1 00:00:03,980 --> 00:00:02,240 embrace yourself because you're about to 2 00:00:06,170 --> 00:00:03,990 dive into another free first hour 3 00:00:07,369 --> 00:00:06,180 episode of the higher side chats and we 4 00:00:08,780 --> 00:00:07,379 just want to let you know that whether 5 00:00:10,820 --> 00:00:08,790 you're looking for a companion through 6 00:00:12,350 --> 00:00:10,830 your paranoid insomnia entertaining 7 00:00:14,360 --> 00:00:12,360 yourself through one of life's mundane 8 00:00:16,070 --> 00:00:14,370 activities we're trying to ward off the 9 00:00:18,680 --> 00:00:16,080 internal screams of all those sad 10 00:00:20,420 --> 00:00:18,690 smothered Souls around the office THC is 11 00:00:22,099 --> 00:00:20,430 here and you should know that every 12 00:00:24,109 --> 00:00:22,109 episode of the higher side chats has an 13 00:00:26,509 --> 00:00:24,119 entire second hour four plus members 14 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:26,519 sign up at the higher side chats plus 15 00:00:31,550 --> 00:00:29,010 calm and you get years of plus show 16 00:00:32,990 --> 00:00:31,560 archives lifetime forum access the 17 00:00:36,380 --> 00:00:33,000 special invite to greg carl woods 18 00:00:39,950 --> 00:00:36,390 monthly joint sessions mp3s of THC music 19 00:00:42,380 --> 00:00:39,960 bonus episodes for videos and 10% off 20 00:00:44,299 --> 00:00:42,390 t-shirts grinders and whatever else ends 21 00:00:46,279 --> 00:00:44,309 up in the higher side store it's eight 22 00:00:48,110 --> 00:00:46,289 dollars a month that you won't miss so 23 00:00:49,790 --> 00:00:48,120 become a plus member and treat yourself 24 00:00:52,069 --> 00:00:49,800 in these troubled times always 25 00:00:53,900 --> 00:00:52,079 action-packed and commercial free which 26 00:01:00,459 --> 00:00:53,910 means you'll unfortunately never hear my 27 00:01:05,740 --> 00:01:03,729 in the 1930s President Franklin Delano 28 00:01:08,289 --> 00:01:05,750 Roosevelt addressed the nation through a 29 00:01:11,230 --> 00:01:08,299 series of radio broadcast known as the 30 00:01:13,240 --> 00:01:11,240 fireside chats his aim was to reassure 31 00:01:15,010 --> 00:01:13,250 the common man that our society would 32 00:01:17,710 --> 00:01:15,020 recover from its troubled times 33 00:01:22,990 --> 00:01:17,720 well we're far from 1930 and I deal with 34 00:01:30,340 --> 00:01:23,000 a different kind of buyer a brush 35 00:01:32,320 --> 00:01:30,350 conversation I'm Carl wood back in the 36 00:01:34,419 --> 00:01:32,330 saddle and ready to ride dear people 37 00:01:36,310 --> 00:01:34,429 from sunny San Diego I'm Greg Carl wood 38 00:01:37,840 --> 00:01:36,320 and we have spent a lot of time talking 39 00:01:39,940 --> 00:01:37,850 about how we've been screwed by the 40 00:01:41,919 --> 00:01:39,950 system how our leaders have led us 41 00:01:44,499 --> 00:01:41,929 astray and just how backwards our 42 00:01:46,330 --> 00:01:44,509 current lifestyles really are we spend 43 00:01:48,279 --> 00:01:46,340 most of our time at jobs we can't stand 44 00:01:50,590 --> 00:01:48,289 just to get enough green paper to get us 45 00:01:52,690 --> 00:01:50,600 through another 30 days we spend most of 46 00:01:54,279 --> 00:01:52,700 it on cheap pre-made food because we 47 00:01:56,499 --> 00:01:54,289 lost the knowledge to cook for ourselves 48 00:01:58,570 --> 00:01:56,509 and some of us even pay for gym 49 00:02:01,389 --> 00:01:58,580 memberships to simulate the use of our 50 00:02:03,669 --> 00:02:01,399 body we used to just call living we grow 51 00:02:05,770 --> 00:02:03,679 in mow useless patches of grass instead 52 00:02:08,260 --> 00:02:05,780 of anything we could use or eat and we 53 00:02:10,389 --> 00:02:08,270 perpetuate the cycle of suckling at the 54 00:02:12,780 --> 00:02:10,399 teat of a tyrannical system out of 55 00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:12,790 ignorance convenience and complacency 56 00:02:17,350 --> 00:02:15,410 yes the puppet masters the Western world 57 00:02:19,300 --> 00:02:17,360 dangled that quarter pounder carrot in 58 00:02:21,880 --> 00:02:19,310 front of us and we wandered right into 59 00:02:23,920 --> 00:02:21,890 the trap of microwavable TV dinners pill 60 00:02:26,680 --> 00:02:23,930 popping and the hypnotic nightly news 61 00:02:27,790 --> 00:02:26,690 but it does take two to tango maybe we 62 00:02:29,830 --> 00:02:27,800 didn't ask for the rockefeller 63 00:02:31,809 --> 00:02:29,840 rothschild debt based system a rule but 64 00:02:33,430 --> 00:02:31,819 we definitely embraced it all with open 65 00:02:35,949 --> 00:02:33,440 arms and I think people are finally 66 00:02:38,080 --> 00:02:35,959 realizing how fascinating beneficial and 67 00:02:40,509 --> 00:02:38,090 downright magical our natural systems 68 00:02:42,460 --> 00:02:40,519 really are and the prospect of a pivot 69 00:02:43,479 --> 00:02:42,470 back to a simpler life is sounding 70 00:02:45,970 --> 00:02:43,489 better all the time 71 00:02:48,640 --> 00:02:45,980 so maybe it isn't as sexy as secret 72 00:02:50,979 --> 00:02:48,650 space programs in CIA mind control but 73 00:02:52,990 --> 00:02:50,989 permaculture a reintroduction to nature 74 00:02:55,150 --> 00:02:53,000 and the empowerment gained from shucking 75 00:02:57,070 --> 00:02:55,160 off the slave system are useful tools 76 00:02:59,199 --> 00:02:57,080 for the long game and I don't think they 77 00:03:00,940 --> 00:02:59,209 should be overlooked and I'm sure these 78 00:03:03,100 --> 00:03:00,950 feelings are shared by today's guest 79 00:03:05,559 --> 00:03:03,110 Peter Allen who is an ecologist turned 80 00:03:08,530 --> 00:03:05,569 farmer focused on restoring functional 81 00:03:10,990 --> 00:03:08,540 and productive Savannah ecosystems he 82 00:03:12,900 --> 00:03:11,000 owns and manages Mastodon Valley farm in 83 00:03:15,210 --> 00:03:12,910 southwest Wisconsin where he runs 84 00:03:17,580 --> 00:03:15,220 successful all-natural meat subscription 85 00:03:20,370 --> 00:03:17,590 business he also runs Savannah Gardens 86 00:03:22,710 --> 00:03:20,380 LLC an education and consulting company 87 00:03:24,780 --> 00:03:22,720 focused on permaculture restoration 88 00:03:27,360 --> 00:03:24,790 agriculture holistic planning and 89 00:03:29,190 --> 00:03:27,370 ecological design so let's stop bitching 90 00:03:31,950 --> 00:03:29,200 and start living the Land Management 91 00:03:34,170 --> 00:03:31,960 Magi oak savannah sage permaculture pimp 92 00:03:36,860 --> 00:03:34,180 and master of his Mastodon valley farm 93 00:03:39,630 --> 00:03:36,870 domain Peter welcome to the higher side 94 00:03:43,140 --> 00:03:39,640 hey thanks Greg great intro as always 95 00:03:44,490 --> 00:03:43,150 huh I try but man I am really psyched to 96 00:03:46,380 --> 00:03:44,500 be doing this thanks for being here I 97 00:03:48,210 --> 00:03:46,390 think it's gonna be a lot of fun for 98 00:03:49,980 --> 00:03:48,220 people who probably don't know you are a 99 00:03:51,690 --> 00:03:49,990 plus member who reached out after 100 00:03:54,450 --> 00:03:51,700 hearing me mention the desire to focus 101 00:03:56,190 --> 00:03:54,460 on a few shows that could be about 102 00:03:58,980 --> 00:03:56,200 permaculture the things that are really 103 00:04:01,200 --> 00:03:58,990 your expertise and here we are I got to 104 00:04:03,990 --> 00:04:01,210 say that I find this exciting because in 105 00:04:06,330 --> 00:04:04,000 the same way we learn about cars that 106 00:04:08,550 --> 00:04:06,340 used to run on alcohol Flying Saucer 107 00:04:11,580 --> 00:04:08,560 technology free energy devices light 108 00:04:14,850 --> 00:04:11,590 therapy holistic medicine natural cancer 109 00:04:17,039 --> 00:04:14,860 cures all these things I'd consider 110 00:04:18,810 --> 00:04:17,049 really powerful tools that were once 111 00:04:20,520 --> 00:04:18,820 there in the past we don't have many 112 00:04:23,360 --> 00:04:20,530 more they've probably been suppressed 113 00:04:25,320 --> 00:04:23,370 I think engineered abundance and 114 00:04:27,480 --> 00:04:25,330 biodynamic agriculture 115 00:04:29,280 --> 00:04:27,490 I think they qualify as things to put 116 00:04:30,930 --> 00:04:29,290 under the umbrella of suppressed 117 00:04:31,950 --> 00:04:30,940 knowledge and lost technology when you 118 00:04:34,290 --> 00:04:31,960 really think about it do you think 119 00:04:37,130 --> 00:04:34,300 that's fair to say yeah I mean nature 120 00:04:40,350 --> 00:04:37,140 itself is magic I mean the process of 121 00:04:44,280 --> 00:04:40,360 photosynthesis is a magical phenomenon 122 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:44,290 and so all of our technology and modern 123 00:04:50,010 --> 00:04:46,810 times is very mechanical and sort of 124 00:04:52,530 --> 00:04:50,020 based on chemistry and manipulation of 125 00:04:54,240 --> 00:04:52,540 the physical domain 126 00:04:56,850 --> 00:04:54,250 with genetic engineering we're starting 127 00:04:58,860 --> 00:04:56,860 to get into the biological domain but 128 00:05:03,180 --> 00:04:58,870 most of biology has not been penetrated 129 00:05:07,190 --> 00:05:03,190 by our Natural Sciences and so we've got 130 00:05:10,440 --> 00:05:07,200 a lot of work to do to figure out how to 131 00:05:13,110 --> 00:05:10,450 reintegrate ourselves within the natural 132 00:05:14,190 --> 00:05:13,120 world but fortunately there's a lot of 133 00:05:18,090 --> 00:05:14,200 techniques that have already been 134 00:05:22,830 --> 00:05:18,100 developed and we just have to plug in 135 00:05:26,010 --> 00:05:22,840 and get to work mm-hmm I agree so to use 136 00:05:27,900 --> 00:05:26,020 your own journey and developing interest 137 00:05:30,510 --> 00:05:27,910 in permaculture and holistic thinking as 138 00:05:32,970 --> 00:05:30,520 a sort of template I'm curious to know 139 00:05:35,100 --> 00:05:32,980 about some of the early things that you 140 00:05:37,170 --> 00:05:35,110 learned about engaging with the natural 141 00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:37,180 world that maybe surprised you and lit 142 00:05:42,510 --> 00:05:40,930 that fire to learn more yeah well it 143 00:05:45,060 --> 00:05:42,520 really started for me when I was in 144 00:05:46,530 --> 00:05:45,070 college I ended up getting a degree in 145 00:05:47,880 --> 00:05:46,540 environmental science but I didn't start 146 00:05:49,830 --> 00:05:47,890 out that way I started out in the 147 00:05:51,360 --> 00:05:49,840 business school didn't like that floated 148 00:05:53,340 --> 00:05:51,370 around for a bit and I ended up having 149 00:05:55,560 --> 00:05:53,350 to take a biology credit and so I took a 150 00:05:58,770 --> 00:05:55,570 class called plant and plant communities 151 00:06:01,350 --> 00:05:58,780 and all it was was a week-long trip to 152 00:06:02,760 --> 00:06:01,360 the Smoky Mountain Park and basically 153 00:06:04,380 --> 00:06:02,770 every day we got up and spent the whole 154 00:06:05,850 --> 00:06:04,390 day in a different kind of plant 155 00:06:08,910 --> 00:06:05,860 community learning the plants and we 156 00:06:11,940 --> 00:06:08,920 would learn 20 30 40 species a day so I 157 00:06:13,080 --> 00:06:11,950 learned a hundred plants plus in a short 158 00:06:15,210 --> 00:06:13,090 period of time and I'd spend a lot of 159 00:06:17,220 --> 00:06:15,220 time outside growing up I grew up 160 00:06:18,990 --> 00:06:17,230 hunting and fishing with grandparents 161 00:06:20,460 --> 00:06:19,000 and stuff like that and always enjoyed 162 00:06:22,080 --> 00:06:20,470 being outside and was into backpacking 163 00:06:24,360 --> 00:06:22,090 and stuff like that but to me the 164 00:06:25,890 --> 00:06:24,370 outside was just like green nature when 165 00:06:28,230 --> 00:06:25,900 I would go for a hike it was beautiful 166 00:06:31,320 --> 00:06:28,240 but it was just green and beautiful and 167 00:06:34,680 --> 00:06:31,330 then when I learned the plants it's like 168 00:06:36,900 --> 00:06:34,690 a whole new world opened up and so it 169 00:06:38,760 --> 00:06:36,910 really started me on a journey of now 170 00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:38,770 when I went out outside went hiking 171 00:06:42,930 --> 00:06:41,410 taking my dog for a walk I would try to 172 00:06:45,090 --> 00:06:42,940 recognize the plants and try to identify 173 00:06:46,920 --> 00:06:45,100 them and then if I didn't see one it was 174 00:06:50,540 --> 00:06:46,930 like a challenge to figure out what it 175 00:06:53,960 --> 00:06:50,550 was and that just sort of led me on this 176 00:06:56,430 --> 00:06:53,970 lifelong pursuit of basically 177 00:06:58,650 --> 00:06:56,440 reintegrating back into nature first 178 00:07:02,070 --> 00:06:58,660 starting by figuring out what's there to 179 00:07:04,230 --> 00:07:02,080 begin with mmm yes I was gonna bring up 180 00:07:06,360 --> 00:07:04,240 that very class it made me think about 181 00:07:09,450 --> 00:07:06,370 that book and document 182 00:07:12,030 --> 00:07:09,460 the secret life of plants and that I 183 00:07:14,370 --> 00:07:12,040 think it's it's mainly about how maybe 184 00:07:16,950 --> 00:07:14,380 they do have this sort of conscious 185 00:07:18,659 --> 00:07:16,960 intelligence and we seem to generally 186 00:07:20,939 --> 00:07:18,669 overlook it maybe they do have some 187 00:07:22,740 --> 00:07:20,949 language and communication that isn't in 188 00:07:25,710 --> 00:07:22,750 English obviously but that doesn't mean 189 00:07:27,390 --> 00:07:25,720 it's not intelligent I mean is that kind 190 00:07:29,550 --> 00:07:27,400 of your impression of the plant world 191 00:07:32,280 --> 00:07:29,560 now yeah I mean that's a very 192 00:07:34,320 --> 00:07:32,290 complicated subject but there's more and 193 00:07:37,950 --> 00:07:34,330 more research showing how plants 194 00:07:40,230 --> 00:07:37,960 communicate both within members of the 195 00:07:44,909 --> 00:07:40,240 same species but also between species 196 00:07:48,540 --> 00:07:44,919 and then especially using fungus as a 197 00:07:50,129 --> 00:07:48,550 sort of communication medium mmm there's 198 00:07:52,020 --> 00:07:50,139 a lot of evidence showing that basically 199 00:07:54,810 --> 00:07:52,030 what's going on under the earth is that 200 00:07:57,180 --> 00:07:54,820 there are symbiotic fungus that lives 201 00:07:59,969 --> 00:07:57,190 literally like inside the plant roots 202 00:08:03,710 --> 00:07:59,979 and then they connect multiple species 203 00:08:07,100 --> 00:08:03,720 together and so that can serve both as 204 00:08:10,110 --> 00:08:07,110 communication channels but also as 205 00:08:13,050 --> 00:08:10,120 highways to move energy and materials 206 00:08:16,290 --> 00:08:13,060 around so when one plant needs extra 207 00:08:18,629 --> 00:08:16,300 energy because it's flowering the fungus 208 00:08:20,159 --> 00:08:18,639 can pull energy from another species 209 00:08:22,589 --> 00:08:20,169 that's not flowering right now and 210 00:08:24,420 --> 00:08:22,599 doesn't need it basically send it along 211 00:08:26,550 --> 00:08:24,430 this superhighway shoot it up to the 212 00:08:28,770 --> 00:08:26,560 plants that need it and so you know in 213 00:08:30,629 --> 00:08:28,780 an ecosystem plants are there's 214 00:08:32,459 --> 00:08:30,639 different species that flower throughout 215 00:08:34,350 --> 00:08:32,469 the year so every species has its own 216 00:08:36,570 --> 00:08:34,360 like one or two week window where it's 217 00:08:40,019 --> 00:08:36,580 at peak flowering and the fungus 218 00:08:41,850 --> 00:08:40,029 underground seems to migrate that energy 219 00:08:44,970 --> 00:08:41,860 and material between the plants when it 220 00:08:47,400 --> 00:08:44,980 needs it the extent that the energy and 221 00:08:49,620 --> 00:08:47,410 material routes also serve as a 222 00:08:52,079 --> 00:08:49,630 communication in a form of consciousness 223 00:08:54,660 --> 00:08:52,089 is obviously more speculative but it 224 00:08:58,380 --> 00:08:54,670 certainly wouldn't surprise me mm-hmm 225 00:08:59,910 --> 00:08:58,390 