We should live like the Ants.
Instead of building above-ground and wiping out entire ecosystems we can figure out a way to live underground. We can construct entire subterranean cities, complete with manufacturing complexes, storage and living space for thousands. All this while the surface is returned to a wild, natural state.
It occurred to me that by destroying what's left of Nature we are destroying ourselves, our humanity. Our very existence - physical and spiritual is dependent on the complex ecosystem of the Earth. We are not alone, or the only species on this planet that matters. Somehow people have lost that awareness and bond with nature, by isolating ourselves in cities, in buildings and freeways where wild nature has been mostly eradicated - perhaps inadvertently. This fissure with nature has made people sick, I think, in a spiritual way. Yet it manifests in other ways, physical stress, violence, crime, social unhappiness and resorting to fill this spiritual void with material goods and distractions.
As I ran on the narrow forest path I noticed something rustle in the shrubs and I came to a stop. It was a deer, rather large. When it sensed that I was not chasing it also stopped and looked back. I looked away, so as not to seem intimidating and slowly moved down the path away from the deer.
I felt good about this encounter, I felt part of nature. I realize that my distant ancestors may have hunted this deer for food to survive. Humanity has changed since then, we can produce all of our food and not even depend on animals.
The idea to adopt an ant-colony as a model for a human city came to me from watching a program about ants. Certain types of ants make elaborate underground cities, made up of many chambers connected by passageways. They bring in all the food they gather, leaf-mulch is used as substrate to grow fungi, which itself is used as food by the colony. Waste products are likewise disposed at another location. Each ant knows what to do, every one performs a function that benefits the whole colony. They still have to compete with other ant-colonies or life-forms for survival. Competition can be a healthy thing in nature, and improvement can come out of it.
I believe that human cities are the next "countries" that compete with each other for providing quality of living and sustainable use of resources.
Maybe an underground ant-colony is a silly idea for a human colony. We are different beings after all, with individuality and different needs to accommodate. On one side we need daylight, and it has to be piped in somehow from the surface. On the other temperatures are not as extreme underground, it's warmer in winter and cooler in summer, less energy use for heating and cooling. Air still needs to be circulated from the outside. Other details to work out are what the walls would be like, firstly to support the structure and secondly to protect from floods. There is plenty of experience from building mines and tunnels, so I am sure our ingenuity can be improved on.
Alas, what would underground dwelling be like, and would it be worth to save the surface from human development?
Today what disturbed the usual silence and tranquility of the forest was the sounds of chainsaws cutting trees. They were installing new power-lines I think, not taking down all the trees, but it made me think... What is the price we pay for "progress", and is this really better?!
Tonight I'll dream the dream of the ants.
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