http://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/journals/esthag-w/2008/jan/policy/cc_ecoknowledge.htmlNew research shows that Indonesians can identify 71% of local plants when asked, while the British can name only 24%.
(the British are known for gardening expertize is why this surprises me)
the reason for this thread:
Natural resources knowledge shrinks as economies grow
Most people realize that as a society becomes more industrialized, individual knowledge about the natural world diminishes. New research published in ES&T (DOI: 10.1021/es070837v) analyzes interviews done with various age groups living in Indonesia, India, and the U.K. to find out how much ecological knowledge is lost, when it is lost, and how that loss affects society's ability to manage natural resources as industrialization occurs. The findings indicate that future efforts to conserve biodiversity on a global scale are at great risk.
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The loss of knowledge of the local ecosystem—of how to grow food, use the local soil, and build shelters—will catch up with us in the near future, Orr explains. "We are at the end of an era of cheap fossil fuel use, and our reliance on importing food, medicine, and products from a long distance" will soon be impractical. Stephen Trombulak, professor of biology and environmental studies at Middlebury College agrees with Orr. He commented that the ES&T study "involved both a robust experimental design and a large sample size, which make the conclusions they draw compelling."
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local food
knowledge could save you life