yes fungus and mushrooms are really a 226 00:09:02,699 --> 00:08:59,920 rabbit hole on their own right I've 227 00:09:04,680 --> 00:09:02,709 heard little anecdotes about the fact 228 00:09:06,810 --> 00:09:04,690 that they seem to be able to survive in 229 00:09:09,090 --> 00:09:06,820 the vacuum of space and maybe they are 230 00:09:11,820 --> 00:09:09,100 some weird alien intelligence that is 231 00:09:13,079 --> 00:09:11,830 kind of contributed to the terraforming 232 00:09:15,090 --> 00:09:13,089 of the planet and if I mean you want to 233 00:09:18,930 --> 00:09:15,100 talk about speculation there we are but 234 00:09:21,300 --> 00:09:18,940 you know for me with this whole 235 00:09:24,090 --> 00:09:21,310 section of material when I read some of 236 00:09:26,220 --> 00:09:24,100 the descriptions of what North America 237 00:09:28,950 --> 00:09:26,230 looked like before the Europeans arrived 238 00:09:29,340 --> 00:09:28,960 that's kind of what blew me away and set 239 00:09:31,080 --> 00:09:29,350 me off 240 00:09:32,880 --> 00:09:31,090 I mean descriptions that mention things 241 00:09:35,580 --> 00:09:32,890 like so many fish in the river that 242 00:09:38,910 --> 00:09:35,590 horses are crossing almost without 243 00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:38,920 touching bottom and just the change in 244 00:09:42,990 --> 00:09:40,810 understanding from thinking Native 245 00:09:45,120 --> 00:09:43,000 Americans just lived off the land to 246 00:09:47,370 --> 00:09:45,130 seeing how they actually worked with 247 00:09:49,260 --> 00:09:47,380 nature to amplify the resources they had 248 00:09:51,210 --> 00:09:49,270 I mean it starts to sound like a 249 00:09:54,150 --> 00:09:51,220 paradise and I've heard you refer to 250 00:09:56,760 --> 00:09:54,160 this as the wilderness myth tell us a 251 00:09:58,950 --> 00:09:56,770 bit about that and what the land looked 252 00:10:03,500 --> 00:09:58,960 like before the white man came if you 253 00:10:06,090 --> 00:10:03,510 could yeah so the wilderness myth is 254 00:10:08,820 --> 00:10:06,100 something that sort of subconsciously 255 00:10:12,660 --> 00:10:08,830 programmed into all of us in North 256 00:10:16,470 --> 00:10:12,670 America we think that this continent was 257 00:10:18,360 --> 00:10:16,480 a natural wilderness when the first 258 00:10:20,730 --> 00:10:18,370 settlers arrived and yeah there were 259 00:10:22,110 --> 00:10:20,740 humans hunting and gathering and eating 260 00:10:23,850 --> 00:10:22,120 berries and fruit and stuff and maybe 261 00:10:26,100 --> 00:10:23,860 hunting deer here and there but they 262 00:10:30,750 --> 00:10:26,110 were living with in a wilderness kind of 263 00:10:33,030 --> 00:10:30,760 more passively and that notion permeates 264 00:10:35,280 --> 00:10:33,040 how we think about nature I mean we 265 00:10:36,990 --> 00:10:35,290 assume that nature sort of the 266 00:10:38,490 --> 00:10:37,000 definition of nature means a place sort 267 00:10:40,530 --> 00:10:38,500 of without people so if you say 268 00:10:43,320 --> 00:10:40,540 something is all natural it means it 269 00:10:45,390 --> 00:10:43,330 hasn't been corrupted by people and 270 00:10:48,300 --> 00:10:45,400 there's this assumption that humans 271 00:10:51,540 --> 00:10:48,310 equaled somehow not natural and a 272 00:10:54,210 --> 00:10:51,550 corruption of nature when you look at 273 00:10:57,570 --> 00:10:54,220 the historical landscape and all of the 274 00:10:59,880 --> 00:10:57,580 evidence that we can pull out of data in 275 00:11:02,010 --> 00:10:59,890 terms of pollen records and soil cores 276 00:11:04,950 --> 00:11:02,020 and stuff like that there is massive 277 00:11:08,490 --> 00:11:04,960 evidence that the ecosystems across the 278 00:11:11,640 --> 00:11:08,500 continent are not organized the way they 279 00:11:14,310 --> 00:11:11,650 would have been if there were no humans 280 00:11:16,470 --> 00:11:14,320 here mm-hmm if there had been no humans 281 00:11:18,930 --> 00:11:16,480 present in North America when the first 282 00:11:20,750 --> 00:11:18,940 Europeans came it would have been a much 283 00:11:23,220 --> 00:11:20,760 different continent it would have been 284 00:11:25,880 --> 00:11:23,230 densely forested at least in the eastern 285 00:11:29,120 --> 00:11:25,890 half and there would have been much less 286 00:11:32,540 --> 00:11:29,130 diversity of both plants but also 287 00:11:36,050 --> 00:11:32,550 herbivores specifically bison 288 00:11:38,600 --> 00:11:36,060 and elk and deer which were in eastern 289 00:11:41,570 --> 00:11:38,610 North America especially at huge massive 290 00:11:44,840 --> 00:11:41,580 numbers even to the point where North 291 00:11:49,340 --> 00:11:44,850 America produced more meat in terms of 292 00:11:52,040 --> 00:11:49,350 pounds of say meat from a bison or from 293 00:11:55,250 --> 00:11:52,050 a deer from a elk than we produce today 294 00:11:58,280 --> 00:11:55,260 in our industrial agricultural systems 295 00:11:59,660 --> 00:11:58,290 so you know you talked about the Native 296 00:12:01,190 --> 00:11:59,670 Americans and how you could you know 297 00:12:02,690 --> 00:12:01,200 kind of walk across the water on fish 298 00:12:05,300 --> 00:12:02,700 and some of that we got to be a little 299 00:12:08,110 --> 00:12:05,310 bit careful there because poetic license 300 00:12:11,150 --> 00:12:08,120 well there was an abundance of 301 00:12:14,780 --> 00:12:11,160 biological diversity here for sure but 302 00:12:18,199 --> 00:12:14,790 there was also a massive genocide of the 303 00:12:20,150 --> 00:12:18,209 indigenous peoples preceding the first 304 00:12:23,240 --> 00:12:20,160 settlers coming in and riding accounts 305 00:12:24,980 --> 00:12:23,250 of it and so basically if Native 306 00:12:28,430 --> 00:12:24,990 Americans were managing the landscape 307 00:12:30,290 --> 00:12:28,440 and eating a lot of animals and then all 308 00:12:31,970 --> 00:12:30,300 those people died then all those animals 309 00:12:34,340 --> 00:12:31,980 are gonna explode in population numbers 310 00:12:37,670 --> 00:12:34,350 so the fish in the sea is the Bison out 311 00:12:40,519 --> 00:12:37,680 west and the SE passenger pigeons which 312 00:12:42,380 --> 00:12:40,529 were a hunted species may have been in 313 00:12:45,860 --> 00:12:42,390 such exorbitant numbers in the early 314 00:12:48,440 --> 00:12:45,870 1800s not just because they were always 315 00:12:51,199 --> 00:12:48,450 like that but because we slaughtered all 316 00:12:53,810 --> 00:12:51,209 of the hunters mmm yeah that makes a lot 317 00:12:55,460 --> 00:12:53,820 of sense it's like a factory that you 318 00:12:58,850 --> 00:12:55,470 flip the switch on and then walked away 319 00:13:01,280 --> 00:12:58,860 from its producing but you're not 320 00:13:03,680 --> 00:13:01,290 consuming what it produces that's 321 00:13:05,030 --> 00:13:03,690 exactly right and so we got to be a 322 00:13:07,220 --> 00:13:05,040 little bit careful with the early 323 00:13:09,199 --> 00:13:07,230 settler accounts of things because it's 324 00:13:10,940 --> 00:13:09,209 a little inflated over what it would 325 00:13:13,160 --> 00:13:10,950 have been before but even just looking 326 00:13:16,160 --> 00:13:13,170 at the landscape itself the fact that it 327 00:13:19,910 --> 00:13:16,170 wasn't closed-canopy forest from sea to 328 00:13:22,490 --> 00:13:19,920 shining sea means that there were active 329 00:13:26,329 --> 00:13:22,500 people here shaping the landscape for 330 00:13:29,360 --> 00:13:26,339 their own benefit essentially Native 331 00:13:32,150 --> 00:13:29,370 Americans were practicing advanced forms 332 00:13:35,360 --> 00:13:32,160 of Agriculture creating ecosystems that 333 00:13:36,680 --> 00:13:35,370 produced an immense amount of food it's 334 00:13:38,689 --> 00:13:36,690 hard to say whether they're comparable 335 00:13:41,800 --> 00:13:38,699 with what we produce in terms of food 336 00:13:44,090 --> 00:13:41,810 today but just looking at the amount of 337 00:13:46,190 --> 00:13:44,100 herbivores present on the continent 338 00:13:47,840 --> 00:13:46,200 tells you that because 339 00:13:50,570 --> 00:13:47,850 more meat produced back then than there 340 00:13:54,350 --> 00:13:50,580 is now clearly there was a lot of food 341 00:13:55,930 --> 00:13:54,360 being grown their most common tool for 342 00:13:59,750 --> 00:13:55,940 land management was fire 343 00:14:02,540 --> 00:13:59,760 so most areas were burned most of the 344 00:14:04,700 --> 00:14:02,550 time like most years most areas would 345 00:14:06,620 --> 00:14:04,710 get a fire and these fires weren't like 346 00:14:10,850 --> 00:14:06,630 forest fires there were small ground 347 00:14:13,280 --> 00:14:10,860 fire so anytime a grassland does not get 348 00:14:16,460 --> 00:14:13,290 fully grazed by the end of the year it's 349 00:14:19,640 --> 00:14:16,470 got a lot of dead grass and material 350 00:14:21,950 --> 00:14:19,650 biomass hanging out and if you can burn 351 00:14:25,310 --> 00:14:21,960 that off you massively increase the 352 00:14:30,500 --> 00:14:25,320 amount of production that that piece of 353 00:14:33,380 --> 00:14:30,510 land can produce and so by burning they 354 00:14:35,480 --> 00:14:33,390 were able to essentially move animals 355 00:14:38,750 --> 00:14:35,490 around because following a burn the 356 00:14:41,690 --> 00:14:38,760 grass that grows is extremely high in 357 00:14:45,500 --> 00:14:41,700 protein and sugar it's like candy for a 358 00:14:47,270 --> 00:14:45,510 cow or for a buffalo so by burning 359 00:14:51,410 --> 00:14:47,280 patches of ground they could essentially 360 00:14:53,810 --> 00:14:51,420 move herds of Buffalo around a kind of 361 00:14:56,150 --> 00:14:53,820 rotational grazing that farmers do today 362 00:14:59,420 --> 00:14:56,160 was practice back then but using fire 363 00:15:01,040 --> 00:14:59,430 instead of fences yeah I love that 364 00:15:03,650 --> 00:15:01,050 that was something I picked up from 365 00:15:05,840 --> 00:15:03,660 those chapters you sent me of your soon 366 00:15:08,240 --> 00:15:05,850 to be finished book and in there you 367 00:15:10,550 --> 00:15:08,250 mentioned that there were hundreds of 368 00:15:13,400 --> 00:15:10,560 reasons that they used fire and we have 369 00:15:15,470 --> 00:15:13,410 talked about that biochar process in the 370 00:15:19,820 --> 00:15:15,480 past a little bit but this idea of 371 00:15:22,670 --> 00:15:19,830 moving mammals around was really like an 372 00:15:26,330 --> 00:15:22,680 eye-opener to me as well as just how 373 00:15:29,780 --> 00:15:26,340 important oak trees were and acorns and 374 00:15:32,720 --> 00:15:29,790 that they would burn under the oak trees 375 00:15:34,970 --> 00:15:32,730 prior to acorn harvesting because it 376 00:15:36,890 --> 00:15:34,980 clears the ground to make the harvest 377 00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:36,900 easier you can see them and it also 378 00:15:44,300 --> 00:15:40,650 kills insects and pests that would have 379 00:15:47,590 --> 00:15:44,310 otherwise compromised some of that crop 380 00:15:51,260 --> 00:15:47,600 and it's just like man we really have a 381 00:15:54,110 --> 00:15:51,270 pretty racist look at these people as 382 00:15:56,150 --> 00:15:54,120 maybe savages or just kind of dealing 383 00:15:58,260 --> 00:15:56,160 with what they had but I mean these are 384 00:16:00,450 --> 00:15:58,270 human beings too and they have 385 00:16:03,210 --> 00:16:00,460 as much intelligence as anyone and this 386 00:16:05,460 --> 00:16:03,220 is just how it manifested in their 387 00:16:08,250 --> 00:16:05,470 environment and clearly at least to me 388 00:16:09,840 --> 00:16:08,260 it's better than what we do when you can 389 00:16:12,780 --> 00:16:09,850 see the results of where our system has 390 00:16:14,550 --> 00:16:12,790 taken us absolutely one of the things 391 00:16:17,850 --> 00:16:14,560 that a lot people don't realize is to 392 00:16:18,740 --> 00:16:17,860 the extent which humans evolved with the 393 00:16:22,770 --> 00:16:18,750 oak tree 394 00:16:25,440 --> 00:16:22,780 acorns were a staple crop for indigenous 395 00:16:27,330 --> 00:16:25,450 North Americans but they were a staple 396 00:16:30,090 --> 00:16:27,340 crop for our ancestors too you just got 397 00:16:33,030 --> 00:16:30,100 to look back prior to the Neolithic the 398 00:16:35,850 --> 00:16:33,040 Agricultural Revolution so in Northern 399 00:16:37,260 --> 00:16:35,860 Europe the old oak Grove's I mean it's 400 00:16:39,660 --> 00:16:37,270 not even just Northern Europe is pretty 401 00:16:42,930 --> 00:16:39,670 much all of Europe had chestnut and oak 402 00:16:45,390 --> 00:16:42,940 Grove's or savannas across the continent 403 00:16:49,350 --> 00:16:45,400 that our ancestors closer to you know 404 00:16:52,530 --> 00:16:49,360 8,000 years ago in the same way that was 405 00:16:53,640 --> 00:16:52,540 their staple crop and so oak trees are 406 00:16:56,100 --> 00:16:53,650 amazing because they've got so many 407 00:16:58,230 --> 00:16:56,110 different varieties that grow in so many 408 00:16:59,700 --> 00:16:58,240 different conditions there's the white 409 00:17:02,040 --> 00:16:59,710 oaks that grow in eastern North America 410 00:17:04,949 --> 00:17:02,050 that grow all the way from Manitoba down 411 00:17:06,720 --> 00:17:04,959 to Mexico and then you know where you're 412 00:17:09,510 --> 00:17:06,730 at in Southern California and all the 413 00:17:12,829 --> 00:17:09,520 way up the west coast there's different 414 00:17:16,380 --> 00:17:12,839 varieties of acorns that produce very 415 00:17:19,320 --> 00:17:16,390 edible and very high-quality nuts pretty 416 00:17:21,360 --> 00:17:19,330 prolific aliy and so when you have a 417 00:17:23,880 --> 00:17:21,370 savannah type landscape with widely 418 00:17:27,720 --> 00:17:23,890 spaced trees these trees can produce an 419 00:17:30,650 --> 00:17:27,730 enormous amount of food and it has been 420 00:17:35,190 --> 00:17:30,660 a staple crop that humans have relied on 421 00:17:36,110 --> 00:17:35,200 for survival for tens of thousands of 422 00:17:39,810 --> 00:17:36,120 years 423 00:17:41,610 --> 00:17:39,820 hmm well said and I wanted to talk a 424 00:17:43,830 --> 00:17:41,620 little more about savannas versus 425 00:17:45,870 --> 00:17:43,840 forests because that is the evidence 426 00:17:47,550 --> 00:17:45,880 that we know the landscape was 427 00:17:51,360 --> 00:17:47,560 engineered because if you leave it alone 428 00:17:53,460 --> 00:17:51,370 we get forests and forest as you said 429 00:17:56,880 --> 00:17:53,470 we're not the dominant ecosystem across 430 00:17:59,220 --> 00:17:56,890 the Midwest savannas were and I think 431 00:18:01,170 --> 00:17:59,230 we're starting at such a base level I 432 00:18:03,360 --> 00:18:01,180 don't know if people have a mental 433 00:18:05,130 --> 00:18:03,370 construct for what a savanna is or how 434 00:18:06,570 --> 00:18:05,140 it's different from a forest but can you 435 00:18:09,630 --> 00:18:06,580 break down some of those important 436 00:18:11,040 --> 00:18:09,640 differences yeah definitely so you know 437 00:18:11,820 --> 00:18:11,050 there's a spectrum so we can start with 438 00:18:13,860 --> 00:18:11,830 a grass 439 00:18:15,659 --> 00:18:13,870 land which is like some pasture or 440 00:18:18,180 --> 00:18:15,669 prairie that it's just open no trees and 441 00:18:19,710 --> 00:18:18,190 full of grasses and then we all know 442 00:18:22,830 --> 00:18:19,720 what a forest is where there's a closed 443 00:18:24,810 --> 00:18:22,840 canopy of trees if you go into a forest 444 00:18:26,549 --> 00:18:24,820 it's pretty dark not a lot of sunlight 445 00:18:28,950 --> 00:18:26,559 actually gets down to the ground and 446 00:18:32,610 --> 00:18:28,960 then a savanna is a place that is a 447 00:18:35,130 --> 00:18:32,620 grassland so it's a continuous cover of 448 00:18:38,639 --> 00:18:35,140 perennial grasses on the ground but then 449 00:18:40,799 --> 00:18:38,649 have scattered trees and so if you were 450 00:18:42,509 --> 