An Ecology of Independence

The development of human civilisation is going to be more dependent on ecological and environmental factors influencing it's political, social and economic components. Will Patterson writes a very concise but to me very accurate assessment of a benefit of independence for Scotland at J Arthur MacNumpty.



His conclusion or summation almost halfway through the post. Answer: when trouble does come, an independent government will be better equipped to respond to it than under the present system.



Ecological and environmental factors will now start to affect human civilisation at an increasing exponential rate. Whoever can best respond to these will 1) have the best chance for survival, and 2) be in the best position to take advantage of them. My reasoning is accurate predictions of human systems can best be done using the ecological tools, used to assess the ecological systems which we must now increasingly have to respond to.



One of these assessments is r and k selection. This covers a wide spectrum of applications, here let us just concentrate on the ability to respond to change. Imagine a bare area of ground is suddenly made available. One of the first species to colonise or make use of it will be something like an ant colony. They are straight in, they can multiply quickly, are small and can take advantage or respond to the new situation rapidly. They are an example of a r selected species.



A cow, oak tree, or lion cannot immediately respond, they are k selected. They are slow to reproduce, large have more long terms needs. It is the dinosaur concept. Conditions change. The dinosaurs cannot adapt quickly to the new conditions, they become extinct. The small pre mammals did. They responded quickly and took advantage of the changing conditions. It applies to many things. A small sporty car can respond quicker to the fast bends of a minor country road than an HGV.



The world is now going to change very rapidly, this is the opening of the global ecological revolution. Perhaps the world may not respond effectively or quick enough. There may well be upwards of 5 billion deaths and those that remain live in the 'Mad Max' scenario of the collapse of civilisation and society run by marauding war lords. Or society could respond and sort out the mess the planet is in and there could be some continuation of life as we know it on Earth.



An independent Scotland not slowed down by the clinging inertia of a great clunking UK, could respond quicker and take advantage of the essential global ecological revolution. Both for the advantage of Scotland and of the planet of which it is part.



The question is do the SNP have the policies to implement after independence. Or will they be the political party equivalent of Tony Blair. Great at getting elected, but in retrospect should have handed the running of the party to someone else with at the simplest, thought out long term workable policies.



At present the SNP seem to want to gain independence but then just do the same that has been tried before and also compete with all the other countries of the world. They seem to lack the vision and practical implementation to put Scotland at the front centre and leading edge of the global ecological revolution.




Will The SNP squander the one over riding benefit of independence. The ability of Scotland to respond quickly and effectively to whatever the future throws at it. Squandering that asset like Governments before squandered North Sea oil. A resource that could have been the foundation for the future frittered away on champagne, Porsches and rows of cheap consumer electrical shops in our towns. A billion year old legacy, here today gone tomorrow.



Scotland: The World's First Ecological Superpower?