Color The Green Movement Blue

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Color the Green Movement Blue

iUniverse, Inc.

Chapter One

There are 19 major religions of the world, this I've been told by those who devote their lives to the study of such things. They also say that these major religions are subdivided into a total of 270 large religious groups, as well as smaller ones, and that nearly 86 percent of the world's population self-identifies as adherents of a particular religion. Whether these statistics are true I leave for demographers to debate, my point is that reasonable people agree that a large population of the world is religious and believes in a higher order.

I realize that discussions of God and politics have provoked even the mildest temperaments to raise clenched fist, so to avoid a stir over a book that liberally references God (Mother Nature), I'll list a few disclaimers.

I want to assure the reader that it is not my purpose to promote religion or to suggest they frequent their local pew or to reach deep into their pocket to find redemption. I will make no attempts at proselytizing.

I use the word "God" to symbolize the higher order that is evident in the universe. Others may assign such terms as "Mother Nature," "law of nature," "evolution," "intelligentdesign," or some other sober description. The faithful may use "Allah," "Yahweh," "Ishvara," "Tao," "Svarog," "Bog-Otetz," and "Jehovah," "Adibuddha," "Creator," or even primordial consciousness. You will find that I use both "God" and "Mother Nature" interchangeably because they are universally recognized and, from my vantage, are one and the same.

Now that I have provided a little background and have divulged the details usually consigned to fine print, I'll begin the task of justifying my claims for the existence of a higher order, which is a fundamental component of blue-collar conservation.

A Higher Order

A law of nature is a scientific generalization based on empirical observations.

Intuitively we can understand a law of nature as physical behavior that is recurring and predictable. Most minds will agree that there is order inherent in a law of nature. Simply put-without order, there would be randomness and outcomes would not be recurring and predictable.

For example, there is order found in music composition. There is a difference between the random notes that squeak from a clarinet while in untutored hands and the composition that flows from the hands of an accomplished musician; there is melody and tempo, which is repeatable and predictable. The difference between the creation of noise (randomness), which is unpleasant to the ear, and the creation of music (order), which is recognized and pleasing to the ear, is the application of intellect, knowledge, practice, and ability of the creator (musician). Although music composition is not a law of nature (though sound is), it is a good illustration for showing how order is engineered from randomness by a creator.

Gravitation is good example of a law of nature although its order and creation is a bit more abstract. The presence of gravity ensures that a hammer falls when released from our hand, and does so with measurable speed and force. The law of nature is predictable; there is order (not randomness) when releasing a hammer where there is gravitation.

Gravity coerces detached matter to unite. From a macroscopic perspective, it is responsible for keeping all planets in their orbits around the sun; for keeping natural satellites, such as the moon, orbiting around earth; for the formation of tides and other countless observable phenomena. From a microscopic perspective, it governs the behavior of atoms and electrons. Gravity is responsible for the fundamental order that is consistent throughout the unimaginable dimensions of the universe.

Both sound (musical notes) and gravity rely on laws of nature for their existence. Music composition and gravity possess order that is observable, recurring, and predictable. In music composition, we understand there is a composer or creator that provides order. The law of gravity is also evidence of order and is, in my opinion, a composition that also reflects the intelligence, knowledge, practice, and ability of its creator.

The composer can memorialize his composition of musical language on sheet music. A person educated in the language of music is able to interpret, experience and understand the composition. The creator of gravity has also memorialized his composition as a law of nature. A person educated in the language of science is able to interpret, synthesize, and understand the composition.

If there is confusion on the matter of law of nature, order, and the presence of an intelligent designer or creator, perhaps one final example will make my point. Einstein is a well-known theoretical physicist and icon for his genius. He is best known for his theories of special relativity and general relativity and exploration of the laws of nature that make up our universe.