00:18:40,809 to take a piece of land and let it go 451 00:18:44,490 --> 00:18:42,519 and don't do anything with it say it was 452 00:18:46,409 --> 00:18:44,500 plowed as a crop field and then you just 453 00:18:47,759 --> 00:18:46,419 abandon it if you're in the eastern 454 00:18:51,330 --> 00:18:47,769 United States where we get plenty of 455 00:18:53,580 --> 00:18:51,340 rain first grasses are gonna grow and 456 00:18:55,560 --> 00:18:53,590 weeds thistles and stuff like that will 457 00:18:56,960 --> 00:18:55,570 come in and go and then the grasses will 458 00:18:59,490 --> 00:18:56,970 get established and pretty quickly 459 00:19:03,169 --> 00:18:59,500 you're gonna get trees starting to grow 460 00:19:06,450 --> 00:19:03,179 fast growing shrubs and trees and 461 00:19:11,009 --> 00:19:06,460 generally within 20 or 30 years you've 462 00:19:13,019 --> 00:19:11,019 got trees growing pretty quickly that by 463 00:19:15,210 --> 00:19:13,029 year 30 you can get to the point where 464 00:19:17,279 --> 00:19:15,220 you have kind of a closed canopy where 465 00:19:18,870 --> 00:19:17,289 the ground starts to get shaded out and 466 00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:18,880 then once the ground gets shaded out you 467 00:19:23,039 --> 00:19:21,010 lose grass grass needs sunlight and so 468 00:19:26,549 --> 00:19:23,049 once there's shade over grass it 469 00:19:29,460 --> 00:19:26,559 basically goes away and grass is what 470 00:19:31,470 --> 00:19:29,470 holds on to the soil so when it rains if 471 00:19:33,450 --> 00:19:31,480 there's grasses those grass roots hold 472 00:19:35,610 --> 00:19:33,460 onto the soil and if there's not grass 473 00:19:37,710 --> 00:19:35,620 roots your soil washes away so in crop 474 00:19:40,950 --> 00:19:37,720 fields every time it rains soil washes 475 00:19:43,620 --> 00:19:40,960 away in forests you don't lose as much 476 00:19:45,120 --> 00:19:43,630 because you have tree roots that hold 477 00:19:48,480 --> 00:19:45,130 onto the soil but they don't hold on as 478 00:19:50,720 --> 00:19:48,490 well as grass roots and so the beauty 479 00:19:53,100 --> 00:19:50,730 about savannas you never have enough 480 00:19:56,340 --> 00:19:53,110 shade to shade out the grasses you 481 00:19:57,810 --> 00:19:56,350 always have grasses but you also have 482 00:20:00,480 --> 00:19:57,820 the trees and all the benefits that they 483 00:20:02,730 --> 00:20:00,490 provide trees are like the sweat pores 484 00:20:04,860 --> 00:20:02,740 of our planet you know they transpire 485 00:20:07,200 --> 00:20:04,870 them you know an oak tree will pull up 486 00:20:09,690 --> 00:20:07,210 hundreds of gallons of water a day out 487 00:20:11,370 --> 00:20:09,700 of the ground and transpire it into the 488 00:20:12,960 --> 00:20:11,380 atmosphere just like our sweat glands 489 00:20:14,610 --> 00:20:12,970 pull moisture out and then that 490 00:20:17,580 --> 00:20:14,620 evaporates on the surface trees do the 491 00:20:19,139 --> 00:20:17,590 same thing but at a huge scale and then 492 00:20:20,370 --> 00:20:19,149 you know obviously they produce food and 493 00:20:23,669 --> 00:20:20,380 do a lot of other good things to 494 00:20:25,710 --> 00:20:23,679 photosynthesize but having a savanna 495 00:20:27,570 --> 00:20:25,720 means that you have 496 00:20:30,240 --> 00:20:27,580 a continuous layer of grasses on the 497 00:20:32,129 --> 00:20:30,250 ground with scattered trees that aren't 498 00:20:34,919 --> 00:20:32,139 close enough together to then shade out 499 00:20:37,619 --> 00:20:34,929 the grasses and in the eastern United 500 00:20:38,759 --> 00:20:37,629 States we get enough rain that if you 501 00:20:40,919 --> 00:20:38,769 let a piece of land go it turns into 502 00:20:42,299 --> 00:20:40,929 forest really really quick you never get 503 00:20:45,080 --> 00:20:42,309 a savanna they just don't happen 504 00:20:49,289 --> 00:20:45,090 naturally they're very unnatural 505 00:20:51,149 --> 00:20:49,299 ecosystems when you define natural as 506 00:20:52,169 --> 00:20:51,159 being in absence of humans so if you 507 00:20:54,509 --> 00:20:52,179 take humans out of the equation you 508 00:20:56,399 --> 00:20:54,519 don't get savannas you know we were in 509 00:20:59,519 --> 00:20:56,409 the ice stages 12,000 years ago 510 00:21:01,740 --> 00:20:59,529 and it seems to be about the same time 511 00:21:04,560 --> 00:21:01,750 that the ice ages ended is when Native 512 00:21:06,629 --> 00:21:04,570 Americans sort of in earnest conquered 513 00:21:10,320 --> 00:21:06,639 North America and South American Central 514 00:21:11,730 --> 00:21:10,330 America and following the Ice Ages once 515 00:21:14,879 --> 00:21:11,740 the ice melted we basically turned into 516 00:21:17,159 --> 00:21:14,889 a boreal forest and then as it warmed up 517 00:21:19,169 --> 00:21:17,169 Native Americans came in and pretty 518 00:21:21,090 --> 00:21:19,179 quickly like within a few thousand years 519 00:21:24,269 --> 00:21:21,100 it went from forest to an open oak 520 00:21:27,350 --> 00:21:24,279 savanna you start seeing oak pollen and 521 00:21:29,549 --> 00:21:27,360 grass pollen in the pollen signatures 522 00:21:31,019 --> 00:21:29,559 about eight thousand six thousand years 523 00:21:34,710 --> 00:21:31,029 ago which is pretty remarkable because 524 00:21:37,320 --> 00:21:34,720 neither grasses nor oak trees can grow 525 00:21:40,110 --> 00:21:37,330 in shady conditions oak trees cannot 526 00:21:41,999 --> 00:21:40,120 grow cannot generate an acorn will not 527 00:21:44,159 --> 00:21:42,009 sprout and turn into an oak tree if it's 528 00:21:46,169 --> 00:21:44,169 shaded at all so once a forest turns 529 00:21:48,389 --> 00:21:46,179 shade you basically say goodbye to the 530 00:21:51,060 --> 00:21:48,399 Oaks so the fact that we had oak trees 531 00:21:54,180 --> 00:21:51,070 so prevalent in our ecosystems for so 532 00:21:56,669 --> 00:21:54,190 long is a dead ringer giveaway that 533 00:21:58,499 --> 00:21:56,679 something was going on to set back the 534 00:22:04,230 --> 00:21:58,509 forest and it was clearly Native 535 00:22:06,330 --> 00:22:04,240 Americans with fire yes and with this 536 00:22:08,940 --> 00:22:06,340 wilderness myth something I hadn't 537 00:22:11,759 --> 00:22:08,950 thought much about is how this affects 538 00:22:13,710 --> 00:22:11,769 much more than our ideas of pre colonial 539 00:22:16,110 --> 00:22:13,720 America it's still affecting us today 540 00:22:17,369 --> 00:22:16,120 even people whose hearts and minds are 541 00:22:20,249 --> 00:22:17,379 in the right places like these 542 00:22:22,350 --> 00:22:20,259 ecological communities and conservation 543 00:22:24,619 --> 00:22:22,360 movements they're all backwards too 544 00:22:27,810 --> 00:22:24,629 because they still have this 545 00:22:29,879 --> 00:22:27,820 presupposition that we need to just 546 00:22:32,549 --> 00:22:29,889 leave nature alone and let it get back 547 00:22:35,369 --> 00:22:32,559 to how it was and it's not going to be 548 00:22:38,340 --> 00:22:35,379 what you want because you're already 549 00:22:39,520 --> 00:22:38,350 starting off of a false premise and it's 550 00:22:43,390 --> 00:22:39,530 just interesting to see 551 00:22:44,890 --> 00:22:43,400 how even now that's still affecting even 552 00:22:47,560 --> 00:22:44,900 people who are trying to do the right 553 00:22:50,200 --> 00:22:47,570 thing oh absolutely 554 00:22:51,790 --> 00:22:50,210 it's permeated especially in the 555 00:22:54,820 --> 00:22:51,800 environmental and ecological communities 556 00:22:57,430 --> 00:22:54,830 I mean I spent a decade at University of 557 00:22:59,320 --> 00:22:57,440 Wisconsin doing ecology and restoration 558 00:23:03,150 --> 00:22:59,330 ecology where you know we would try to 559 00:23:05,350 --> 00:23:03,160 go restore an ecosystem but they define 560 00:23:09,490 --> 00:23:05,360 restoration as returning it to its 561 00:23:13,630 --> 00:23:09,500 natural state like it was before we got 562 00:23:16,060 --> 00:23:13,640 here which is so ironic it's just absurd 563 00:23:18,160 --> 00:23:16,070 when you really look at it but nobody 564 00:23:20,530 --> 00:23:18,170 really sees the problem they're the 565 00:23:22,060 --> 00:23:20,540 contradiction and that if you want to 566 00:23:23,830 --> 00:23:22,070 restore the landscape to the way it was 567 00:23:25,210 --> 00:23:23,840 before Europeans got here that's fine 568 00:23:27,910 --> 00:23:25,220 but we've got to realize that that 569 00:23:30,070 --> 00:23:27,920 wasn't natural at least how we define 570 00:23:32,110 --> 00:23:30,080 natural so like the wilderness myth has 571 00:23:36,910 --> 00:23:32,120 made its way into our definition of what 572 00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:36,920 natural means realizing that the planet 573 00:23:41,890 --> 00:23:39,410 hasn't been the same since humans of all 574 00:23:44,230 --> 00:23:41,900 desert species especially since we got 575 00:23:46,780 --> 00:23:44,240 the use of fire tens of thousands of 576 00:23:49,600 --> 00:23:46,790 years ago the planets not the same so if 577 00:23:52,330 --> 00:23:49,610 we define natural as meaning without 578 00:23:54,040 --> 00:23:52,340 humans then we've got to go way back and 579 00:23:55,270 --> 00:23:54,050 we don't have any idea of what that 580 00:23:57,850 --> 00:23:55,280 might look like anyways and what's the 581 00:24:00,010 --> 00:23:57,860 point we know that we had really diverse 582 00:24:02,260 --> 00:24:00,020 ecosystems here before Europeans arrived 583 00:24:03,370 --> 00:24:02,270 that produce a whole lot of food and so 584 00:24:05,380 --> 00:24:03,380 when I was at the University doing 585 00:24:07,900 --> 00:24:05,390 restoration work we would restore a 586 00:24:09,460 --> 00:24:07,910 prairie and then they would want to burn 587 00:24:12,340 --> 00:24:09,470 it all the time but even when you burn 588 00:24:14,110 --> 00:24:12,350 prairies all the time the trees start to 589 00:24:15,760 --> 00:24:14,120 come in and the trees will get kind of 590 00:24:19,090 --> 00:24:15,770 used to getting burned after a while and 591 00:24:21,940 --> 00:24:19,100 it will start to degrade quality over 592 00:24:25,150 --> 00:24:21,950 time without herbivores like grasslands 593 00:24:27,670 --> 00:24:25,160 need grazers they co-evolved together 594 00:24:28,900 --> 00:24:27,680 for 20 million years they absolutely 595 00:24:31,270 --> 00:24:28,910 need each other so you can't really have 596 00:24:34,090 --> 00:24:31,280 a grassland without a grazer and so when 597 00:24:36,520 --> 00:24:34,100 I would try to convince a university or 598 00:24:39,630 --> 00:24:36,530 a conservation project to let me bring 599 00:24:41,650 --> 00:24:39,640 in cattle to flash mob grazing 600 00:24:43,420 --> 00:24:41,660 restoration just like the Bison would 601 00:24:47,170 --> 00:24:43,430 have you know I got laughed out of the 602 00:24:49,780 --> 00:24:47,180 room because a cows aren't native and B 603 00:24:52,150 --> 00:24:49,790 that's why would we ever do that because 604 00:24:53,529 --> 00:24:52,160 we know that Indians burned so we should 605 00:24:55,180 --> 00:24:53,539 just burn so 606 00:24:57,639 --> 00:24:55,190 they did burn but they burned in order 607 00:25:00,489 --> 00:24:57,649 to bring the Bison and not just to burn 608 00:25:02,889 --> 00:25:00,499 for the heck of it so the contradiction 609 00:25:04,450 --> 00:25:02,899 in modern ecological restoration 610 00:25:06,639 --> 00:25:04,460 community especially in the eastern 611 00:25:09,789 --> 00:25:06,649 United States is pretty intense and once 612 00:25:11,200 --> 00:25:09,799 you look at the historical record and 613 00:25:13,389 --> 00:25:11,210 what the Native Americans are doing it 614 00:25:15,969 --> 00:25:13,399 becomes blaringly obvious that we can't 615 00:25:19,570 --> 00:25:15,979 restore our historic ecosystems without 616 00:25:22,419 --> 00:25:19,580 playing an active role in the management 617 00:25:24,940 --> 00:25:22,429 and maintenance of those systems mm-hmm 618 00:25:27,460 --> 00:25:24,950 I think that makes a lot of sense and I 619 00:25:30,310 --> 00:25:27,470 also wanted to ask you about water a 620 00:25:32,919 --> 00:25:30,320 little more because I got from those 621 00:25:35,349 --> 00:25:32,929 chapters that you let me check out that 622 00:25:38,769 --> 00:25:35,359 there used to be I guess 250 native 623 00:25:40,930 --> 00:25:38,779 types of freshwater shellfish before I 624 00:25:44,200 --> 00:25:40,940 guess the algae start consuming 625 00:25:46,299 --> 00:25:44,210 everything but you say in your area you 626 00:25:48,190 --> 00:25:46,309 say Madison Wisconsin sits nestled 627 00:25:50,349 --> 00:25:48,200 between four lakes surrounded by a large 628 00:25:52,509 --> 00:25:50,359 watershed filled to the brim with urban 629 00:25:54,759 --> 00:25:52,519 development and farmland these lakes 630 00:25:56,799 --> 00:25:54,769 therefore continually receive huge 631 00:25:58,930 --> 00:25:56,809 inputs of nitrogen and phosphorus from 632 00:26:01,479 --> 00:25:58,940 the fertilizer spread to keep lawns 633 00:26:03,369 --> 00:26:01,489 green and crop yields high and the heat 634 00:26:05,680 --> 00:26:03,379 of summer the city of Madison has to 635 00:26:08,589 --> 00:26:05,690 monitor the lakes for toxic algae blooms 636 00:26:10,389 --> 00:26:08,599 which they typically publicly announce 637 00:26:12,489 --> 00:26:10,399 in order to keep people and their pets 638 00:26:16,389 --> 00:26:12,499 from swimming in the poisoned waters I 639 00:26:18,580 --> 00:26:16,399 think that's just crazy you write in the 640 00:26:21,999 --> 00:26:18,590 book a little bit about clear water 641 00:26:24,729 --> 00:26:22,009 versus this like pea soup like covering 642 00:26:26,710 --> 00:26:24,739 that happens how does this affect our 643 00:26:28,509 --> 00:26:26,720 water what was a better way to manage 644 00:26:32,769 --> 00:26:28,519 natural water systems how was it done 645 00:26:35,379 --> 00:26:32,779 before so in Lake ecosystems there's two 646 00:26:37,089 --> 00:26:35,389 states that can exist and they're sort 647 00:26:39,129 --> 00:26:37,099 of like one or the other there's not 648 00:26:42,070 --> 00:26:39,139 much in between one is a clear water 649 00:26:44,499 --> 00:26:42,080 state where there's relatively low 650 00:26:46,930 --> 00:26:44,509 amount of phosphorus is the main kicker 651 00:26:51,190 --> 00:26:46,940 in aquatic systems and phosphorus comes 652 00:26:53,440 --> 00:26:51,200 in via runoff when it rains from soil it 653 00:26:55,029 --> 00:26:53,450 sticks to soil particles so if you put 654 00:26:56,379 --> 00:26:55,039 phosphorus fertilizer on a crop field 655 00:26:57,849 --> 00:26:56,389 and then it rains it runs into the 656 00:26:59,769 --> 00:26:57,859 waterway and now you got phosphorus in 657 00:27:01,359 --> 00:26:59,779 your water and basically what happens is 658 00:27:03,909 --> 00:27:01,369 when you have a clear water system you 659 00:27:06,220 --> 00:27:03,919 have sunlight getting to the bottom of 660 00:27:07,419 --> 00:27:06,230 the lakes and so in our area we've got a 661 00:27:09,219 --> 00:27:07,429 lot of these glacial lake 662 00:27:10,719 --> 00:27:09,229 they're basically leftover melted 663 00:27:13,180 --> 00:27:10,729 glaciers that turned into these lakes 664 00:27:14,379 --> 00:27:13,190 and when you read the historical 665 00:27:17,109 --> 00:27:14,389 accounts of the first settlers 666 00:27:18,489 --> 00:27:17,119 specifically these ones in Madison they 667 00:27:21,849 --> 00:27:18,499 would go out on a canoe and they could 668 00:27:24,820 --> 00:27:21,859 see 250 feet down to the bottom of the 669 00:27:26,889 --> 00:27:24,830 lake and see the white clay lake bottom 670 00:27:30,369 --> 00:27:26,899 and they could see all the plants and 671 00:27:31,719 --> 00:27:30,379 fish in between and so these clear water 672 00:27:33,519 --> 00:27:31,729 lakes you know you can think of it kind 673 00:27:34,959 --> 00:27:33,529 of like as a forest so there's sunlight 674 00:27:36,729 --> 00:27:34,969 filtering