Decline of human relationship to nature

If we go to the root of the present ecological crisis we will find a state of disconnection. We appear frighteningly disconnected from real awareness of the effects of our materialistic culture upon the very ecosystem that supports us. The challenge is to develop a value-based economic structure, that is not concerned solely with our material well-being, but embraces the whole human being – body and spirit – as well as the rich biodiversity of the Earth.

A 1996 study found that long exposure to normal levels of indoor lighting can reset the human biological clock, which implies that many people in industrialized countries may be continuously sleep-deprived, and so in a permanent state of jet lag-like tiredness. Brighter light resets the biological clock more quickly than does ambient light, and may be more useful for treating this jet lag -like tiredness and shift work. Lower light might require more time to take effect.

The accelerated time frames of industrialized societies separate people from the rhythms of nature, distancing them from the periodicities that make up the many physiological time worlds of the biosphere. Humanity has developed an artificial time environment governed by mechanical contrivances and electronic impulses. This linear form of time is quantitative, fast-paced, efficient and predictable.