But even the preeminent intelligence of Einstein merely fiddled with existing design in order to gain an understanding of its workings. The world's masterminds apply their mental prowess to unravel the mysteries of that which has existed since the dawning of time. It is the extraordinary genius of a few, who, over the course of history, have accrued a comparatively feeble understanding of the intelligence that is inherent in our universe. Therefore, the scientist merely labors to pencil onto his "sheet" the "music composition" inherent in the universe.

Since there is no human mind, or collection of human minds, that can contemplate and manipulate the spectrum of complexities that make up the sciences and replicate the order inherent in the universe; then we must assign the engineering of such profundity to intelligence higher than ours. This intelligent design (God) is found in every nook and cranny of science and is integrated with such precision as to bring order to the incalculable pieces that give structure to the universe-from the sophisticated doings of subatomic particles to the extensive alignments of stars and planets.

God, Biology, Life and Death

From these considerations, there extend the laws of nature that govern biology, an area of importance to the earth's ecosystem, which are also evidence of an intelligent designer's facility with science. All of the laws that dictate biology are cogs in the biological machine.

One of the truths that turn biological cogs is that living things consume other living things in order to obtain the energy that is needed for their survival. Arguably, all living things are participants in this intelligent design, whether human, animal, fish, plant, or some form of microfauna active within the earth's soil. Scientists have measured and documented such a system and have explained it as the science of energy transfer-the process by which the energy from a living thing is transferred to another living thing through consumption.

If God created this system of energy transfer or order as a means of survival, then we must believe that such a purpose reflects the intelligence, knowledge, practice, and ability of the creator. Since every living thing is part of the natural design (laws governing biology) and the natural design created by a creator, then the reasonable mind would conclude that the application of such profound genius is with purpose-even if the purpose of a living thing is simply to sustain the life of another living thing with an even higher purpose.

It has become easy for humanity to overlook the fact that we consume living things. The danger in relying on the conveniences of modern living is that people presume food comes from the market and water from the tap. This creates a cultural disconnect in our awareness of our dependence on natural processes.

When we clear land in remote areas to establish livestock farming and agriculture, and then distribute the by-product of these endeavors over highways and flyways to purveyors, we add layers to our dependence on the natural processes. These layers seduce us from the realization that our biology is based on the consumption of living things. The food market is really a place to trade dollars for the labor of another to perform the unpleasant task of killing. The trading of dollars for institutionally slaughtered fish and animals, which are wrapped in attractive coverings with brand names, acts to sterilize the mind from involvement in butchery.

The antifishing, antihunting and green movements are prime examples of people falsely believing they exist outside of natural processes. They rally against the killing of animals but are blind to their involvement because they pay someone to do the slaughtering for them. They, too, are a part of the order that dictates they consume living things to support their biological requirements for living.

This book is a written reminder of our dependence on the ecosystem and living things for our survival and that God (Mother Nature) is the creator of these biological phenomena that require our accommodation. It is a message contained in the articles, stories, and speeches made available in this chronicle. It is presented in both metaphors and candid portrayals. It is recounted in the spirit of the wilderness, in the adventure of a big game hunt, and in human interest stories from remote lands.

As for angling and hunting, these are decent endeavors; they are a means for obtaining the "living things" that are needed to sustain our lives. Angling and hunting are methods to obtain the energy needed to satisfy the basic requirements of survival. The benefit of angling and hunting are that they keep us grounded in the fact that we are dependent on the environment for our existence. Angling and hunting remind us of our connection to the natural processes and provide a healthy awareness of the intimate relationship between life and death.

The union of anglers, hunters, foresters, and other conservationists into a political activism is a means of educating others of the truths of conservation and a means of establishing it in public policy.

Collectively, acknowledging and studying the higher order (God or Mother Nature) inherent in the design and workings of the ecosystem, participation in the hands-on activities of angling and hunting to truly understand the concept of conservation and the unionizing of conservationists into a grassroots coalition to advance common interests through political activism I refer to as the practice of blue-collar conservation.

