Hello Bowo, Well you're correct about Orion Magazine's copyrights procedure, and I'd be happy to contact them and get permission 'after the fact' if you thought that would be good? I know some people at Orion, and I'm imagine that they'd view the posting on WiserEarth more as free advertising than infringement.
Your picking up on this is probably something that everyone in the WiserEarth community should be reminded of now and then, though !
Ciao,
jp

Hey, all:

Hey, Bowo and Ernest: Well, I guess I was complicit in an act of copyright infringement 5 weeks before Ernest's transgression regarding this same article. There is a wikipage with the same article and I was aware it was being established. I may have encouraged it, and had it not been done, I might have done it myself.

The article is very much in line with my own personal commitment to changing human perception. Humans long ago began distancing ourselves from the rest of the biota on the planet, probably beginning about the time nomadic existence gave way to agriculture. The trend has accelerated a vast amount, to the extent humans now view the relationship as one of "us against them". A sad but funny line from an old Disney movie is the "city-fied" woman who is trapped into going on a camping trip, has more than enough of it, and screams "Get me out of this stinkin' fresh air!"

Speaking of good articles, Lynn White wrote one of the best ever, and it addresses just this issue. "The Historic Roots of Our Ecologic Crisis" lays it out, including humans' guilt in the guise of religion putting humans on our own pedestal. "God" didn't make man in "God's" image, man made God in man's image. The Fundies--of all persuasions--have tried to attack White's thesis ever since, to no avail. By the way, White's paper is a Resource, to put it very lightly, in such an understated way I can hardly stand it.

Cullinan's article comes full circle, tying down any loose ends that may remain. The ancient untainted belief system of the African tribesmen is only part belief system, since it is also common sense ecology, ingrained in an admirable culture for 50,000 years. This is common sense sustainability made uncommon by neglect, brainwashing, and the rapacious, consumptive nature of so-called "civilization".

Of course, William O. Douglas's stand has been shot down, buried, suppressed, dismissed, put aside, harangued, hidden from view, etc., but it won't die because it shares the same ancient validity as the African tribemen's.

One of our tasks is to cultivate and bring back to vitality all such ideas and evidence. Much of it resides in dry biology and ecology texts and research, and in the hearts and minds of many, who are looked on with bemusement. One such is Aldo Leopold, whose book "Sand County Almanac" ranks with the absolute best in the field. If I could take the time to scan or type up this book, I would gladly violate copyright laws to spread the tremendous power and truth that Aldo provides.

Thanks for putting this article in a few more people's view, and if any grief comes from doing so, I'll stand with you. I do hope Orion doesn't mind. They may even be flattered, and if they wish to get their point across, get the word out, they could use all the help they can get.

David
Messages done with sustainable energy, with Wind and Sun!

Hey, all:

Hey, Bowo: Well, I am a little disappointed in Orion. I would think having things spread around has a benefit to their publication, since they do have more interesting useful well-written and thoughtful articles by other authors, that people will be glad to buy. For me, now this has the opposite effect. In any case, I have an electronic copy of Cullinan's article, and I will be more than happy to email it to anyone who asks. Breaking the rules? Yeah, another one of my all-time absolute biggest most massive favorites is "Civil Disobedience" by Henry David Thoreau, and I read it and live it.

I look at the "Wings..." page occasionally, and I think it is a fine idea. Being a bit of a revolutionary, I feel some ideas and writing are just too important to be held hostage to publishers' (and even authors') greed. I don't begrudge their making a living, but freedom of the press and freedom of speech are priceless, which gives them huge opportunities to benefit. Still, while priceless, there are interests who would put a price on those freedoms, and they do so all the time. They should keep that firmly in mind.

Speaking of priceless, yeah, Lynn White wrote a paper that is now available in many places on line. And Aldo Leopold's book was published in 1948, but is still in print in a couple of editions, and only costs maybe US$15.00, which is certainly a lot of money for many areas of the world, but a great bargain by most current USA standards. It is important to keep in mind the huge discrepancy in financial status globally (a third of the world's population lives on less than US$2.00 per day), so it should be understandable why books may not be high on people's list of things to buy.

Thanks for the update, Bowo, it just seems Orion's attitude is short-sighted and self-defeating. Oh, well.

David
Messages done with sustainable energy, with Wind and Sun!