The Sunflower Forest: Ecological Restoration and the New Communion with Nature by William R. Jordan III.$27.50. The University of California Press "UC Press" redirects here, but this is also an abbreviation for University of Chicago Press University of California Press, also known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. , 2003. William Jordan's hook is a provocative essay based on more than 20 years of "reflections, reading, and conversations on the act of ecological restoration." He is unequivocal in asserting that restoration is quite distinct from either management or preservation, even "stewardship stewardship the occupation of being a steward or custodian. Referring to animals it implies the caring sort of relationship based on an acceptance of the need to include the rights of animals in overall plans to maintain financial viability. ,"--practices that attempt to restore or protect only selected qualities of a natural system. Restoration, be explains, is a deliberate attempt to return "the whole system to a former condition," such that it functions like the original system. Jordan's understanding of ecological restoration is complex and deeply philosophical. He challenges the basic premises of environmentalism environmentalism, movement to protect the quality and continuity of life through conservation of natural resources, prevention of pollution, and control of land use. , from traditional land management to wilderness preservation and "mechanistic mech·a·nis·tic adj. 1. Mechanically determined. 2. Of or relating to the philosophy of mechanism, especially one that tends to explain phenomena only by reference to physical or biological causes. ecology," judging them as "thin and sentimental sen·ti·men·tal adj. 1. a. Characterized or swayed by sentiment. b. Affectedly or extravagantly emotional. 2. Resulting from or colored by emotion rather than reason or realism. 3. ." His critique of environmentalism examines the philosophical foundations of its heroes--from Emerson and Thoreau to Pinchot. Muir, and Leopold--and finds them inadequate, not just on philosophical grounds but on their failures to significantly change society's values and behavior toward natural systems. For Jordan, restoration ecology Restoration ecology A field in the science of conservation that is concerned with the application of ecological principles to restoring degraded, derelict, or fragmented ecosystems. is the new environmental paradigm, one that weds sound philosophy to enriching experience. He sees "the process of restoration" as having value in and of itself, a complex process of exploration, discovery, and action; "a performance art" as well as a new way to apply and extend science. Most importantly Adv. 1. most importantly - above and beyond all other consideration; "above all, you must be independent" above all, most especially , he envisions it as the way to a more expansive environmental philosophy that encompasses all the values inherent in natural systems. This is far more than an essay on restoration. It is a constructive challenge to conventional thinking about the environment and the practices of resource management and protection. It will upset and anger some but will likely leave readers with a deeper understanding of restoration ecology and a more hopeful outlook on the possibilities for forging a new relationship between human society and nature. |
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