what a surprise! the British can name only 24%.

[donsu]

http://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/journals/esthag-w/2008/jan/policy/cc_ecoknowledge.html

New research shows that Indonesians can identify 71% of local plants when asked, while the British can name only 24%.

(the British are known for gardening expertize is why this surprises me)


the reason for this thread:

Natural resources knowledge shrinks as economies grow


Most people realize that as a society becomes more industrialized, individual knowledge about the natural world diminishes. New research published in ES&T (DOI: 10.1021/es070837v) analyzes interviews done with various age groups living in Indonesia, India, and the U.K. to find out how much ecological knowledge is lost, when it is lost, and how that loss affects society's ability to manage natural resources as industrialization occurs. The findings indicate that future efforts to conserve biodiversity on a global scale are at great risk.

-snip-

The loss of knowledge of the local ecosystem—of how to grow food, use the local soil, and build shelters—will catch up with us in the near future, Orr explains. "We are at the end of an era of cheap fossil fuel use, and our reliance on importing food, medicine, and products from a long distance" will soon be impractical. Stephen Trombulak, professor of biology and environmental studies at Middlebury College agrees with Orr. He commented that the ES&T study "involved both a robust experimental design and a large sample size, which make the conclusions they draw compelling."
-snip-
--------------------------------


local food

knowledge could save you life

[Zynx]

1. I have to admit I would be terrible on this point.

I know more about industry than I do about plant life. I know a huge number of animals, but not plants.

[donsu]

2. I'm sure there are books on you local plant food sources

knowledge can save your life

we are going into the future blind - the more survival tactics we know the better to survive.

[piedmont]

3. Were they comparing rural people in England with rural people in Indonesia...

or city-folks with city-dwellers? That would be the only way such a poll would make sense. If they compared city-folks in England with rural people in Indonesia, then of course there would be a difference. Many city people in developing countries have never even visited forests and natural areas that lie just 20 miles away-- they can't afford to stop working and make the trip.

[FormerDittoHead]

6. There's a LOT with this study that doesn't make sense...

The entire approach and conclusion of this article and study are simply illogical.

The environment, raw, raw. We should protect it, MORE of it, OK. But, are the people living in North Jersey REALLY going to have to forage for their food??? AT BEST, wouldn't we... Simply *BUY* SEEDS??

>Most people realize that as a society becomes more industrialized, individual knowledge about the natural world diminishes.

As in, when man invented the wheel and fire, or when Pentium chips took over the market from 486? And the conclusion of that logic, do we want to stop foreign investors building an automobile plant in Alabama just so that the people in Alabama can regain their appreciation of the differences between the northern spider lily, Choctaw spider lily, and the Cahaba lily?

(to the OP) COULD IT BE that people living in more industrialize counties have.. BETTER THINGS TO DO WITH THEIR TIME LEARNING AND REMEMBERING THINGS? Could it be that there are actually SOME people living in those industrialized countries, called EXPERTS, who actually know virtually everything there is to know about plants and are willing to SHARE that knowledge should the NEED arise? One of the benefits of an industrialized society - people can specialize...

>Rather than performing a long-term generational study, the scientists used a "snapshot" approach that looked at three different generations in each country.

Which has so many logical holes in it I simply don't have the time to list them, but piedmont cited a good one.

>The pattern of acquisition was clear: in industrialized regions, young people knew less than older folks.

Wow. Blow my fucking mind.

Do these guys get PAID to do this?

[donsu]

7. you seemed to have missed the point of the study

climate change is happening faster and faster and it makes Sense to know you local food sources.

seeds yes. but seeds need planted and nurtured to full growth to produce food. that takes many months. and if that crop is lost, it will take another year to produce another one. meanwhile you are hungry for lunch.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

4. I've got a green thumb.

Shrubus Idioticus

[donsu]

5. shrubus Idioticus should only be used in the mulch pile

for future fertilizer