Conservation and Local Economy
Berry gives 7 limits or rules that define our relation to the land. And then recounts how badly we are in violation of them. He paints a pretty bleak picture. But, he says we need to be hopeful and there is cause for hope.
In spite of our treatment of the land over the last 100+ years it is still abundant and beautiful. We have a desire to be healthy. And, despite much evidence to the contrary, we can think, if we will.
He lays out some ideas of how to turn the process around. We need to change our metrics. “The GNP and the corporate bottom line are utterly meaningless as measure of the prosperity or health of the country.” “We need to learn to grow like a tree, not like a fire.” We have to give up the idea that technology can solve any problem.
This leads to the idea of a community and its health.