through the water that 675 00:27:38,289 --> 00:27:36,739 supports plant growth especially around 676 00:27:40,329 --> 00:27:38,299 the edges where it's not too deep and 677 00:27:42,099 --> 00:27:40,339 these plants produce a whole lot of 678 00:27:44,560 --> 00:27:42,109 oxygen which then gets dissolved into 679 00:27:46,989 --> 00:27:44,570 the water so these plants produce food 680 00:27:49,899 --> 00:27:46,999 for people like wild rice and Lotus 681 00:27:53,979 --> 00:27:49,909 which produces an edible root cattails 682 00:27:56,769 --> 00:27:53,989 and the like and so these plants are in 683 00:27:58,959 --> 00:27:56,779 there producing both food for humans but 684 00:28:02,529 --> 00:27:58,969 also food for fish and habitat and so 685 00:28:04,719 --> 00:28:02,539 these Clearwater Lakes were super filled 686 00:28:06,940 --> 00:28:04,729 with fish because of all the food and 687 00:28:09,159 --> 00:28:06,950 oxygen that the plants produced it 688 00:28:10,539 --> 00:28:09,169 supported a huge fish ecosystem so there 689 00:28:12,249 --> 00:28:10,549 was like the little fish the pan fish 690 00:28:14,259 --> 00:28:12,259 then the little bass and then you have a 691 00:28:17,469 --> 00:28:14,269 whole you know food chain on up to your 692 00:28:19,810 --> 00:28:17,479 big giant like five foot long lake trout 693 00:28:22,599 --> 00:28:19,820 which were predators that ate other big 694 00:28:24,669 --> 00:28:22,609 fish and this was sort of like you know 695 00:28:26,139 --> 00:28:24,679 I talked about acorns being staple crops 696 00:28:27,430 --> 00:28:26,149 for Native Americans they would harvest 697 00:28:29,469 --> 00:28:27,440 those in the fall and that would get 698 00:28:32,079 --> 00:28:29,479 them through the winter but summertime 699 00:28:33,999 --> 00:28:32,089 people were on the water pretty much 700 00:28:35,079 --> 00:28:34,009 across North America summer times were 701 00:28:36,879 --> 00:28:35,089 spent on the water because we had such 702 00:28:39,849 --> 00:28:36,889 amazing aquatic resources in terms of 703 00:28:42,099 --> 00:28:39,859 fish and shellfish and so basically what 704 00:28:44,889 --> 00:28:42,109 happens when you put phosphorus in the 705 00:28:47,349 --> 00:28:44,899 water whether that's directly in terms 706 00:28:49,899 --> 00:28:47,359 of sewage or indirectly in terms of 707 00:28:51,639 --> 00:28:49,909 runoff from either crop fields or from 708 00:28:53,019 --> 00:28:51,649 urban development you start putting 709 00:28:55,629 --> 00:28:53,029 phosphorus in that water and it reaches 710 00:28:57,969 --> 00:28:55,639 a threshold where basically there's 711 00:29:00,190 --> 00:28:57,979 enough phosphorous to spawn an algae 712 00:29:02,169 --> 00:29:00,200 bloom and these algie's are really 713 00:29:04,529 --> 00:29:02,179 really ancient cyanobacteria they're 714 00:29:07,450 --> 00:29:04,539 they were the first species to evolve 715 00:29:09,009 --> 00:29:07,460 photosynthesis that releases oxygen as a 716 00:29:10,659 --> 00:29:09,019 byproduct so they were the first ones to 717 00:29:13,089 --> 00:29:10,669 do photosynthesis as we know 718 00:29:15,430 --> 00:29:13,099 photosynthesis today a long long long 719 00:29:17,919 --> 00:29:15,440 time ago but anyway once they get enough 720 00:29:21,190 --> 00:29:17,929 phosphorous they bloom and they shade 721 00:29:24,310 --> 00:29:21,200 out the plants and they consume all the 722 00:29:26,169 --> 00:29:24,320 sex oxygen so the shade kills the plants 723 00:29:29,200 --> 00:29:26,179 and the consumption of excess oxygen 724 00:29:31,419 --> 00:29:29,210 kills the fish and then once you kind of 725 00:29:33,730 --> 00:29:31,429 have that for a little while you lose 726 00:29:35,740 --> 00:29:33,740 your plants which then doesn't allow you 727 00:29:38,139 --> 00:29:35,750 to rebuild your fish populations because 728 00:29:40,539 --> 00:29:38,149 of the lack of oxygen and the lack of 729 00:29:42,700 --> 00:29:40,549 food and habitat and so you get a you 730 00:29:45,340 --> 00:29:42,710 trophic system which there are some fish 731 00:29:47,379 --> 00:29:45,350 like the Asian carp that can live in 732 00:29:51,159 --> 00:29:47,389 these really murky pea-soup summer 733 00:29:52,779 --> 00:29:51,169 waters feeding on the algae you can get 734 00:29:54,310 --> 00:29:52,789 algae feeders that can survive but 735 00:29:56,019 --> 00:29:54,320 pretty much all your other fish and then 736 00:29:59,230 --> 00:29:56,029 all the plant resources all those go 737 00:30:02,019 --> 00:29:59,240 away too and so we call that eutrophic 738 00:30:04,930 --> 00:30:02,029 which just means over nutria fied and so 739 00:30:06,279 --> 00:30:04,940 now we're at a place eastern United 740 00:30:09,279 --> 00:30:06,289 States especially in the Midwest where 741 00:30:11,500 --> 00:30:09,289 all the AG land is all of the waterways 742 00:30:14,019 --> 00:30:11,510 are eutrophic even the rivers and lakes 743 00:30:16,840 --> 00:30:14,029 you can't really fish in them you don't 744 00:30:18,519 --> 00:30:16,850 want to swim in them people's dogs die 745 00:30:20,169 --> 00:30:18,529 every year because they go swimming in 746 00:30:22,450 --> 00:30:20,179 the lake when there's an algae bloom the 747 00:30:25,539 --> 00:30:22,460 cyanobacteria produces a neurotoxin 748 00:30:29,799 --> 00:30:25,549 which is toxic for mammals and so it's 749 00:30:31,950 --> 00:30:29,809 pretty ugly hmm it's just so weird to 750 00:30:35,799 --> 00:30:31,960 even think about the intelligence of 751 00:30:37,990 --> 00:30:35,809 nature almost like responding in a way 752 00:30:40,180 --> 00:30:38,000 that's like hey you give me poison you 753 00:30:43,029 --> 00:30:40,190 get poison back I don't know it's just a 754 00:30:45,930 --> 00:30:43,039 when you think about the environment is 755 00:30:48,220 --> 00:30:45,940 conscious and there's this relationship 756 00:30:49,720 --> 00:30:48,230 regardless of if we're treating it right 757 00:30:52,299 --> 00:30:49,730 or wrong there is a cause-and-effect 758 00:30:53,470 --> 00:30:52,309 relationship that comes right back to us 759 00:30:56,169 --> 00:30:53,480 I mean we're not separate from nature 760 00:30:57,460 --> 00:30:56,179 but we have this idea that we are but I 761 00:30:59,889 --> 00:30:57,470 don't know it's just interesting to see 762 00:31:02,740 --> 00:30:59,899 that dynamic at play on the negative 763 00:31:06,610 --> 00:31:02,750 side of things oh that's exactly right 764 00:31:08,289 --> 00:31:06,620 the landscape is sending us signals all 765 00:31:09,669 --> 00:31:08,299 the time telling us we're on the right 766 00:31:11,710 --> 00:31:09,679 track or the wrong track and if we 767 00:31:13,269 --> 00:31:11,720 ignore those and we're on the wrong 768 00:31:16,090 --> 00:31:13,279 track it just gets worse and worse to 769 00:31:17,769 --> 00:31:16,100 the point where you can't grow food 770 00:31:21,490 --> 00:31:17,779 anymore and you're polluted out of house 771 00:31:24,070 --> 00:31:21,500 at home indeed and it's interesting and 772 00:31:26,919 --> 00:31:24,080 definitely new to me to hear about the 773 00:31:28,570 --> 00:31:26,929 engineered savannas of America but I 774 00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:28,580 wanted to try to squeeze in a little bit 775 00:31:34,970 --> 00:31:31,010 about the Amazon it is obviously the 776 00:31:37,070 --> 00:31:34,980 most complex and biodiverse landscape 777 00:31:39,470 --> 00:31:37,080 the planet and I think the wilderness 778 00:31:41,840 --> 00:31:39,480 myth might plague it as well because you 779 00:31:44,120 --> 00:31:41,850 told me that it's pretty clear that it 780 00:31:46,490 --> 00:31:44,130 was engineered how do we know what are 781 00:31:52,280 --> 00:31:46,500 the signs and clues that kind of show us 782 00:31:56,690 --> 00:31:52,290 that essentially when you exclude humans 783 00:31:58,100 --> 00:31:56,700 the plant community it's the same exact 784 00:31:59,960 --> 00:31:58,110 phenomenon as we're talking about for 785 00:32:01,669 --> 00:31:59,970 North America in that when you have 786 00:32:04,250 --> 00:32:01,679 humans of managing a system for 787 00:32:05,690 --> 00:32:04,260 themselves to produce food those are the 788 00:32:07,940 --> 00:32:05,700 type of species that are going to 789 00:32:10,490 --> 00:32:07,950 persist in your force in your ecosystem 790 00:32:14,510 --> 00:32:10,500 whether that's a savanna in the Midwest 791 00:32:16,520 --> 00:32:14,520 or the Amazon at the equator and so when 792 00:32:19,370 --> 00:32:16,530 we look at the species composition the 793 00:32:22,820 --> 00:32:19,380 way it was when we can first have any 794 00:32:25,280 --> 00:32:22,830 data on it there was a lot more species 795 00:32:27,230 --> 00:32:25,290 that produce food for humans in that 796 00:32:29,930 --> 00:32:27,240 species composition than there is now so 797 00:32:32,840 --> 00:32:29,940 as humans are removed and less active in 798 00:32:35,330 --> 00:32:32,850 the system it goes to a less diverse 799 00:32:37,700 --> 00:32:35,340 state and a state that produces more 800 00:32:39,770 --> 00:32:37,710 trees that don't produce food for humans 801 00:32:41,240 --> 00:32:39,780 so there's obviously a wide spectrum of 802 00:32:42,590 --> 00:32:41,250 different species some of them are more 803 00:32:46,190 --> 00:32:42,600 valuable than others from a human 804 00:32:48,169 --> 00:32:46,200 perspective the ratio of non-productive 805 00:32:51,230 --> 00:32:48,179 trees has increased over the last 806 00:32:54,650 --> 00:32:51,240 hundred years as humans have been less 807 00:32:57,020 --> 00:32:54,660 active in the ecosystem and so what's 808 00:33:00,230 --> 00:32:57,030 really interesting is if you read about 809 00:33:01,820 --> 00:33:00,240 the indigenous people of the Amazon we 810 00:33:03,650 --> 00:33:01,830 call their practices of Agriculture 811 00:33:07,370 --> 00:33:03,660 slash-and-burn which is a very 812 00:33:09,230 --> 00:33:07,380 derogatory way of gaining your existence 813 00:33:11,510 --> 00:33:09,240 slashing and burning sounds so bad and 814 00:33:13,580 --> 00:33:11,520 we look down upon them for it but when 815 00:33:15,680 --> 00:33:13,590 you actually go down to the Yucatan 816 00:33:18,590 --> 00:33:15,690 which I have not done but I have spoken 817 00:33:19,760 --> 00:33:18,600 to several archeologists that have spent 818 00:33:21,710 --> 00:33:19,770 a lot of time down there trying to 819 00:33:24,350 --> 00:33:21,720 figure out the old ways of growing food 820 00:33:26,539 --> 00:33:24,360 and essentially you know they would go 821 00:33:28,789 --> 00:33:26,549 into an area and clear out say an acre 822 00:33:30,500 --> 00:33:28,799 of forest and then they would burn that 823 00:33:32,150 --> 00:33:30,510 and they would burn the biomass in a 824 00:33:33,530 --> 00:33:32,160 very low intensity way like you 825 00:33:36,409 --> 00:33:33,540 mentioned biochar it creates a lot of 826 00:33:39,200 --> 00:33:36,419 charcoal so down in the Amazon they 827 00:33:41,780 --> 00:33:39,210 don't have the thick top soils that we 828 00:33:43,760 --> 00:33:41,790 have thanks to our grassland ecosystems 829 00:33:45,590 --> 00:33:43,770 grassland ecosystems create topsoil 830 00:33:48,830 --> 00:33:45,600 that's like one of the byproducts of a 831 00:33:50,600 --> 00:33:48,840 grassland with grazers is thick topsoil 832 00:33:53,269 --> 00:33:50,610 and so we have that up here down there 833 00:33:56,539 --> 00:33:53,279 in a forest all the nutrients that we 834 00:33:59,029 --> 00:33:56,549 have in our soils they have locked up in 835 00:34:01,970 --> 00:33:59,039 their giant trees and plants and so they 836 00:34:04,190 --> 00:34:01,980 really don't have a soil all of the 837 00:34:05,840 --> 00:34:04,200 potential nutrients are used in a 838 00:34:07,370 --> 00:34:05,850 rainforest ecosystem they're all up 839 00:34:10,790 --> 00:34:07,380 above ground they're not below ground 840 00:34:13,760 --> 00:34:10,800 and so it's really hard to grow annual 841 00:34:15,409 --> 00:34:13,770 crops so vegetables corn grains it's 842 00:34:17,659 --> 00:34:15,419 hard to grow that stuff because there's 843 00:34:19,369 --> 00:34:17,669 no soil minerals all the nutrients are 844 00:34:21,790 --> 00:34:19,379 locked up in the trees so they would cut 845 00:34:24,379 --> 00:34:21,800 down trees so they would slash and burn 846 00:34:26,839 --> 00:34:24,389 but they would do it on at whole and as 847 00:34:28,639 --> 00:34:26,849 a part of this much larger cycle of food 848 00:34:31,820 --> 00:34:28,649 production so you'd come into an area 849 00:34:33,379 --> 00:34:31,830 you'd cut down an acre of forest and you 850 00:34:34,909 --> 00:34:33,389 would burn it in a way that produced a 851 00:34:37,579 --> 00:34:34,919 whole bunch of charcoal on the ground 852 00:34:39,200 --> 00:34:37,589 then you could plant your guard and say 853 00:34:42,980 --> 00:34:39,210 so you're gonna have a really diverse 854 00:34:45,260 --> 00:34:42,990 Garden of 80 to 150 different vegetables 855 00:34:47,710 --> 00:34:45,270 and plant species and grains but at the 856 00:34:50,480 --> 00:34:47,720 same time you're also planting 857 00:34:53,000 --> 00:34:50,490 fast-growing and slow growing perennial 858 00:34:55,550 --> 00:34:53,010 trees to grow for your vegetables to 859 00:34:58,130 --> 00:34:55,560 grow between and so they would plant 860 00:35:01,070 --> 00:34:58,140 their favorite fruit and nut bearing 861 00:35:03,140 --> 00:35:01,080 trees in their gardens and so in one 862 00:35:06,890 --> 00:35:03,150 year they might slash and burn one acre 863 00:35:08,540 --> 00:35:06,900 but then that acre over the next 20 864 00:35:09,800 --> 00:35:08,550 years you know for the first two or 865 00:35:10,970 --> 00:35:09,810 three years its producing annual 866 00:35:12,950 --> 00:35:10,980 vegetables but then they would stop that 867 00:35:14,270 --> 00:35:12,960 and then they would just let the fruit 868 00:35:16,690 --> 00:35:14,280 and nut trees come and then they have 869 00:35:19,849 --> 00:35:16,700 this one acre orchard or food forest of 870 00:35:21,260 --> 00:35:19,859 breadfruit and avocados and bananas and 871 00:35:23,000 --> 00:35:21,270 all the things that they have down there 872 00:35:25,160 --> 00:35:23,010 and then they could go do that again 873 00:35:26,810 --> 00:35:25,170 somewhere else and so you kind of zoom 874 00:35:29,150 --> 00:35:26,820 out and look at that process it's like a 875 00:35:31,130 --> 00:35:29,160 20 year process by year 20 it's a closed 876 00:35:33,349 --> 00:35:31,140 canopy forest of all food producing 877 00:35:34,760 --> 00:35:33,359 trees and they had a immense diversity 878 00:35:36,950 --> 00:35:34,770 down there so we're talking like 879 00:35:39,099 --> 00:35:36,960 hundreds of species and if that had been 880 00:35:42,410 --> 00:35:39,109 let go there would have been like the 881 00:35:44,359 --> 00:35:42,420 two dozen plant species that would have 882 00:35:45,950 --> 00:35:44,369 been there that they cut and burned that 883 00:35:47,540 --> 00:35:45,960 would have been there but that's fairly 884 00:35:49,370 --> 00:35:47,550 low diversity relative to what they 885 00:35:51,410 --> 00:35:49,380 would then turn around and plant so then 886 00:35:52,910 --> 00:35:51,420 you look at that scale at the one acre 887 00:35:54,680 --> 00:35:52,920 scale and then look at the whole Amazon 888 00:35:56,720 --> 00:35:54,690 and imagine hundreds of thousands of 889 00:35:59,390 --> 00:35:56,730 people over time doing that in all the 890 00:36:01,250 --> 00:35:59,400 little patches what that turns into over 891 00:36:02,970 --> 00:36:01,260 time is an Amazon rainforest that's 892 00:36:05,680 --> 00:36:02,980 essentially one 893 00:36:08,980 --> 00:36:05,690 shifting mosaic of food forest so they 894 00:36:11,440 --> 00:36:08,990 were essentially terraforming the Amazon 895 00:36:14,950 --> 00:36:11,450 in order to produce a whole lot of 896 00:36:16,240 --> 00:36:14,960 perennial foods like food from trees you 897 00:36:17,350 --> 00:36:16,250 know they had their annual vegetables