitality of the living world around us as we pursue our own ends. This was the normal condition of all living things before the advent of modern technology. There was no waste, because there was nothing that didn't return naturally to the environment. A stone ax, left on the ground, is just a stick and a stone.

When we started to make artifacts that could not be returned to the environment, that are not what we call biodegradable, that was the beginning of the problem. The other aspect was the sudden and enormous growth of the human population and our livestock and crops. Today we outweigh all other land animals together by more than ten to one.

So there are a lot of us and we create a lot of trash and destroy a lot of living things. However, almost all of this wasteful and destructive activity is actually orthogonal to the things we're trying to accomplish. It's an accidental side effect, and we can accomplish our goals without waste and destruction, and it should be easier and more fun too!

An ecologically harmonious lifestyle is economically cheaper, both for the household (in reduced expenses) and the surrounding economy (via reduced degradation of ecosystem services.) It is the foundation of prosperity, and it can be a source of profit as well. Along with advances in technology, this should result in massive reduction of work required to maintain a given quality of life and the option to retire after working only a few years.

Bucky Fuller calculated that we would have this level of technology by sometime in the 1970's. We did (e.g. transistor, atomic power), but we have yet to engage our technology coherently to make it happen.

...TODO:

Hominids

We don't yet know for sure if the hominid is a successful organism. The dinosaurs lasted what three hundred million years?

Agriculture

That village in Madagascar crater.

We also don't know if farming villages are a good idea. They can last for thousands of years, but can they last for millions?

Ecology is a Science

Ecology is a science and it's applications are technology.

We only have one system to study (and we are destroying it!)

Homeostasis and endurance as goals?

How do we make "permanent culture"?

Gaia (if she exists) is mortal.

Ecology is an Experience

Nature spirits.

Health, what is it? How do we achieve it?

Our health is not distinct from the health of the living beings and ecosystems around us.