Change and Exploitation of Nature in Terms of Social Relation

                                                                                                                                    Debadrita Mandal

‘Change’ as a process to reflect working of nature and society

Environment or nature is not a steady system and cannot be tagged as a conceptual entity of pristine perfectness. It  is dynamic,ever changing since the time unknown. Botkins in his study of ‘The Moon in The Nautilus Shell’ supports the fact and states that even without human intervention nature will continue on changing itself. Nature cannot be locked up and frozen in a time case.  Botkin talks about classical philosopher Leucretius for whom nature was not constant,always changing.

‘Since the publication of Discordant Harmonies ,a small group of ecological scientists-in particular Stuart Pimm,Klaus Rohde,Stephen Hubbell,Donald Strong-have added their voices to the need to accept the perception of nature as always changing’(Pg-8, The Moon in the Nautilus Shell,Daniel Botkin,)

In another piece by Donald Worster ,‘ The Age of Ecology’, nature has been cited as the ‘shifting landscape of vegetative patches of all textures and colors,a veritable patchwork quilt of living things,changing continually through time and space…’

These changes in nature have been affecting human life and the lives of other creatures sustaining within nature because ‘all’ are not partial of nature. In other words ,the very notion of nature is not separate from society and thereby human beings, although, traditionally, scientists have examined social systems in isolation from ecological system and vise- versa making nature a separate entity where evolvement of it does not invariably affect human and social system.

With the gradual passage of time the extinction of various species from nature has been a global concern expressed in our international treaties and policies. In this regard Donald Worster states that ‘Communities,state and nations are no longer so sure they can manage without those species…’ with or without them playing any direct or indirect role in human welfare.

This very notion of  change or extinction in this case, binds society and nature in the same fabric locking us in a ‘common predicament’ i.e. change. Often we are all bound together in the same string despite being complete strangers the major reason being the uncertainty that ‘change’ produces.(pg-430,Age of Ecology, Donald Worster). He states an example to show society’s dependence on nature to fight back the change occurring within nature thus affecting the social.

‘ If we want to stop soil erosion or survive draught, we have a model in the tallgrass  prairie, which retains far more of rain that falls than a wheat monoculture does and can bound back from a severe dry spell that would completely kill a planted domestic crop.’