in 898 00:36:19,090 --> 00:36:17,360 there but that was only a small part of 899 00:36:21,940 --> 00:36:19,100 the cycle the main point is that they 900 00:36:24,460 --> 00:36:21,950 were planting lots of trees yeah and 901 00:36:26,770 --> 00:36:24,470 when you think about the intelligence of 902 00:36:28,990 --> 00:36:26,780 the people who set that environment off 903 00:36:30,520 --> 00:36:29,000 it's just pretty mind-blowing because 904 00:36:32,200 --> 00:36:30,530 like you said there's thousands of 905 00:36:34,510 --> 00:36:32,210 species that live in the Amazon and 906 00:36:36,610 --> 00:36:34,520 nowhere else and a lot of things we 907 00:36:39,550 --> 00:36:36,620 haven't even cataloged yet and when you 908 00:36:41,110 --> 00:36:39,560 think about that being engineered you 909 00:36:44,140 --> 00:36:41,120 really have to consider the relationship 910 00:36:46,060 --> 00:36:44,150 between even DNA and some of these 911 00:36:48,100 --> 00:36:46,070 processes I think you talked about it 912 00:36:50,650 --> 00:36:48,110 and your chapters is the connection 913 00:36:52,660 --> 00:36:50,660 between complexity and diversity versus 914 00:36:55,390 --> 00:36:52,670 disturbance that there's a relationship 915 00:36:57,460 --> 00:36:55,400 there because obviously we're going to a 916 00:37:00,160 --> 00:36:57,470 pretty deep time depth but it's almost 917 00:37:02,980 --> 00:37:00,170 like conjuring things that didn't exist 918 00:37:05,350 --> 00:37:02,990 before into being through a proper 919 00:37:09,040 --> 00:37:05,360 setting of the stage so to speak you 920 00:37:11,560 --> 00:37:09,050 know yeah I mean those disturbances are 921 00:37:14,230 --> 00:37:11,570 key to maintaining diversity in time 922 00:37:17,830 --> 00:37:14,240 because you get kind of static in the 923 00:37:19,480 --> 00:37:17,840 same place over time and so you know you 924 00:37:22,210 --> 00:37:19,490 get these disturbances that can either 925 00:37:23,710 --> 00:37:22,220 be a small scale like Native American 926 00:37:25,840 --> 00:37:23,720 burning somewhere or like a 927 00:37:27,940 --> 00:37:25,850 slash-and-burn project down in the 928 00:37:30,040 --> 00:37:27,950 Amazon or you can get the large scale 929 00:37:32,560 --> 00:37:30,050 disturbances like the end of the Ice Age 930 00:37:35,020 --> 00:37:32,570 the Younger Dryas the comet in the 931 00:37:37,060 --> 00:37:35,030 Yucatan that wiped out the dinosaurs in 932 00:37:39,420 --> 00:37:37,070 order to keep nature going 933 00:37:41,920 --> 00:37:39,430 we need these continual disturbances 934 00:37:43,840 --> 00:37:41,930 yeah I don't think people really think 935 00:37:45,880 --> 00:37:43,850 about that but it is a cycle it really 936 00:37:47,980 --> 00:37:45,890 speaks to that it's somewhat of an 937 00:37:51,280 --> 00:37:47,990 occult principle but order out of chaos 938 00:37:53,710 --> 00:37:51,290 it seems like as you said there are 939 00:37:55,780 --> 00:37:53,720 examples where they tried to do 940 00:37:57,700 --> 00:37:55,790 controlled burns on a schedule and they 941 00:37:58,960 --> 00:37:57,710 saw that that didn't really work they 942 00:38:00,820 --> 00:37:58,970 tried to not do it at all and that 943 00:38:04,780 --> 00:38:00,830 didn't really work it needs to somewhat 944 00:38:06,760 --> 00:38:04,790 be randomized to a degree and I don't 945 00:38:09,880 --> 00:38:06,770 know it's just strange because when you 946 00:38:11,890 --> 00:38:09,890 get into the magical mindset of druids 947 00:38:15,190 --> 00:38:11,900 and pagans they're very of the earth and 948 00:38:16,270 --> 00:38:15,200 that's kind of talks down on from like 949 00:38:17,500 --> 00:38:16,280 the Catholic 950 00:38:19,810 --> 00:38:17,510 perspective of course they were 951 00:38:23,290 --> 00:38:19,820 obviously genocided in their own right 952 00:38:25,540 --> 00:38:23,300 but the principles are right there in 953 00:38:27,930 --> 00:38:25,550 practice when dealing with the natural 954 00:38:29,700 --> 00:38:27,940 landscape it's it's baked into our 955 00:38:31,600 --> 00:38:29,710 system it seems 956 00:38:35,260 --> 00:38:31,610 yeah well it's interesting you know you 957 00:38:38,050 --> 00:38:35,270 mentioned how clearly the Native 958 00:38:39,610 --> 00:38:38,060 Americans or the Amazonians display a 959 00:38:41,440 --> 00:38:39,620 lot of intelligence in the way that 960 00:38:43,510 --> 00:38:41,450 they're managing the landscape but the 961 00:38:45,100 --> 00:38:43,520 interesting thing is it depends on how 962 00:38:47,710 --> 00:38:45,110 you define the word intelligence so if 963 00:38:50,410 --> 00:38:47,720 you were to give them maybe like an IQ 964 00:38:54,100 --> 00:38:50,420 test which is developed to measure a 965 00:38:56,230 --> 00:38:54,110 sort of Western centric type of right 966 00:38:58,240 --> 00:38:56,240 brained intelligence you know they may 967 00:39:01,570 --> 00:38:58,250 or may not actually do that well on that 968 00:39:03,220 --> 00:39:01,580 but in terms of being able to connect 969 00:39:07,420 --> 00:39:03,230 with nature they're on a whole nother 970 00:39:09,460 --> 00:39:07,430 level and so it's almost like before we 971 00:39:12,370 --> 00:39:09,470 developed the Industrial Revolution and 972 00:39:13,990 --> 00:39:12,380 even the Agricultural Revolution we were 973 00:39:15,820 --> 00:39:14,000 all much closer to the earth and we all 974 00:39:18,550 --> 00:39:15,830 had this sort of earth-based 975 00:39:21,670 --> 00:39:18,560 consciousness like we were plugged into 976 00:39:24,130 --> 00:39:21,680 the biosphere we were a part of it and 977 00:39:26,680 --> 00:39:24,140 we could sense with our sensory organs 978 00:39:28,960 --> 00:39:26,690 we could send sort of what the landscape 979 00:39:31,120 --> 00:39:28,970 wanted and what we should do within the 980 00:39:33,100 --> 00:39:31,130 landscape to benefit both the land and 981 00:39:35,110 --> 00:39:33,110 ourselves and that was just sort of like 982 00:39:38,470 --> 00:39:35,120 an inherent Sixth Sense that we all had 983 00:39:40,780 --> 00:39:38,480 and it seems like the development of the 984 00:39:42,550 --> 00:39:40,790 right brained logic and rational side of 985 00:39:44,200 --> 00:39:42,560 things that has started with the 986 00:39:47,020 --> 00:39:44,210 development of Agriculture and has sort 987 00:39:49,180 --> 00:39:47,030 of plateaued with the Renaissance and 988 00:39:51,940 --> 00:39:49,190 the Industrial Revolution the 989 00:39:54,550 --> 00:39:51,950 consequence of that is we completely cut 990 00:39:56,470 --> 00:39:54,560 off our consciousness from the earth 991 00:40:00,700 --> 00:39:56,480 consciousness so we have developed this 992 00:40:02,830 --> 00:40:00,710 very powerful individual ego but it is 993 00:40:06,370 --> 00:40:02,840 divorced it is separated from the 994 00:40:08,170 --> 00:40:06,380 natural world and so while now we may 995 00:40:09,480 --> 00:40:08,180 have very smart people and very 996 00:40:12,640 --> 00:40:09,490 intelligent people that can do really 997 00:40:17,130 --> 00:40:12,650 amazing and impressive feats of the mind 998 00:40:20,080 --> 00:40:17,140 we've lost the ability to connect and to 999 00:40:21,760 --> 00:40:20,090 have our consciousness be in touch with 1000 00:40:24,970 --> 00:40:21,770 the consciousness of the earth and so 1001 00:40:26,710 --> 00:40:24,980 where I see us having to go from here is 1002 00:40:28,720 --> 00:40:26,720 like we've developed this amazing 1003 00:40:30,040 --> 00:40:28,730 intellect and now we have to use that 1004 00:40:32,800 --> 00:40:30,050 intellect 1005 00:40:34,750 --> 00:40:32,810 consciously go back and reconnect with 1006 00:40:36,190 --> 00:40:34,760 our ecosystem so you know the indigenous 1007 00:40:38,230 --> 00:40:36,200 people in North America they weren't 1008 00:40:39,820 --> 00:40:38,240 consciously embedded in their landscape 1009 00:40:42,070 --> 00:40:39,830 they were unconsciously embedded they 1010 00:40:44,290 --> 00:40:42,080 didn't know any other way now we've come 1011 00:40:46,630 --> 00:40:44,300 completely divorced from that and it's 1012 00:40:49,330 --> 00:40:46,640 time for us to consciously go and 1013 00:40:51,100 --> 00:40:49,340 realize the problem which is that we're 1014 00:40:52,540 --> 00:40:51,110 disconnected from nature and then we 1015 00:40:55,660 --> 00:40:52,550 have to consciously go back and 1016 00:40:57,520 --> 00:40:55,670 reconnect ourselves cheers to that 1017 00:40:59,530 --> 00:40:57,530 and as we have talked about a lot of 1018 00:41:01,720 --> 00:40:59,540 this does start in the mind if your 1019 00:41:03,640 --> 00:41:01,730 ideas and philosophy are wrong then 1020 00:41:06,220 --> 00:41:03,650 you're wrong actions are going to follow 1021 00:41:08,350 --> 00:41:06,230 and maybe this is where social 1022 00:41:11,080 --> 00:41:08,360 conditioning and control come in I'm 1023 00:41:13,090 --> 00:41:11,090 sure it's both by design and a little 1024 00:41:15,700 --> 00:41:13,100 accidental ignorance the situation that 1025 00:41:18,520 --> 00:41:15,710 we're in right now but you write about 1026 00:41:21,790 --> 00:41:18,530 this you frame it up as the organic mind 1027 00:41:24,460 --> 00:41:21,800 verse the mechanical mind and some of 1028 00:41:26,080 --> 00:41:24,470 those details will be self-evident but 1029 00:41:28,390 --> 00:41:26,090 talk to us a little bit about the 1030 00:41:30,370 --> 00:41:28,400 difference in how we can better 1031 00:41:32,440 --> 00:41:30,380 understand the mechanical mind to get 1032 00:41:35,710 --> 00:41:32,450 away from it and move back towards that 1033 00:41:38,770 --> 00:41:35,720 organic mindset well the mechanical mind 1034 00:41:40,900 --> 00:41:38,780 is basically how we've all been 1035 00:41:43,450 --> 00:41:40,910 programmed and I would absolutely agree 1036 00:41:46,110 --> 00:41:43,460 that it's probably more accidental and 1037 00:41:49,390 --> 00:41:46,120 incidental than anything else but 1038 00:41:52,630 --> 00:41:49,400 essentially we've been programmed to see 1039 00:41:55,060 --> 00:41:52,640 the world through a lens where the 1040 00:41:56,350 --> 00:41:55,070 machine is sort of the ultimate metaphor 1041 00:41:58,510 --> 00:41:56,360 you know we think of the universe as 1042 00:42:02,080 --> 00:41:58,520 being like clock-like and that there's 1043 00:42:04,060 --> 00:42:02,090 sort of this deterministic natural world 1044 00:42:08,580 --> 00:42:04,070 that we fit within and everything is 1045 00:42:10,840 --> 00:42:08,590 random and the ultimate goal of any 1046 00:42:13,360 --> 00:42:10,850 operation or any person is to sort of 1047 00:42:15,010 --> 00:42:13,370 achieve machine-like efficiency and 1048 00:42:16,900 --> 00:42:15,020 perfection so when you hear some 1049 00:42:18,940 --> 00:42:16,910 politicians saying we need policies that 1050 00:42:20,620 --> 00:42:18,950 increase the efficiency of this or that 1051 00:42:22,000 --> 00:42:20,630 we all just sort of passively nod our 1052 00:42:23,830 --> 00:42:22,010 head like well of course that's a good 1053 00:42:25,900 --> 00:42:23,840 thing like increasing efficiency is 1054 00:42:28,150 --> 00:42:25,910 always a good thing well increasing 1055 00:42:30,130 --> 00:42:28,160 efficiency is a good thing sometimes but 1056 00:42:32,830 --> 00:42:30,140 it can be a horrible idea 1057 00:42:35,260 --> 00:42:32,840 some other times and so stepping back a 1058 00:42:37,660 --> 00:42:35,270 little bit we can see that the 1059 00:42:40,240 --> 00:42:37,670 mechanical or machine like conditioning 1060 00:42:42,280 --> 00:42:40,250 that we've all undergone has allowed us 1061 00:42:44,160 --> 00:42:42,290 to become really powerful and do things 1062 00:42:45,690 --> 00:42:44,170 like develop computers 1063 00:42:48,960 --> 00:42:45,700 and talk to each other across the 1064 00:42:52,260 --> 00:42:48,970 internet wirelessly which is amazing but 1065 00:42:54,359 --> 00:42:52,270 the consequence of that is we're our 1066 00:42:56,609 --> 00:42:54,369 cells starting to become machine like 1067 00:42:57,809 --> 00:42:56,619 we're losing which we've already lost 1068 00:42:59,520 --> 00:42:57,819 our connection with the natural world 1069 00:43:01,920 --> 00:42:59,530 but now we're to the point we're so 1070 00:43:03,660 --> 00:43:01,930 addicted to our screens it's been shown 1071 00:43:06,120 --> 00:43:03,670 that the more time you spend in front of 1072 00:43:07,710 --> 00:43:06,130 a screen the lower your empathy goes 1073 00:43:08,910 --> 00:43:07,720 which is really the fundamental 1074 00:43:12,599 --> 00:43:08,920 characteristic that makes us human 1075 00:43:15,000 --> 00:43:12,609 beings and so as we keep developing in 1076 00:43:16,140 --> 00:43:15,010 the mechanical world we lose our 1077 00:43:19,109 --> 00:43:16,150 connection to nature we lose our 1078 00:43:21,120 --> 00:43:19,119 connection to each other and the 1079 00:43:23,039 --> 00:43:21,130 endpoint of that basically is humans 1080 00:43:25,589 --> 00:43:23,049 fully integrating in machines which 1081 00:43:28,309 --> 00:43:25,599 seems like an agenda that there are 1082 00:43:30,690 --> 00:43:28,319 powers that are pushing us towards but 1083 00:43:32,400 --> 00:43:30,700 that doesn't mean we have to go along 1084 00:43:35,490 --> 00:43:32,410 with it and so it's my contention that 1085 00:43:37,230 --> 00:43:35,500 we need to sort of unplug a bit like 1086 00:43:38,670 --> 00:43:37,240 let's use technology for good and 1087 00:43:40,620 --> 00:43:38,680 recognize all the great things about 1088 00:43:42,690 --> 00:43:40,630 technology but hold back a little bit 1089 00:43:44,730 --> 00:43:42,700 and let's be mindful about this and 1090 00:43:47,370 --> 00:43:44,740 figure out what areas of technology 1091 00:43:50,670 --> 00:43:47,380 should we avoid and how can we use 1092 00:43:52,530 --> 00:43:50,680 technology to increase our reconnection 1093 00:43:54,210 --> 00:43:52,540 with the natural rule because this 1094 00:43:56,640 --> 00:43:54,220 trajectory that we're on with the 1095 00:43:58,650 --> 00:43:56,650 machine model which applied towards food 1096 00:44:00,960 --> 00:43:58,660 means that we have factory farms we have 1097 00:44:02,490 --> 00:44:00,970 industrial agriculture which is at a 1098 00:44:04,049 --> 00:44:02,500 fundamental level destroying the planet 1099 00:44:05,880 --> 00:44:04,059 and which is one of the reasons why I'm 1100 00:44:08,430 --> 00:44:05,890 doing what I'm doing is because when you 1101 00:44:10,650 --> 00:44:08,440 kind of realize the extent that we're 1102 00:44:12,780 --> 00:44:10,660 polluting the earth and compromising the 1103 00:44:15,809 --> 00:44:12,790 basic functionings of the planets 1104 00:44:18,750 --> 00:44:15,819 ecosystems humans can't live without a 1105 00:44:20,490 --> 00:44:18,760 planet that's functioning and so we're 1106 00:44:22,349 --> 00:44:20,500 able to sort of buy ourselves a little 1107 00:44:24,150 --> 00:44:22,359 bit of time with really cheap fossil 1108 00:44:27,059 --> 00:44:24,160 fuels but because those fossil fuels 1109 00:44:28,740 --> 00:44:27,069 substitute for a lot of the goods and 1110 00:44:30,839 --> 00:44:28,750 services that we get from ecosystems but 1111 00:44:33,120 --> 00:44:30,849 that's a band-aid that doesn't last for 1112 00:44:35,910 --> 00:44:33,130 very long and so we really have to get 1113 00:44:37,380 --> 00:44:35,920 our ecosystems back going if Humanity is 1114 00:44:39,630 --> 00:44:37,390 going to survive on this planet and the 1115 00:44:43,319 --> 00:44:39,640 only way I see us being able to do that 1116 00:44:46,049 --> 00:44:43,329 is to get out of this mechanical mindset 1117 00:44:48,299 --> 00:44:46,059 because the mechanical mindset does not 1118 00:44:50,640 --> 00:44:48,309 work in the development of an ecosystem 1119 00:44:53,549 --> 00:44:50,650 you can't restore an ecosystem with the 1120 00:44:54,980 --> 00:44:53,559 mechanical mindset nature will chew you 1121 00:44:57,960 --> 00:44:54,990 up and spit you out 1122 00:45:00,029 --> 00:44:57,970 amen and that's exactly the kind 1123 00:45:02,190 --> 00:45:00,039 