26 Jun 2026
Nature’s supply chain
As a child I grew up at the edge of a small town. I could walk out the door and be in the woods within seconds. Nearby was one of the Great Lakes and the mouth of a major river. I was surrounded by nature. Today, more and more of the world lives in big towns and cities where nature is limited to a few street trees and maybe an urban park. People are becoming disconnected from the natural world. Many children have little or no idea that the food they eat, the water they drink and the air they breathe requires the support of the natural environment. And that environment is constantly under assault as we harvest more natural resources and clear natural areas for farms, factories and homes for the growing world population.
How do we make people understand the importance of a healthy environment? With the crises of COVID and the recent blockade of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz people now understand the importance of supply chains to get them the things they need. Maybe we need to picture the natural world as the supply chain that underlies all others. If we break that chain other human-made chains will weaken and we will progressively find ourselves without the things we need and want.