"Human ingenuity and backbreaking work initiated a booming economy. But the human economy could not endure because it had been created with too little regard for the ecological context within which it was embedded."

"For centuries, the indigenous people inhabiting the land had understood the importance of buffalo grass to the prairie ecosystem. They understood the interdependency of all things. "

"A compelling 1871 photograph shows a relaxed Powell talking comfortably with Tau-gu, chief of the Paiute Nation in the Grand Canyon. Based on wisdom gained through generations of intimate knowledge of the land, the Utes, Paiutes, and other indigenous groups had learned to live in dynamic interdependence with the land."

"Because Menominee timber harvesting is done carefully and sustainably, the forest is even more vibrant and diverse today than when they started, with over thirty tree species, 58,000 individual trees, and a host of other plants, insects, birds, and mammals supported by these trees.18 In satellite images, the lush green “postage stamp” of the Menominee Forest stands out because it is surrounded by the sandy remains of clear-cutting."

To read more about the Menominee and their forest, click the following link:

"Today, we still fail to understand the interdependence of human and natural systems. On an even grander scale than the Dust Bowl, human activity is outstripping the capacity of the nonhuman creation to absorb the wastes from our energy-hungry economy."

"[Curitiba] was eventually transformed to balance the built environment with the natural environment. Within the city, there are over fifty square meters of green space per person, as opposed to two square meters per person in cities such as Buenos Aires."