Thayne I was hoping we would get into 1124 00:45:04,950 --> 00:45:02,200 because we can talk about screen 1125 00:45:07,200 --> 00:45:04,960 addiction and 5g and techno surveillance 1126 00:45:08,789 --> 00:45:07,210 all these things that the conspiracy 1127 00:45:11,970 --> 00:45:08,799 culture is really concerned about 1128 00:45:15,900 --> 00:45:11,980 shaking their fist at the air but that 1129 00:45:17,940 --> 00:45:15,910 doesn't do anything to fix it I mean we 1130 00:45:20,940 --> 00:45:17,950 can say we've been led down this bad 1131 00:45:23,250 --> 00:45:20,950 path and sure it's important to see how 1132 00:45:25,230 --> 00:45:23,260 that happened and exactly what 1133 00:45:27,930 --> 00:45:25,240 manipulations were in place and how bad 1134 00:45:31,230 --> 00:45:27,940 it was but it doesn't do anything to get 1135 00:45:34,020 --> 00:45:31,240 us off of that path this really is the 1136 00:45:36,450 --> 00:45:34,030 only way off as far as I can see and it 1137 00:45:38,880 --> 00:45:36,460 really gets to the heart of that 1138 00:45:41,760 --> 00:45:38,890 personal responsibility element that is 1139 00:45:43,710 --> 00:45:41,770 also what I think is important about 1140 00:45:46,440 --> 00:45:43,720 learning about magic I mean I think 1141 00:45:48,809 --> 00:45:46,450 nature personal responsibility magic 1142 00:45:51,420 --> 00:45:48,819 it's all kind of in that soup the 1143 00:45:53,460 --> 00:45:51,430 solution soup for getting us where we 1144 00:45:56,279 --> 00:45:53,470 want to go instead of just bitching 1145 00:45:58,920 --> 00:45:56,289 about where we've been yeah I mean 1146 00:46:01,200 --> 00:45:58,930 totally it we gotta find solutions not 1147 00:46:04,109 --> 00:46:01,210 just focus on the problems right so to 1148 00:46:07,289 --> 00:46:04,119 me the solutions involve sort of a 1149 00:46:09,210 --> 00:46:07,299 fundamental level rediscovering what it 1150 00:46:10,349 --> 00:46:09,220 means to be human like what does it mean 1151 00:46:12,089 --> 00:46:10,359 to be a human being 1152 00:46:13,440 --> 00:46:12,099 are there certain things that humans 1153 00:46:15,720 --> 00:46:13,450 need to go through in order to be 1154 00:46:17,940 --> 00:46:15,730 healthy in order to be satisfied to have 1155 00:46:19,589 --> 00:46:17,950 a meaningful life and are we missing 1156 00:46:21,630 --> 00:46:19,599 those things in our modern world I would 1157 00:46:25,500 --> 00:46:21,640 argue that we are missing many many 1158 00:46:28,589 --> 00:46:25,510 things that our consciousness need to 1159 00:46:30,809 --> 00:46:28,599 experience to be complete full happy 1160 00:46:32,309 --> 00:46:30,819 human beings and so that's sort of like 1161 00:46:33,900 --> 00:46:32,319 the place to start but then you sort of 1162 00:46:37,980 --> 00:46:33,910 realize once you start going down this 1163 00:46:40,250 --> 00:46:37,990 path all of our senses are dulled and 1164 00:46:42,020 --> 00:46:40,260 kind of [\h__\h] 1165 00:46:43,910 --> 00:46:42,030 all of our senses they're like muscles 1166 00:46:46,220 --> 00:46:43,920 so like our eyes are like muscles and if 1167 00:46:49,099 --> 00:46:46,230 we don't use them they start to degrade 1168 00:46:53,240 --> 00:46:49,109 and our hearing and our sense of smell 1169 00:46:55,730 --> 00:46:53,250 and our sense of touch all of our senses 1170 00:46:57,200 --> 00:46:55,740 are being dulled the longer we sit in 1171 00:46:59,180 --> 00:46:57,210 front of screens and all the time that 1172 00:47:03,290 --> 00:46:59,190 we're not out in nature actually 1173 00:47:07,730 --> 00:47:03,300 interacting with the real world our 1174 00:47:09,770 --> 00:47:07,740 senses are atrophying and so that's like 1175 00:47:11,780 --> 00:47:09,780 the first place to start is getting back 1176 00:47:13,609 --> 00:47:11,790 in touch with your sense of smell and 1177 00:47:17,300 --> 00:47:13,619 your sense of touch and your sense of 1178 00:47:18,620 --> 00:47:17,310 sight and being able to see birds being 1179 00:47:21,500 --> 00:47:18,630 able to identify a bird in your 1180 00:47:24,320 --> 00:47:21,510 peripheral vision without thinking about 1181 00:47:27,050 --> 00:47:24,330 it all these things that our human 1182 00:47:29,660 --> 00:47:27,060 bodies are evolved to do a whole bunch 1183 00:47:32,540 --> 00:47:29,670 of things like we should know all of the 1184 00:47:35,210 --> 00:47:32,550 different sights and smells and sounds 1185 00:47:37,070 --> 00:47:35,220 of animals and birds and plants we 1186 00:47:38,270 --> 00:47:37,080 shouldn't have to see a bear before 1187 00:47:39,740 --> 00:47:38,280 walking through the woods we should just 1188 00:47:41,359 --> 00:47:39,750 know that a bear was there an hour ago 1189 00:47:43,340 --> 00:47:41,369 because there's a certain kind of scent 1190 00:47:46,790 --> 00:47:43,350 left on a certain kind of plant and 1191 00:47:48,710 --> 00:47:46,800 these are the kinds of things that all 1192 00:47:51,260 --> 00:47:48,720 of our ancestors knew and I'm not saying 1193 00:47:53,359 --> 00:47:51,270 like we all need to get that deep into 1194 00:47:55,310 --> 00:47:53,369 it it's just we need to realize what 1195 00:47:57,950 --> 00:47:55,320 we've lost essentially in order to start 1196 00:48:00,230 --> 00:47:57,960 finding it back and so I'm never gonna 1197 00:48:01,970 --> 00:48:00,240 be that in touch with nature that I can 1198 00:48:04,640 --> 00:48:01,980 do these things I'm talking about but I 1199 00:48:07,220 --> 00:48:04,650 can make sure that my kids grow up in a 1200 00:48:10,970 --> 00:48:07,230 world where they have the opportunities 1201 00:48:14,330 --> 00:48:10,980 to keep their senses sharp and maintain 1202 00:48:15,680 --> 00:48:14,340 more of a human existence mm-hmm I 1203 00:48:17,599 --> 00:48:15,690 thought that was really interesting 1204 00:48:20,359 --> 00:48:17,609 because you kind of talk about how it 1205 00:48:23,330 --> 00:48:20,369 does take a generation that might be a 1206 00:48:24,620 --> 00:48:23,340 bitter pill to swallow because people 1207 00:48:27,440 --> 00:48:24,630 want to think they can change it 1208 00:48:30,560 --> 00:48:27,450 themselves but we kind of have this 1209 00:48:32,960 --> 00:48:30,570 slave mentality this suckling at the 1210 00:48:36,290 --> 00:48:32,970 societal t attitude we have lost 1211 00:48:40,609 --> 00:48:36,300 personal responsibility and maybe we are 1212 00:48:43,099 --> 00:48:40,619 so brainwashed that we only can correct 1213 00:48:44,960 --> 00:48:43,109 it by letting our kids be a little less 1214 00:48:47,599 --> 00:48:44,970 brainwashed and then their kids a little 1215 00:48:50,780 --> 00:48:47,609 less brainwashed and that might be the 1216 00:48:53,510 --> 00:48:50,790 sad reality that we're kind of too far 1217 00:48:55,790 --> 00:48:53,520 gone at this point to save ourselves 1218 00:48:58,790 --> 00:48:55,800 yeah I mean it is sad when you think 1219 00:49:02,000 --> 00:48:58,800 about it I think that it is totally 1220 00:49:05,300 --> 00:49:02,010 possible for all of us to do what we're 1221 00:49:07,550 --> 00:49:05,310 talking about and sort of deprogram our 1222 00:49:09,800 --> 00:49:07,560 brains and then reprogram them in a more 1223 00:49:11,390 --> 00:49:09,810 natural light we can all do that but it 1224 00:49:14,079 --> 00:49:11,400 takes a lot of work it takes decades 1225 00:49:16,460 --> 00:49:14,089 years and years and years of work and 1226 00:49:19,430 --> 00:49:16,470 many people aren't going to be willing 1227 00:49:21,230 --> 00:49:19,440 to do that and so the probably more 1228 00:49:23,300 --> 00:49:21,240 realistic way is you know we need a 1229 00:49:25,849 --> 00:49:23,310 certain percentage of people to undergo 1230 00:49:27,829 --> 00:49:25,859 that in this generation and then we need 1231 00:49:30,640 --> 00:49:27,839 to basically raise the next generation 1232 00:49:33,079 --> 00:49:30,650 in a way where they're not as programmed 1233 00:49:34,730 --> 00:49:33,089 not that we have to program them the 1234 00:49:37,810 --> 00:49:34,740 right way but we just got to try to keep 1235 00:49:39,920 --> 00:49:37,820 them from being programmed the wrong way 1236 00:49:42,260 --> 00:49:39,930 yeah I mean I agree with you it's kind 1237 00:49:45,500 --> 00:49:42,270 of like nature will take its course and 1238 00:49:48,230 --> 00:49:45,510 the proper mindsets will become apparent 1239 00:49:52,099 --> 00:49:48,240 with less manipulation at least I think 1240 00:49:53,839 --> 00:49:52,109 so yes I agree and so just to get back 1241 00:49:55,370 --> 00:49:53,849 to a little bit to what you do I'm sure 1242 00:49:58,010 --> 00:49:55,380 there's all sorts of little nuances 1243 00:49:59,930 --> 00:49:58,020 about how complex systems operate that 1244 00:50:00,260 --> 00:49:59,940 you wouldn't see until you're really in 1245 00:50:01,910 --> 00:50:00,270 it 1246 00:50:03,890 --> 00:50:01,920 like one example I've heard you talk 1247 00:50:06,020 --> 00:50:03,900 about is how we know animals like to 1248 00:50:07,790 --> 00:50:06,030 scratch their butts on trees right but 1249 00:50:09,680 --> 00:50:07,800 pigs roll around in mud and then when 1250 00:50:12,050 --> 00:50:09,690 they do it they're actually packing mud 1251 00:50:14,390 --> 00:50:12,060 around the base of the tree which 1252 00:50:15,770 --> 00:50:14,400 protects it and keeps pests away and 1253 00:50:18,380 --> 00:50:15,780 that sort of thing and I just thought 1254 00:50:20,480 --> 00:50:18,390 that was a really cool cause and effect 1255 00:50:23,420 --> 00:50:20,490 are there other similar examples you've 1256 00:50:26,720 --> 00:50:23,430 seen in nature's intelligence that you 1257 00:50:29,540 --> 00:50:26,730 could tell us about oh yeah there's lots 1258 00:50:31,730 --> 00:50:29,550 of things you know one thing would be 1259 00:50:35,300 --> 00:50:31,740 that one of the big concerns right now 1260 00:50:39,890 --> 00:50:35,310 with so called climate change is methane 1261 00:50:40,880 --> 00:50:39,900 and cattle are the big targets for that 1262 00:50:42,320 --> 00:50:40,890 it's like we got to get rid of our 1263 00:50:43,940 --> 00:50:42,330 cattle because they're farting and 1264 00:50:47,150 --> 00:50:43,950 belching well the methane more comes 1265 00:50:48,920 --> 00:50:47,160 from their burps and you can measure it 1266 00:50:51,170 --> 00:50:48,930 because when they go to a confined 1267 00:50:54,380 --> 00:50:51,180 animal feed lot operation a big factory 1268 00:50:56,210 --> 00:50:54,390 where they stuffed cows in a building 1269 00:50:57,740 --> 00:50:56,220 they can seal the building and then they 1270 00:51:00,320 --> 00:50:57,750 can count and measure the amount of 1271 00:51:02,030 --> 00:51:00,330 methane coming off right the fact that 1272 00:51:04,670 --> 00:51:02,040 it's a factory operation makes it really 1273 00:51:06,349 --> 00:51:04,680 easy to measure the methane okay now you 1274 00:51:07,450 --> 00:51:06,359 put a cow out on pasture it's a lot 1275 00:51:10,299 --> 00:51:07,460 harder to measure 1276 00:51:13,000 --> 00:51:10,309 they just assume that because feedlot 1277 00:51:15,460 --> 00:51:13,010 cows produce a lot of methane pastured 1278 00:51:18,130 --> 00:51:15,470 cows must too but the research that's 1279 00:51:20,710 --> 00:51:18,140 coming out now is that in healthy 1280 00:51:23,290 --> 00:51:20,720 pastures where the soil is being built 1281 00:51:25,210 --> 00:51:23,300 through responsible grazing there are a 1282 00:51:27,640 --> 00:51:25,220 class of bacteria called methane 1283 00:51:29,620 --> 00:51:27,650 atrophic bacteria that consumes methane 1284 00:51:33,160 --> 00:51:29,630 and so when a cows got its head down 1285 00:51:36,010 --> 00:51:33,170 eating grass it may burp and methane may 1286 00:51:39,040 --> 00:51:36,020 come out but it immediately gets gobbled 1287 00:51:41,890 --> 00:51:39,050 up by that bacteria which then converts 1288 00:51:45,220 --> 00:51:41,900 that methane into a co2 making it much 1289 00:51:48,339 --> 00:51:45,230 less harmful of a greenhouse gas so when 1290 00:51:50,500 --> 00:51:48,349 you isolate components out of nature you 1291 00:51:52,660 --> 00:51:50,510 get problems you get pest disease you 1292 00:51:54,370 --> 00:51:52,670 know all of our agriculture whether 1293 00:51:56,950 --> 00:51:54,380 we're talking conventional orchards or 1294 00:51:58,690 --> 00:51:56,960 crop fields you basically take one 1295 00:52:00,250 --> 00:51:58,700 component of nature say an almond tree 1296 00:52:01,480 --> 00:52:00,260 and we're gonna plant thousands of 1297 00:52:02,380 --> 00:52:01,490 thousands of almond trees right next to 1298 00:52:04,930 --> 00:52:02,390 each other we're gonna spray herbicide 1299 00:52:06,609 --> 00:52:04,940 to keep the grass is down yada yada yada 1300 00:52:08,559 --> 00:52:06,619 you like separate something from the 1301 00:52:10,030 --> 00:52:08,569 rest of nature when you do that nature 1302 00:52:11,410 --> 00:52:10,040 doesn't like it and it creates problems 1303 00:52:13,480 --> 00:52:11,420 for you and you're just like setting 1304 00:52:16,240 --> 00:52:13,490 yourself up for a constant fight against 1305 00:52:18,370 --> 00:52:16,250 diseases and you take pigs and you put 1306 00:52:19,630 --> 00:52:18,380 them into a feedlot well then they start 1307 00:52:21,160 --> 00:52:19,640 getting sick and so what do you do you 1308 00:52:22,359 --> 00:52:21,170 start giving them antibiotics well now 1309 00:52:24,190 --> 00:52:22,369 we've got antibiotic resistant bacteria 1310 00:52:26,770 --> 00:52:24,200 so there's this like arms race that 1311 00:52:28,390 --> 00:52:26,780 happens when we fight nature the cool 1312 00:52:31,210 --> 00:52:28,400 thing is when we start to work with 1313 00:52:33,250 --> 00:52:31,220 nature is that it flips the other way so 1314 00:52:36,130 --> 00:52:33,260 instead of nature hurting us nature 1315 00:52:39,039 --> 00:52:36,140 starts to help us and the example of the 1316 00:52:40,539 --> 00:52:39,049 pigs is a great example of that where if 1317 00:52:42,250 --> 00:52:40,549 you have an apple orchard there's all 1318 00:52:43,990 --> 00:52:42,260 kinds of bugs that want to eat those 1319 00:52:45,700 --> 00:52:44,000 apples and many of them crawl right up 1320 00:52:47,260 --> 00:52:45,710 the trunk of the tree to get to the 1321 00:52:48,910 --> 00:52:47,270 apples well if you've got pigs in there 1322 00:52:50,230 --> 00:52:48,920 and they're wallowing in mud and 1323 00:52:52,180 --> 00:52:50,240 scratching their butts on the tree then 1324 00:52:54,039 --> 00:52:52,190 they seal that tree and now that insects 1325 00:52:57,640 --> 00:52:54,049 can't climb up anymore and so there's 1326 00:52:59,349 --> 00:52:57,650 lots of examples like that where when 1327 00:53:01,240 --> 00:52:59,359 you start to work in natural systems 1328 00:53:04,030 --> 00:53:01,250 nature rewards you because there's all 1329 00:53:07,569 --> 00:53:04,040 these knock-on benefits that you 1330 00:53:09,640 --> 00:53:07,579 probably didn't anticipate by restoring 1331 00:53:11,829 --> 00:53:09,650 a more natural system 1332 00:53:13,930 --> 00:53:11,839 Wow man yeah I think those little 1333 00:53:15,519 --> 00:53:13,940 examples are pretty fun and interesting 1334 00:53:17,620 --> 00:53:15,529 and maybe we can take that a little 1335 00:53:19,900 --> 00:53:17,630 further with what you do on the farm in 1336 00:53:22,930 --> 00:53:19,910 terms of using animals in place of 1337 00:53:25,109 --> 00:53:22,940 mechanical tools it's sort of along the 1338 00:53:27,370 --> 00:53:25,119 same lines and also ties into the 1339 00:53:29,470 --> 00:53:27,380 rotational grazing that you mentioned 1340 00:53:33,339 --> 00:53:29,480 earlier but what more can be said about 1341 00:53:35,259 --> 00:53:33,349 a well oiled Farms ability to get a 1342 00:53:40,239 --> 00:53:35,269 little sweat equity out of its animals 1343 00:53:41,950 --> 00:53:40,249 in holistic and natural ways yeah so I 1344 00:53:44,349 --> 00:53:41,960 guess we could back up a little bit you 1345 00:53:46,539 --> 00:53:44,359 know we call it mastodon valley farm for 1346 