Evolving Positive and Negative Affect?

In Don Norman's book, Emotional Design: Why We Love or Hate Everyday Objects, he lists some of the factors that Decision Science implicates as innately predisposing humans to either positive or negative affect:

"What are people genetically programmed for? Those situations and
objects that, throughout evolutionary history, offer food, warmth, or protection
give rise to positive affect. These conditions include:

warm, comfortably lit places,
temperate climate,
sweet tastes and smells,
bright, highly saturated hues,
“soothing” sounds and simple melodies and rhythms,
harmonious music and sounds,
caresses,
smiling faces,
rhythmic beats,
“attractive” people,
symmetrical objects,
rounded, smooth objects
“sensuous” feelings, sounds, and shapes.

Similarly, here are some of the conditions that appear to produce automatic
negative affect:

heights,
sudden, unexpected loud sounds or bright lights,
“looming” objects (objects that appear to be about to hit the observer),
extreme hot or cold,
darkness,
extremely bright lights or loud sounds,
empty, flat terrain (deserts),
crowded dense terrain (jungles or forests),
crowds of people,
rotting smells, decaying foods
bitter tastes,
sharp objects,
harsh, abrupt sounds,
grating and discordant sounds,
misshapen human bodies,
snakes and spiders,
human feces (and its smell),
other people’s body fluids,
vomit. "

Ecological Drama in the Southwest

San Pedro River in 1984, from the Hereford bridge, before the removal of cattle in 1988.

A photo from same location in 1998, after 10 years of rest from livestock grazing. Source.

The Saharan desert, as evidenced by cave-paintings, was once a fertile grassland. The drama of ecological change is one of the greatest epics humans can imagine. We are so small and yet not insignificant: we have caused it and can cause it again. We can look at the Sahara and see how it is now: we can look at the Sahara and see how the American Southwest might be in the future. The BLM estimates that western rangeland soils have already lost one half of their organic carbon content; Arizona has less than a third of its organic soil remaining. When all of the soil is lost the land will no longer support life.

What is the cause of the desertification in an already-desert land? As long ago as 1938 Aldo Leopold wondered "whether semi-arid mountains can be grazed at all without ultimate deterioration. I know of no arid region which has ever survived grazing through long periods of time, although I have seen individual ranches which seemed to hold out for shorter periods. The trouble is that where water is unevenly distributed and feed varies in quality, grazing usually means overgrazing." The extent of the damage is far worse than when Leopold wondered, so much worse that the only wonder is that we allow it to continue.

It is a failure of memory that allows us to complacently watch our ecosystems dry out and turn to dust. That Tucson's rivers used to flow along tree-lined banks is recorded, but easily forgotten in the scorching heat, augmented by urban heat-island effects, of the Sonoran desert. In urban landscapes like L.A. the connection between man and the environment has been completely severed; there is no conception of wasting water since L.A.'s rivers are so long gone the city pipes water from the remote Sierras. In this completely altered landscape nothing remains to even suggest the possibility of an alternative to urban sprawl.

"One of the penalties of an ecological education is that one lives alone in a world of wounds...An ecologist must either harden his shell and make believe that the consequences of science are none of his business, or he must be the doctor who sees the marks of death in a community that believes itself well and does not want to be told otherwise. "
Aldo Leopold, Round River: From the Journals of Aldo Leopold, 1972

Tucson is different. It changed me by opening the possibility of conceiving a past that has not been erased. In and around Tucson there are still places that have not been changed beyond memory. But it is only in truly wilderness areas that we can understand the contrast between what was and what we have created. Ironically, it is only in areas "untrammeled by man" that we understand that man is the agent of change in this great ecological drama, and learn therefore that we can change the course of history.

Sadly, most designated Wilderness areas in the U.S. are not true wilderness in the most important sense because they continue to be grazed by cows (due to "grandfathering" clauses), the most important cause of degradation. To seek out and better appreciate the contrast between the work of man (and his animals) and nature, I have begun compiling a list of true, ungrazed, wilderness areas in the contiguous U.S. states. Far and few between, organized by state, with years since last grazing in parentheses. Please email me with any suggestions or corrections.

