Nature, Change and the Human Endeavor: Seeking Answers

Author Richard Revel leads the way along a scenic path to a more personal awareness of our connection to this "wonderful world of ours." From the simplicity of a garden pond through a basic overview of intensive ecosystem management – with rest stops at a banquet and a carrot patch – the author encourages us to ask questions and seek answers wherever they may be found. While we do all we can to understand our planet and its nuances, the complexities of the natural and social sciences compel people to seek answers that cannot be found through reason alone. This unique point of view affects how we then consider nature and our relationship to it. As the author pointed out, "Reason is a wonderful slave but a poor master." This book attempts to bring together the natural and social sciences through a philosophical approach, summoning us to pursue in greater depth, the study of this planet and how we relate to it. Ultimately all resource management decisions and actions, Revel argues, are based on our values. Nature has a long history of successfully looking after itself – we must manage nature well or we lose.