Develop Devolve Sustainable Development

Develop.

Devolve.

Devolution.

Development.

devolve - de=down, volvere=to roll, to pass to another, 

develop - de’=apart, voloper=to wrap, to make fuller, bigger, better, etc., to come into being or activity,

Land is in a state of high evolution. The topsoil is in itself like our skin. It is a living thing that serves a vital function. It teams with interrelating organisms that provide a fertile base from which other living organisms can grow or gather their food. Wetlands filter surface water so it can find its way back into the water systems to support life. Forests and prairies provide vital ecosystems that support more interrelating life. And yet, we say that land such as this is “sitting around doing nothing”. We say we need to develop it even though the land has reached the highest possible state of development. To develop land is to devolve it. To bury the land under homes, shopping malls, business districts is considered by our society to be useful. Now the land is making someone money. It is actually ruined. Even turning a prairie into a producing farm field is also a form of devolution. Ironically, farm land is considered worthy of development. It isn’t making enough money. It’s only feeding people.

As long as the development perspective is kept, we can be assured that our choices of what can be done with our land-base can certainly evolve to a much higher state.

Sustainable Development

There is no such thing. Sustainable development is a term used to market a way of thought. The way of thought which says that someone can continue to profit from the land at the expense of the land and the whole earth, forever.

Land cannot continually be strip mined and clear cut. Homes cannot continually be built. The economy cannot continue to grow. Land is finite. The environment is finite. The world is finite. To think that we can continue to take without putting back and to think that this situation will go on forever, is ludicrous.

We are full of human hubris. We are not special. We are an integral part of what is, no more or less than the tiniest life form. We don’t like to think this because if it is true, we would then have to be accountable for our actions.