If we can agree that God or Mother Nature has designed a survival system based on the acquisition and consumption of living things, and that angling and hunting are natural means for fulfilling such requirements, then we must also agree that God approves of the plights of both predator and prey (the hunter and the hunted). Since God conceived these roles and assigned them to all living things, then such a design is a reflection of God's will for life on earth and of useful function to the ecosystem.

To gain an understanding of nature, we should examine its workings so that we may fully value its theater. It is easy to enjoy the magnificence of a rose blooming without having an appreciation for the mechanics of its flowering, but to understand the cogs and mechanisms of its inner workings is the flowering of the magnificent mind.

This section helps to expose the underground handiwork that fashions and sustains the creations of Mother Nature (God). This education alerts the mind to the clumsiness of its omissions and is necessary if we are to be capable stewards of the environment.

Many outdoorsmen and outdoorswomen are united by their regard for Mother Nature's living things and for the ecosystem that sustains them. What is life if not the interactions of living things? What are ecological relationships if not the interactions between living things and water, air and earth? "The Philosophical Eye" pieces together this foundation and provides subsequent chapters with deeper meaning.

In the Beginning: Evolution and Creation

It was naturalist Charles Darwin who provided evidence for the theory that all species evolve over time.

Darwin came to understand that any population consists of individuals that are all slightly different from one another. Those individuals having a variation that gives them an advantage in staying alive long enough to successfully reproduce are the ones that pass on their traits more frequently to the next generation. Subsequently, their traits become more common and the population evolves. Darwin called this "descent with modification."

The scientist tells us descent with modification is mindless-the result of differential reproduction, variation, and heredity. His schooling and nose-to-the-grindstone work ethic predispose him to claim that descent with modification has no goals, no ability to "think" for itself, or no purpose to evolve. He maintains that ecological balance among plants and animals is a random event of varied and independent processes.

The development of life, as well as the consciousness within each life-form, is explained by the scientific community as the end result of a long series of "natural" processes, which are unencumbered by any intention or cause beyond those of accidental forces. Such rationale is free of association with any universal consciousness-it is void of God or intelligent design.

Darwin's Theory of Evolution is the widely held notion that all life is related and has descended from a common ancestor: the birds and the bananas, the fishes and the flowers-all related. Darwin's general theory presumes the development of life from non-life and stresses a purely naturalistic (undirected) "descent with modification." The springboard to living things appears to be cataclysmic events, which are also the cause of mass extinctions and a changing world that triggers species obsolescence. The evolving species, which fill the voids of disappearing creatures, affects the form and function of the things that survive. Each generation of evolving life adapts to the evolution of other living things in the struggle for existence. This is a plausible explanation, but some may suggest that the scientist leans so near to his work that he sees only the spinning of his grindstone and not the things that spin round the world.

On the other side is the creationist, a parson who sermons on God's works. He thumps at his copy of Gideon while preaching that a bird has no means to design its own consciousness, that this creature is unable to string together the elegant formulas that fashion the aerodynamic features of its wings, and that it lacks the means and talents at the drawing board to work out the kinks to master soaring upon the thermals of the skies.

For the creationist, intelligent design is the answer. He claims that the capacities of a bird represent all the evidence needed for the existence of a master designer-since concept and engineering require application and intelligence beyond that possessed by the designee. In short, a living thing cannot create something more intelligent than the limits of its own intelligence. If the bird cannot build itself, then to what superior intelligence do we assign the credit?

The parson also applies this thinking to the origins of the universe. His homily confers to God the order of living and nonliving things, and he reminds his congregation that even the brightest of human minds is hopelessly inept at constructing the simple elegance of the rose as it is to construct the order and sophistication of the universe.

There is science, order, and intelligence inherent in all creations, and the creationist presupposes such deeds to his God. There is no label of manufacture affixed to such things as roses, birds, man, natural order, or the sciences that orchestrate our universe-humankind makes use of trivial gadgetry to measure bits of universal mystery.

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from Color the Green Movement Blue by Anthony P. Mauro, Sr Copyright © 2009 by Anthony P. Mauro, Sr. Excerpted by permission.
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