We have a very old conservation movement, particularly in the United States, which has focused on campaigns to protect endangered species: the spotted owl, the old-growth forest. But usually it stops there. To me, biodiversity is the full spectrum. Species conservation is not only about wilderness conservation. Itยs also about protecting the livelihood of people even while changing the dominant relationship that humans have had with other species. In India, itยs an economic issue, not just an ecological one.
Vandana ShivaThe role of geo-engineering should, in a world of responsibility, in a world of scientifically enlightened decision making and ecological understanding, it should be zero. There is no role for geo-engeneering. Because what is geoengineering but extending the engineering paradigm?
Vandana ShivaWe share this planet, our home, with millions of species. Justice and sustainability both demand that we do not use more resources than we need.
Vandana ShivaWe have a very old conservation movement, particularly in the United States, which has focused on campaigns to protect endangered species: the spotted owl, the old-growth forest. But usually it stops there. To me, biodiversity is the full spectrum. Species conservation is not only about wilderness conservation. Itยs also about protecting the livelihood of people even while changing the dominant relationship that humans have had with other species. In India, itยs an economic issue, not just an ecological one.
Vandana ShivaIf you see cattle as a source of organic manure, animal energy, as well as milk products, then Indian cattle are not inferior. It is only when you measure them as milk machines that they become inferior. What if we measured the dairy cows of America or Jersey or the Swiss Alps in terms of their work functions? They would be terribly inferior.
Vandana ShivaGovernments have a favorite phrase: ยlean and mean.ย But theyยve been made very, very fat for corporate interests.
Vandana ShivaI have a deep connection with Mahatma Gandhi, partly because my mother was a very, very staunch Gandhian and brought us up that way. When I was six years old, and all the girls were getting nylon dresses, I was very keen to get a nylon frock for my birthday. My mother said, ยI can get it for you, but would you ratherยthrough how you live and what you wear and what you eatยensure that food goes into the hands of the weaver or ensure that profits go into the bank of an industrialist?ย That became such a checkstone for everything in life.
Vandana Shiva