Ungrazed Wilderness

NM
(ungrazed) part? of the Gila Wilderness in Gila National Forest
(?) White Sands National Monument

AZ
(2002-2007) Tonto National Forest, Mesa Ranger District, Sunflower Allotment
(ungrazed!) Dutchwoman Butte in Tonto National Forest
(2001- )Lower Campbell Blue Grazing Allotment, Apache Sitgreaves National Forest

OR
(2000- )Steens mountain, and (1997) Blitzen River, Burns District BLM
(1990- )Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge
(1999) Owyhee River, Vale District BLM
(? Some ungrazed, 2000- )Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, OR/ID
(1990) Warner Wetlands, Lakeview District BLM

ID
Bitterroot
Craig Wildlife

CA
California Desert Conservation Area
Peninsula Ranges Bighorn Sheep Critical Habitat, Santa Rosa National Monument (BLM) and San Bernadino National Forest

--------
Resources:
National Public Lands Grazing Campaign
Rangenet
Before and after photos from Forest Guardains

Top Ten Things To Do To Make Tucson Sustainable

(1) Harvest and conserve water

Step One:  Enjoy sponge baths or basin baths rather than showers.

Note:  A person can bathe in less than a quart of water this way!

At full sustainability Tucsonans will have cisterns, composting toilets, neighborhood water harvesting, and comprehensive water education.    

(2) Use the sun's energy

Step One:  Hang your laundry to dry in the sun.  

Note:  Some communities have restrictions against hanging out laundry.

At full sustainability Tucson will derive all its electricity and transportation from the sun's energy.

   

(3) Eat local and native foods

Step One:  Visit a farmers market.

Note:  Farmers Markets are listed in Tucson Weekly.

At full sustainability Tucson will have a City Food Policy to ensure access to healthy food for all Tucsonans.   Large daily farmers markets with bioregional products will supplement neighborhood food production and neighborhood desert food harvesting.  

(4) Work outdoors with neighbors

Step One:  Organize a neighborhood walk/doorknocking to discover neighborhood assets and what projects interest your neighbors.  

Note:  For tips on organizing neighborhood doorknockings, contact Pro Neighborhoods, (520) 882-5885.

At full sustainability every neighborhood will be safe for pedestrians and bicyclists, have a workable plan for emergencies which cares for all dependents, and engage in sustainable urban food production.

                 

(5) Ride bicycle or walk to your eco-village hub

Step One:  Identify your local commercial hub and do errands there without using fossil fuel; take public transit if your destination is further or you are physically challenged.

Note:  As you walk and bike your neighborhood you may notice places which need   shade trees.  These locations can become urban agriforestry projects.

At full sustainability Tucson will be organized into 60 to 80 complete eco-villages to which people can walk or bike.   These eco-villages will be connected by a safe comprehensive system of bike paths which do not mingle with auto traffic.

(6) Plant A Food Bearing Tree

Step One:  Dig a hole and bust through the caliche.  

Note:  This is more fun if you dig with friends and throw a party when the tree is planted.  Get hold of a caliche bar.  Contact Tucson Botanical Gardens or Tucson Organic Gardeners for best species of trees to plant in your location.

At full sustainability Tucson will be an edible urban forest.

(7) Save food scraps and compost with worms

Step One:  Build a simple home made "worm farm."  Many websites teach how, e.g.: www.earth911.org/master.asp?s=lib&a=organics/composting/wormcompost.asp

Note:  Worms create worm castings and worm juice which are rich plant food.

At full sustainability Tucson's home kitchens, restaurants and cafeteries will be connected by a comprehensive composting program.

(8) Grow food in home garden or community garden

Step One:  Contact Tucson's Community Food Bank or Tucson Organic Gardeners for information on how to grow food.

Note:  We can garden year round in Tucson.   Water is our limiting factor; therefore, water harvesting for gardening is crucial.   Sustainable Tucson highly recommends Brad Lancaster's book Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands, available at Antigone Books, Silverbell Trading, and through Sustainable Tucson in case quantities.

At full sustainability, Tucson and its bioregion will be mostly food self-sufficient.  

(9) Educate yourself and Tucson's representatives about sustainability. 

Step One:  Read the voter's guide for the upcoming election.   Who takes sustainable positions on solar and wind energy, mass transit, bike paths, water conservation?

Note:  Sustainability education is enjoyable in a group.  Our eco-zone potlucks are a wonderful way to share books, DVD's, videos, and ideaswith each other.  Why not start a group in your neighborhood?  Then invite a person running for office.

At full sustainability any school child will be able to tell a visitor to Tucson how our sustainable city works.

(10) Become an entrepreneur in the growing sustainable economy

Step One:  Identify your own art/passion/potential product or service.

Note:  Many entrepreneurs (self-employed people) market products and services. 

At full sustainability, Tucson (including its bioregion) will be mostly self-sufficient for water,

food, energy, and transportation.  Tucson's sustainable infrastructure will need to be planned, installed, and maintained by local businesses attuned to our city's terrain and culture.   Tucson will have a local credit clearing house which keeps our region's financial resources circulating locally.  

Written by Lindianne Sarno with Nicole Christine, Bob Cook, Tom Greco, and Joanie Sawyer.  

©Sustainable Tucson 2006.