00:53:48,519 --> 00:53:46,549 a couple reasons one is that there was a 1347 00:53:51,160 --> 00:53:48,529 big Mastodon skeleton found after a 1348 00:53:52,900 --> 00:53:51,170 flood back in the early 1900s just a few 1349 00:53:54,609 --> 00:53:52,910 miles from our farm so there's lots of 1350 00:53:55,989 --> 00:53:54,619 mastodons in our area 1351 00:53:58,120 --> 00:53:55,999 but there are mastodons all over eastern 1352 00:53:59,620 --> 00:53:58,130 North America along with the rest of the 1353 00:54:01,539 --> 00:53:59,630 megafauna there's a lot of megafauna on 1354 00:54:03,400 --> 00:54:01,549 this continent before the last ice age 1355 00:54:05,109 --> 00:54:03,410 and they had been here for a very long 1356 00:54:08,370 --> 00:54:05,119 time about 30 million years and we're 1357 00:54:11,499 --> 00:54:08,380 talking big horses and big ground sloths 1358 00:54:14,620 --> 00:54:11,509 beavers the size of a Volkswagen bug 1359 00:54:16,420 --> 00:54:14,630 really large animals the Bison that were 1360 00:54:17,890 --> 00:54:16,430 here were much bigger than the Bison 1361 00:54:19,630 --> 00:54:17,900 that we have now which actually came 1362 00:54:20,890 --> 00:54:19,640 over from Eurasia fairly recently 1363 00:54:22,599 --> 00:54:20,900 they're like a small a diminutive 1364 00:54:24,549 --> 00:54:22,609 version of what we used to have the 1365 00:54:26,019 --> 00:54:24,559 original American bison anyway there was 1366 00:54:28,269 --> 00:54:26,029 lots of big animals here and so we 1367 00:54:31,569 --> 00:54:28,279 talked about how the role of the Native 1368 00:54:33,489 --> 00:54:31,579 Americans in managing the savanna 1369 00:54:34,900 --> 00:54:33,499 landscape with fire to keep things 1370 00:54:38,470 --> 00:54:34,910 opened and to maintain this balance 1371 00:54:39,729 --> 00:54:38,480 between the grassland and trees what's 1372 00:54:41,829 --> 00:54:39,739 interesting is when you look back before 1373 00:54:43,749 --> 00:54:41,839 Native Americans got here you see the 1374 00:54:46,180 --> 00:54:43,759 same signature is the same savanna 1375 00:54:48,249 --> 00:54:46,190 landscape happening because we had all 1376 00:54:51,099 --> 00:54:48,259 these huge animals that were eating the 1377 00:54:53,470 --> 00:54:51,109 trees to maintain this open savanna 1378 00:54:55,059 --> 00:54:53,480 landscape so we've had savannas they've 1379 00:54:56,620 --> 00:54:55,069 been remarkably persistent for the last 1380 00:54:59,800 --> 00:54:56,630 30 million years considering they're 1381 00:55:02,110 --> 00:54:59,810 entirely unnatural quote-unquote now 1382 00:55:04,680 --> 00:55:02,120 I think about that a lot and so like all 1383 00:55:07,390 --> 00:55:04,690 of the plants that we have around us 1384 00:55:10,030 --> 00:55:07,400 evolved in the context of extreme 1385 00:55:11,860 --> 00:55:10,040 grazing and browsing by large animals 1386 00:55:13,300 --> 00:55:11,870 throughout their evolutionary history 1387 00:55:17,470 --> 00:55:13,310 and so we got to remember that 1388 00:55:19,930 --> 00:55:17,480 and so we manage our animals in ways to 1389 00:55:22,270 --> 00:55:19,940 try to mimic the way that megafauna 1390 00:55:24,940 --> 00:55:22,280 would have grazed and so when a herd of 1391 00:55:26,020 --> 00:55:24,950 bison say would have come through there 1392 00:55:27,250 --> 00:55:26,030 would have been a whole bunch of them 1393 00:55:29,650 --> 00:55:27,260 and they would have plowed through the 1394 00:55:30,700 --> 00:55:29,660 area eating everything in sight and then 1395 00:55:33,160 --> 00:55:30,710 they would have left and then they 1396 00:55:35,560 --> 00:55:33,170 wouldn't have come back what happens 1397 00:55:38,020 --> 00:55:35,570 when you graze an area really hard and 1398 00:55:41,560 --> 00:55:38,030 then allow it to recover is that that 1399 00:55:44,140 --> 00:55:41,570 recovery process is super beneficial for 1400 00:55:48,340 --> 00:55:44,150 building soil and for plant diversity so 1401 00:55:51,040 --> 00:55:48,350 lots of plants really expect that POLST 1402 00:55:52,420 --> 00:55:51,050 grazing event and so they really like it 1403 00:55:54,640 --> 00:55:52,430 when they get it and then you get more 1404 00:55:58,000 --> 00:55:54,650 diverse pastures that have much better 1405 00:55:59,980 --> 00:55:58,010 soil we obviously don't have mastodons 1406 00:56:01,720 --> 00:55:59,990 and ground sloths anymore the biggest 1407 00:56:04,180 --> 00:56:01,730 animals I can get my hand on in a 1408 00:56:07,180 --> 00:56:04,190 reasonable way are cattle and sheep and 1409 00:56:10,090 --> 00:56:07,190 goats and pigs we do poultry as well so 1410 00:56:14,020 --> 00:56:10,100 chickens and turkeys and so each species 1411 00:56:15,280 --> 00:56:14,030 has its own niche its own sets of plants 1412 00:56:18,010 --> 00:56:15,290 that it likes to eat its own habitat 1413 00:56:22,720 --> 00:56:18,020 likes it spend its day in we try to 1414 00:56:24,430 --> 00:56:22,730 graze in ways that are pulsed so an area 1415 00:56:25,960 --> 00:56:24,440 will grow up it'll be really lush we'll 1416 00:56:27,730 --> 00:56:25,970 hit it with the cows we'll hit it with 1417 00:56:29,920 --> 00:56:27,740 the sheep will might bring in the pigs 1418 00:56:32,050 --> 00:56:29,930 and then we just let it go we let it 1419 00:56:34,540 --> 00:56:32,060 rest for a month or five weeks or six 1420 00:56:36,820 --> 00:56:34,550 weeks and then at that point it's lush 1421 00:56:38,290 --> 00:56:36,830 and green and tall and ready to be 1422 00:56:40,060 --> 00:56:38,300 grazed again and then we'll graze it 1423 00:56:42,090 --> 00:56:40,070 again and it's that rest period 1424 00:56:45,580 --> 00:56:42,100 following grazing that's essential to 1425 00:56:49,030 --> 00:56:45,590 plant health and the ability to build 1426 00:56:50,980 --> 00:56:49,040 soil and so our big goal at our farm is 1427 00:56:51,460 --> 00:56:50,990 to build soil kind of as rapidly as we 1428 00:56:54,250 --> 00:56:51,470 can 1429 00:56:56,110 --> 00:56:54,260 it's these long rest periods followed by 1430 00:56:58,030 --> 00:56:56,120 pulsed grazing that allows us to build 1431 00:57:00,070 --> 00:56:58,040 soil and we're doing it we're collecting 1432 00:57:02,140 --> 00:57:00,080 data and you know I knew it was possible 1433 00:57:03,760 --> 00:57:02,150 but until I started doing it I didn't 1434 00:57:07,900 --> 00:57:03,770 even really believe how fast you can 1435 00:57:10,870 --> 00:57:07,910 grow soil very cool and so a lot of us 1436 00:57:13,150 --> 00:57:10,880 probably won't be able to completely 1437 00:57:15,430 --> 00:57:13,160 dedicate ourselves to a multi a 1438 00:57:17,140 --> 00:57:15,440 farm but you know maybe there are some 1439 00:57:19,839 --> 00:57:17,150 people listening who are lucky to 1440 00:57:22,089 --> 00:57:19,849 actually have a small yard or something 1441 00:57:24,490 --> 00:57:22,099 like that do you have any advice or 1442 00:57:27,549 --> 00:57:24,500 resources for people on how to make the 1443 00:57:30,190 --> 00:57:27,559 most out of a little oh absolutely I 1444 00:57:32,740 --> 00:57:30,200 mean this obviously there's a lower 1445 00:57:34,240 --> 00:57:32,750 limit to what you can do with cattle you 1446 00:57:36,039 --> 00:57:34,250 know there's lots of things available if 1447 00:57:38,020 --> 00:57:36,049 you've got a quarter acre a half acre an 1448 00:57:40,059 --> 00:57:38,030 acre I mean Ducks are really cool 1449 00:57:41,799 --> 00:57:40,069 grazing animals like they eat a lot of 1450 00:57:43,950 --> 00:57:41,809 grass and geese eat a lot of grass 1451 00:57:46,750 --> 00:57:43,960 there's really cool 1452 00:57:49,180 --> 00:57:46,760 integrated systems that you can do with 1453 00:57:51,630 --> 00:57:49,190 poultry or ducks especially they work 1454 00:57:54,400 --> 00:57:51,640 really well with tree planting so 1455 00:57:56,680 --> 00:57:54,410 growing an orchard or like a diverse 1456 00:58:00,190 --> 00:57:56,690 kind of food forest ducks and geese can 1457 00:58:02,260 --> 00:58:00,200 be integrated into that obviously lots 1458 00:58:03,730 --> 00:58:02,270 depends on what kind of land your on and 1459 00:58:06,279 --> 00:58:03,740 soil and yada yada and all that kind of 1460 00:58:07,569 --> 00:58:06,289 stuff but it's not scale dependent you 1461 00:58:10,210 --> 00:58:07,579 don't have to be big scale and a lot of 1462 00:58:13,089 --> 00:58:10,220 times we're on two hundred and twenty 1463 00:58:15,370 --> 00:58:13,099 acres which sounds like a lot to most 1464 00:58:17,710 --> 00:58:15,380 people but in Ag land that's actually 1465 00:58:20,760 --> 00:58:17,720 like a tiny farm but to most people 1466 00:58:23,140 --> 00:58:20,770 that's beyond imaginably big and 1467 00:58:25,599 --> 00:58:23,150 sometimes I mean I enjoy what I do but 1468 00:58:27,609 --> 00:58:25,609 I'm working on such an extensive land 1469 00:58:32,039 --> 00:58:27,619 base that I don't get to really like 1470 00:58:34,299 --> 00:58:32,049 zoom in and make small areas really 1471 00:58:35,920 --> 00:58:34,309 what's really cool about this is that 1472 00:58:37,900 --> 00:58:35,930 there's really no limit to how much you 1473 00:58:39,730 --> 00:58:37,910 can produce on an acre like you can just 1474 00:58:41,319 --> 00:58:39,740 keep packing things in because nature 1475 00:58:43,420 --> 00:58:41,329 wants to be diverse and so if you can 1476 00:58:44,920 --> 00:58:43,430 find the right species that have these 1477 00:58:47,349 --> 00:58:44,930 positive interactions with each other 1478 00:58:49,539 --> 00:58:47,359 that have symbiosis then you can really 1479 00:58:50,920 --> 00:58:49,549 constantly stack things on top of each 1480 00:58:52,329 --> 00:58:50,930 other you can build little ponds that 1481 00:58:53,829 --> 00:58:52,339 can have fish and you can do all these 1482 00:58:55,329 --> 00:58:53,839 like little things you can make 1483 00:58:57,460 --> 00:58:55,339 microclimate so that even if you're in a 1484 00:59:00,490 --> 00:58:57,470 cold region if you bring in some rocks 1485 00:59:02,620 --> 00:59:00,500 and dig a pond the right way you can 1486 00:59:03,910 --> 00:59:02,630 then increase the heat that is captured 1487 00:59:07,000 --> 00:59:03,920 and stored on your land which then 1488 00:59:09,250 --> 00:59:07,010 allows you to grow plants or trees that 1489 00:59:11,680 --> 00:59:09,260 produce fruit that shouldn't be able to 1490 00:59:13,510 --> 00:59:11,690 grow there because it's too cold lots of 1491 00:59:15,160 --> 00:59:13,520 things like that you can do on smaller 1492 00:59:17,019 --> 00:59:15,170 acreage where you can really be 1493 00:59:19,779 --> 00:59:17,029 intensively focused instead of 1494 00:59:22,059 --> 00:59:19,789 extensively focused that's cool that's 1495 00:59:24,460 --> 00:59:22,069 cool I mean that's definitely inspiring 1496 00:59:26,630 --> 00:59:24,470 for people who maybe think that some of 1497 00:59:29,900 --> 00:59:26,640 these things are outside of their mean 1498 00:59:31,640 --> 00:59:29,910 and it's just been awesome man I'm 1499 00:59:33,140 --> 00:59:31,650 really glad we could do this I think 1500 00:59:34,910 --> 00:59:33,150 there's a lot of fun stuff to learn 1501 00:59:38,120 --> 00:59:34,920 about within the realm of permaculture 1502 00:59:40,790 --> 00:59:38,130 and a lot of it does touch on many of 1503 00:59:43,280 --> 00:59:40,800 the more wacky THC themes that a person 1504 00:59:45,710 --> 00:59:43,290 might not think about it first there's 1505 00:59:47,720 --> 00:59:45,720 probably more connective tissue than 1506 00:59:49,670 --> 00:59:47,730 they realize and correcting our 1507 00:59:52,340 --> 00:59:49,680 manipulated history is a big part of 1508 00:59:55,010 --> 00:59:52,350 that and also taking responsibility for 1509 00:59:56,420 --> 00:59:55,020 ourselves as well before we really wrap 1510 00:59:57,980 --> 00:59:56,430 this thing up I know your book isn't 1511 00:59:59,630 --> 00:59:57,990 quite done yet but what sort of things 1512 01:00:03,410 --> 00:59:59,640 should we mention your meat subscription 1513 01:00:05,720 --> 01:00:03,420 business again your classes yeah so we 1514 01:00:07,730 --> 01:00:05,730 teach a class if anybody's interested in 1515 01:00:10,430 --> 01:00:07,740 learning more of this land management 1516 01:00:13,130 --> 01:00:10,440 ecology integrating back into nature we 1517 01:00:14,630 --> 01:00:13,140 teach a class every summer we're in the 1518 01:00:16,280 --> 01:00:14,640 process of building a house right now 1519 01:00:19,010 --> 01:00:16,290 once we get that done we're going to be 1520 01:00:22,340 --> 01:00:19,020 able to have a few more course offerings 1521 01:00:25,070 --> 01:00:22,350 we do like timber frame building we cut 1522 01:00:26,510 --> 01:00:25,080 down trees and mill them into big posts 1523 01:00:28,850 --> 01:00:26,520 and beams and then do the old-school 1524 01:00:31,730 --> 01:00:28,860 joinery type building which is pretty 1525 01:00:33,860 --> 01:00:31,740 cool and yeah follow along on our 1526 01:00:36,140 --> 01:00:33,870 website on social media on Instagram or 1527 01:00:38,360 --> 01:00:36,150 Twitter we post a lot and try to be 1528 01:00:40,340 --> 01:00:38,370 educational about helping people figure 1529 01:00:41,870 --> 01:00:40,350 out what we're doing to restore the 1530 01:00:45,380 --> 01:00:41,880 ecosystems and things that they can do 1531 01:00:47,540 --> 01:00:45,390 as well right on all good stuff well 1532 01:00:49,880 --> 01:00:47,550 thanks for being here man and thanks for 1533 01:00:51,950 --> 01:00:49,890 being bold enough to actually be the 1534 01:00:56,950 --> 01:00:51,960 change you want to see in the world hey 1535 01:01:05,020 --> 01:01:02,650 so it goes people and so it goes man 1536 01:01:07,180 --> 01:01:05,030 Peter definitely knows what he's talking 1537 01:01:09,220 --> 01:01:07,190 about it's always nice to give the 1538 01:01:11,109 --> 01:01:09,230 platform to a plus member too because 1539 01:01:13,630 --> 01:01:11,119 they know the tone and the flow of the 1540 01:01:17,430 --> 01:01:13,640 show we can know they're a kindred 1541 01:01:20,770 --> 01:01:17,440 spirit even if we stick to a semi 1542 01:01:22,930 --> 01:01:20,780 off-the-beaten-path path we did get to 1543 01:01:24,940 --> 01:01:22,940 talk a little bit about the esoteric and 1544 01:01:28,329 --> 01:01:24,950 magical side of these things although 1545 01:01:30,670 --> 01:01:28,339 that's not Peters forte poor say he is 1546 01:01:32,920 --> 01:01:30,680 of the mutual opinion that it's in the 1547 01:01:35,620 --> 01:01:32,930 mix of this kind of perspective and 1548 01:01:38,500 --> 01:01:35,630 needs to be injected back into our 1549 01:01:41,829 --> 01:01:38,510 culture and way of life and I say cheers 1550 01:01:45,010 --> 01:01:41,839 to that and I think if I went back 20 1551 01:01:47,380 --> 01:01:45,020 years and told my 14 year old self that 1552 01:01:49,780 --> 01:01:47,390 my job was gonna be putting out a radio 1553 01:01:53,230 --> 01:01:49,790 interview on oak savannas I might've 1554 01:01:56,650 --> 01:01:53,240 just offed myself of what we grow and we 1555 01:01:59,770 --> 01:01:56,660 learn and we find interest in different 1556 01:02:03,370 --> 01:01:59,780 types of things and I'd like to think 1557 01:02:07,000 --> 01:02:03,380 that we pushed our permaculture thread a 1558 01:02:10,000 --> 01:02:07,010 little bit farther downfield and I think 1559 01:02:12,640 --> 01:02:10,010 the wilderness myth in terms of mindsets 1560 01:02:13,780 --> 01:02:12,650 is just a great way to encapsulate it 1561 01:02:16,840 --> 01:02:13,790 all 1562 01:02:19,090 --> 01:02:16,850 and yes it is a more practical show than 1563 01:02:21,760 --> 01:02:19,100 talking about what the shadowy cabal's 1564 01:02:24,340 --> 01:02:21,770 are up to or a deconstruction of symbols 1565 01:02:27,070 --> 01:02:24,350 on the dollar but what are you gonna do 1566 01:02:30,130 --> 01:02:27,080 about that are you gonna redesign the 1567 01:02:32,820 --> 01:02:30,140 dollar is its power over our lives gonna 1568 01:02:35,350 --> 01:02:32,830 diminish