The Big Earth Book

The Big Earth Book - James Bruges. 2008 edition. Some extracts of this amazing book :

«  Many people around the world know trees by their medicinal properties, and the idea that anyone should pay a fee for using them is inconceivable. Throughout history it has been accepted that anyone can freely use the properties of nature - until 20 years ago » 

Perth, Western Australia - aug. 2016

«  Three thousand species of fruit have been found in rain forests of which only 200 are now used in the western world. A quarter of western pharmaceuticals are derived from rainforest ingredients, including 70% of plants that are active agains cancer cells. These figures come from analyzing only a tiny fraction of what exists. Scientists and individuals can easily understand that the amazon and other rain forests are the richest and most essential of all ecological systems on earth. Tragically, this understanding is not translated into effective action. Humanity has no collective intelligence. » 

« If bees disappeared from the earth, man would have only four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man. » (Albert Einstein)

Chastfield, Mt Barker, WA - aug, 2016

« Let’s start with the big picture. Approximately 3’500 million years ago single cell organisms started the earth’s transformation. Animals appeared about 540 million years ago followed by our common ancestor, Lucy, just three million years ago. Humans are now interfering with the natural balance, realising things the microbes fixed, creating chemicals and plants alien to the processes of evolution. The earth may now be running backwards into primeval chaos. » 

« The ability to handle information, rather than to develop knowledge or wisdom, is typical of modern life : today’s fad gives way to tomorrow’s, we must be continually open to new scenarios, we can reinvent ourselves through drugs and plastic surgery, life and work are games to be played. »

« If there were creatures whose cognitive equipment had evolved beyond ours, they might be amused at the way we describe concepts that are mysterious to us but clear and obvious to them. But they might also be alarmed that our technology allows us to play with things that have an interconnectedness that cannot fully understand. They might be watching us wandering towards the precipice and they might just be shouting : STOP!  »