because you've decoded it 1569 01:02:37,540 --> 01:02:35,360 obviously we want to keep abreast of the 1570 01:02:40,090 --> 01:02:37,550 esoteric toolbox and what the elite are 1571 01:02:42,540 --> 01:02:40,100 up to that stuff is definitely 1572 01:02:46,240 --> 01:02:42,550 interesting but this stuff is 1573 01:02:48,700 --> 01:02:46,250 potentially life-changing take this clip 1574 01:02:52,420 --> 01:02:48,710 from the first season maybe even the 1575 01:02:56,560 --> 01:02:52,430 first episode of Seinfeld it's one of my 1576 01:03:00,460 --> 01:02:56,570 favorite Seinfeld nuggets of wisdom what 1577 01:03:03,160 --> 01:03:00,470 is the point of all this revenge oh the 1578 01:03:05,400 --> 01:03:03,170 best revenge is living well there's no 1579 01:03:08,200 --> 01:03:05,410 chance of that 1580 01:03:10,720 --> 01:03:08,210 you know self-depreciation is always 1581 01:03:12,580 --> 01:03:10,730 funny to me but do you really want to be 1582 01:03:14,320 --> 01:03:12,590 a George or do you want to be a Jerry 1583 01:03:17,260 --> 01:03:14,330 the one person who has their [\h__\h] 1584 01:03:19,630 --> 01:03:17,270 together almost always I'm a big 1585 01:03:22,750 --> 01:03:19,640 Seinfeld guy and I always think of 1586 01:03:24,730 --> 01:03:22,760 Jerry's casual attitude and the insane 1587 01:03:27,520 --> 01:03:24,740 stress levels of the other characters 1588 01:03:30,850 --> 01:03:27,530 and it's because he's well fortified and 1589 01:03:33,580 --> 01:03:30,860 his friends are not and that's just a TV 1590 01:03:36,280 --> 01:03:33,590 show but Peter made a real choice 1591 01:03:39,670 --> 01:03:36,290 to take a tougher path but he's 1592 01:03:42,850 --> 01:03:39,680 definitely more fortified than I am I'm 1593 01:03:45,190 --> 01:03:42,860 doing quite well but my entire empire is 1594 01:03:48,610 --> 01:03:45,200 built on the shaky ground of the digital 1595 01:03:52,810 --> 01:03:48,620 world and the network of currency 1596 01:03:55,690 --> 01:03:52,820 exchange and I'm just one EMP blast away 1597 01:03:57,550 --> 01:03:55,700 from total ruin when I really think 1598 01:04:01,090 --> 01:03:57,560 about how many steps there are between 1599 01:04:05,660 --> 01:04:01,100 me and the firsthand quality meet that 1600 01:04:07,490 --> 01:04:05,670 Pierre produces I do get nervous 1601 01:04:10,759 --> 01:04:07,500 I think we should all consider our 1602 01:04:14,180 --> 01:04:10,769 supply chains and how to shorten them 1603 01:04:16,130 --> 01:04:14,190 and up the quality of them in the same 1604 01:04:19,819 --> 01:04:16,140 way a family plans for how to escape 1605 01:04:22,940 --> 01:04:19,829 their house in a fire scar was right you 1606 01:04:25,009 --> 01:04:22,950 gotta be prepared and one thing I did 1607 01:04:27,559 --> 01:04:25,019 realize when I did start to have some 1608 01:04:29,569 --> 01:04:27,569 unconventional successes oh the 1609 01:04:31,880 --> 01:04:29,579 Rothschilds and Rockefellers and the 1610 01:04:33,789 --> 01:04:31,890 Archon attatched oligarchs they aren't 1611 01:04:36,589 --> 01:04:33,799 literally holding me down 1612 01:04:38,269 --> 01:04:36,599 yeah they built an uphill system it's 1613 01:04:40,190 --> 01:04:38,279 very difficult to climb they're dumbing 1614 01:04:41,569 --> 01:04:40,200 us down and they sold us a false stream 1615 01:04:44,329 --> 01:04:41,579 that it could be achieved by working 1616 01:04:45,829 --> 01:04:44,339 within their companies but if I stopped 1617 01:04:46,910 --> 01:04:45,839 one of them on the street and said hey 1618 01:04:50,660 --> 01:04:46,920 [\h__\h] you buddy 1619 01:04:53,450 --> 01:04:50,670 I made it they'd probably just say how 1620 01:04:56,390 --> 01:04:53,460 cute what a good boy you are and go 1621 01:04:59,089 --> 01:04:56,400 about their day they are steering 1622 01:05:02,029 --> 01:04:59,099 cultures and nations and they don't care 1623 01:05:04,279 --> 01:05:02,039 about outliers or how high you climb if 1624 01:05:06,920 --> 01:05:04,289 they still have the masses and they're 1625 01:05:09,049 --> 01:05:06,930 always going to I wish it was different 1626 01:05:13,220 --> 01:05:09,059 but you can't control what other people 1627 01:05:15,259 --> 01:05:13,230 do so similarly I'm never gonna get to 1628 01:05:17,599 --> 01:05:15,269 give the puppet masters a piece of my 1629 01:05:19,940 --> 01:05:17,609 mind or a piece of anything else for 1630 01:05:23,200 --> 01:05:19,950 definitely building structures that have 1631 01:05:27,529 --> 01:05:23,210 influenced my life in a negative way but 1632 01:05:30,109 --> 01:05:27,539 instead I could better insulate myself 1633 01:05:33,650 --> 01:05:30,119 better fortify myself from the tyranny 1634 01:05:38,200 --> 01:05:33,660 of the system succeeding in it is one 1635 01:05:40,810 --> 01:05:38,210 thing not needing it is even better 1636 01:05:43,330 --> 01:05:40,820 so I just keep saying III because I 1637 01:05:46,690 --> 01:05:43,340 don't want this to be preachy towards 1638 01:05:49,000 --> 01:05:46,700 you we can just use me as an example but 1639 01:05:52,390 --> 01:05:49,010 yeah I overcame a part of it I got out 1640 01:05:56,230 --> 01:05:52,400 of the shitty corporate nine-to-five I 1641 01:05:58,570 --> 01:05:56,240 got rid of bosses I got rid of economic 1642 01:06:01,450 --> 01:05:58,580 and life fulfilment stress and got some 1643 01:06:05,020 --> 01:06:01,460 of my time back but I have done almost 1644 01:06:07,620 --> 01:06:05,030 nothing to live well by the right 1645 01:06:10,150 --> 01:06:07,630 standards by the independent standards 1646 01:06:12,100 --> 01:06:10,160 you know the whole thing of just not 1647 01:06:15,100 --> 01:06:12,110 needing their system circumventing it 1648 01:06:16,740 --> 01:06:15,110 and so I'm willing to take a little risk 1649 01:06:20,470 --> 01:06:16,750 that maybe content-wise 1650 01:06:23,170 --> 01:06:20,480 this isn't a super exciting episode when 1651 01:06:25,630 --> 01:06:23,180 you see the title but I really do care 1652 01:06:28,180 --> 01:06:25,640 about fighting this system and giving 1653 01:06:31,090 --> 01:06:28,190 the people who listen some tools and 1654 01:06:33,520 --> 01:06:31,100 resources rather than just some 1655 01:06:35,110 --> 01:06:33,530 provocative conspiratorial speculation 1656 01:06:38,980 --> 01:06:35,120 about the capstone cronies of the big 1657 01:06:40,750 --> 01:06:38,990 pyramid instead maybe you should work 1658 01:06:44,590 --> 01:06:40,760 towards being the head of your own 1659 01:06:46,330 --> 01:06:44,600 pyramid it's how they would think so 1660 01:06:48,310 --> 01:06:46,340 that's my thoughts on it big thanks to 1661 01:06:50,590 --> 01:06:48,320 Peter for sharing his story and his 1662 01:06:53,530 --> 01:06:50,600 insights but I also have a bit of an 1663 01:06:55,450 --> 01:06:53,540 announcement to make on his behalf when 1664 01:06:57,760 --> 01:06:55,460 we recorded this his meat business was 1665 01:07:01,000 --> 01:06:57,770 only set up inside of a very limited 1666 01:07:03,190 --> 01:07:01,010 local range but you know that I've 1667 01:07:06,520 --> 01:07:03,200 talked to you guys about butcher box on 1668 01:07:08,680 --> 01:07:06,530 other health food related episodes and 1669 01:07:10,390 --> 01:07:08,690 how I use them to get my meat I think 1670 01:07:14,020 --> 01:07:10,400 it's a lot better than most of my 1671 01:07:16,510 --> 01:07:14,030 options but a small farm that really 1672 01:07:19,420 --> 01:07:16,520 cares for these animals uses rotational 1673 01:07:21,370 --> 01:07:19,430 grazing and seems about as close to the 1674 01:07:25,120 --> 01:07:21,380 purest and simplest way to do these 1675 01:07:27,460 --> 01:07:25,130 things is even better and I am happy to 1676 01:07:29,710 --> 01:07:27,470 say I happened to have been Peters 1677 01:07:32,530 --> 01:07:29,720 guinea pig it doesn't get much further 1678 01:07:35,080 --> 01:07:32,540 for him than San Diego and he was kind 1679 01:07:38,140 --> 01:07:35,090 enough to send me a care package of meat 1680 01:07:40,960 --> 01:07:38,150 and it was really awesome the packaging 1681 01:07:43,390 --> 01:07:40,970 was great the labeling was great those 1682 01:07:45,760 --> 01:07:43,400 things are important to a degree but the 1683 01:07:49,210 --> 01:07:45,770 meat itself was excellent too we had 1684 01:07:51,330 --> 01:07:49,220 bacon sausages a nice big hunk of meat 1685 01:07:54,720 --> 01:07:51,340 my wife made maybe it's a roast 1686 01:07:58,520 --> 01:07:54,730 I'm pad with detailed meet terms but we 1687 01:08:00,720 --> 01:07:58,530 got like 12 pounds of beef and pork 1688 01:08:03,780 --> 01:08:00,730 really excellent stuff 1689 01:08:05,520 --> 01:08:03,790 the point is kudos to Peter for really 1690 01:08:10,440 --> 01:08:05,530 making the best out of this opportunity 1691 01:08:11,850 --> 01:08:10,450 and rolling out a national plan for his 1692 01:08:13,650 --> 01:08:11,860 meat subscription business and I'm 1693 01:08:16,320 --> 01:08:13,660 really happy to be able to bring you 1694 01:08:18,809 --> 01:08:16,330 that resource as well because I doubt 1695 01:08:22,050 --> 01:08:18,819 many of us have a great meat guy and 1696 01:08:25,020 --> 01:08:22,060 this would be a really solid option if 1697 01:08:27,270 --> 01:08:25,030 you don't as I mentioned Peter is aware 1698 01:08:28,710 --> 01:08:27,280 of butcher box we examine these things 1699 01:08:32,160 --> 01:08:28,720 when we're gonna go into the market and 1700 01:08:34,800 --> 01:08:32,170 as he said their box can vary a little 1701 01:08:36,570 --> 01:08:34,810 bit but it's around 8 to 10 pounds of 1702 01:08:39,870 --> 01:08:36,580 meat for a hundred and fifty dollars 1703 01:08:42,420 --> 01:08:39,880 where his is 12 pounds for a hundred and 1704 01:08:45,240 --> 01:08:42,430 sixty dollars so there's definitely a 1705 01:08:48,480 --> 01:08:45,250 bit more bang for your buck with Peter 1706 01:08:51,240 --> 01:08:48,490 and he's THC in her circle that's gotta 1707 01:08:53,460 --> 01:08:51,250 count for something - personally I 1708 01:08:56,130 --> 01:08:53,470 really like getting my meat by mail this 1709 01:08:58,559 --> 01:08:56,140 way it forces me to eat from home and I 1710 01:09:00,059 --> 01:08:58,569 just got to go get some side veggies and 1711 01:09:02,940 --> 01:09:00,069 to steam some broccoli and cook up a 1712 01:09:05,550 --> 01:09:02,950 couple steaks that's easy for even me to 1713 01:09:07,260 --> 01:09:05,560 do so maybe for you guys who don't cook 1714 01:09:11,940 --> 01:09:07,270 all that much treat your partner to a 1715 01:09:15,120 --> 01:09:11,950 good meal with probably the most natural 1716 01:09:16,950 --> 01:09:15,130 meat you have available to you consider 1717 01:09:18,809 --> 01:09:16,960 giving it a shot Peter really has taken 1718 01:09:20,460 --> 01:09:18,819 a chance here we didn't even mention 1719 01:09:21,870 --> 01:09:20,470 that you could get it during the 1720 01:09:24,510 --> 01:09:21,880 interview because you really couldn't 1721 01:09:26,610 --> 01:09:24,520 then and I just see it as a win-win for 1722 01:09:29,579 --> 01:09:26,620 everyone if you were to pick up a box 1723 01:09:33,240 --> 01:09:29,589 for you and yours just go to Mastodon 1724 01:09:35,400 --> 01:09:33,250 Valley Farms calm and look for meat CSA 1725 01:09:38,040 --> 01:09:35,410 underneath shop he's got a couple 1726 01:09:41,579 --> 01:09:38,050 different packages and big thanks to him 1727 01:09:43,800 --> 01:09:41,589 for doing all that also keep in mind 1728 01:09:46,950 --> 01:09:43,810 that in higher side news the joint 1729 01:09:48,599 --> 01:09:46,960 session is on the 25th at 7 p.m. Pacific 1730 01:09:50,550 --> 01:09:48,609 this month come talk to me and other 1731 01:09:53,520 --> 01:09:50,560 listeners and share your stories it's 1732 01:09:55,380 --> 01:09:53,530 definitely a nice hang also keep in mind 1733 01:09:57,330 --> 01:09:55,390 that the higher side overhaul is 1734 01:09:58,920 --> 01:09:57,340 underway the free and plus sites will be 1735 01:10:01,410 --> 01:09:58,930 coming together and the whole 1736 01:10:04,580 --> 01:10:01,420 infrastructure is getting a big modern 1737 01:10:06,050 --> 01:10:04,590 facelift in the next four to six weeks 1738 01:10:08,240 --> 01:10:06,060 of course I would love for you to sign 1739 01:10:11,390 --> 01:10:08,250 up for the higher side chats plus and 1740 01:10:13,399 --> 01:10:11,400 enjoy the second hour of all my shows I 1741 01:10:16,550 --> 01:10:13,409 think it's worth it for what I try to 1742 01:10:20,780 --> 01:10:16,560 bring you every episode and this one the 1743 01:10:23,359 --> 01:10:20,790 second hour gets into using nature as a 1744 01:10:25,939 --> 01:10:23,369 technological template how indigenous 1745 01:10:27,020 --> 01:10:25,949 attitudes about spirits filter through 1746 01:10:29,689 --> 01:10:27,030 their everyday lives 1747 01:10:31,399 --> 01:10:29,699 what independent farmers deal with when 1748 01:10:33,859 --> 01:10:31,409 budding up against the system 1749 01:10:36,350 --> 01:10:33,869 the off-the-grid elements of Peters farm 1750 01:10:38,660 --> 01:10:36,360 and lifestyle how to make a farm 1751 01:10:41,450 --> 01:10:38,670 profitable and tweaking our idea of 1752 01:10:43,729 --> 01:10:41,460 wealth just how different the meat from 1753 01:10:46,700 --> 01:10:43,739 ethnically treated animals is from 1754 01:10:49,310 --> 01:10:46,710 factory farmed meat and what the future 1755 01:10:51,919 --> 01:10:49,320 looks like for America's resources and 1756 01:10:54,470 --> 01:10:51,929 the extent of the damage we've done as 1757 01:10:57,050 --> 01:10:54,480 well as the methane myth that was great 1758 01:10:59,780 --> 01:10:57,060 too for that vegan argument that cows 1759 01:11:03,410 --> 01:10:59,790 are putting out more greenhouse gases 1760 01:11:06,050 --> 01:11:03,420 than the system can support he gives a 1761 01:11:08,359 --> 01:11:06,060 great counter-argument to that so please 1762 01:11:10,790 --> 01:11:08,369 support the show you love and get all of 1763 01:11:12,560 --> 01:11:10,800 it because you love it and I think our 1764 01:11:14,570 --> 01:11:12,570 guests say so many great things that I 1765 01:11:17,810 --> 01:11:14,580 know I'd want to hear it all without any 1766 01:11:20,089 --> 01:11:17,820 breaks or ads so that's that and I'll 1767 01:11:22,570 --> 01:11:20,099 see you next time big thanks again to 1768 01:11:25,280 --> 01:11:22,580 Peter Allen of Master Don Valley farms 1769 01:11:27,709 --> 01:11:25,290 your move corporate food producing 1770 01:11:30,290 --> 01:11:27,719 parasites glyphosate crops ochres and 1771 01:11:32,919 --> 01:11:30,300 evil entities involved in the limitation 1772 01:11:37,480 --> 01:11:32,929 and quality reduction of our food supply 1773 01:11:47,710 --> 01:11:43,070 they built a little Empire out of some 1774 01:11:53,150 --> 01:11:47,720 crazy garbage called the blood on the 1775 01:11:57,440 --> 01:11:53,160 exploited working class but they've 1776 01:12:02,410 --> 01:11:57,450 overcome their shyness now we're calling 1777 01:12:10,010 --> 01:12:02,420 them your highness and the world screams 1778 01:12:14,390 --> 01:12:10,020 save me THC they destroyed the bonds of 1779 01:12:19,220 --> 01:12:14,400 friendship and respect between the only 1780 01:12:21,250 --> 01:12:19,230 people left who'd even look them in the 1781 01:12:25,610 --> 01:12:21,260 eye 1782 01:12:30,320 --> 01:12:25,620 now they'll laugh and make a fortune of 1783 01:12:34,640 --> 01:12:30,330 the same ones that they tortured and a 1784 01:12:45,080 --> 01:12:34,650 world screams save me THC 1785 01:13:03,840 --> 01:12:52,770 Jesus so far away now we are the only 1786 01:13:10,290 --> 01:13:03,850 one who can tell me if it's true and our 1787 01:13:14,940 --> 01:13:10,300 chance to they built a little Empire out 1788 01:13:20,370 --> 01:13:14,950 of some crazy garbage called the blood 1789 01:13:25,479 --> 01:13:20,380 of the exploited working class 1790 01:13:28,300 --> 01:13:25,489 but they've overcome their shyness now 1791 01:13:33,840 --> 01:13:28,310 we're calling them your highness