Lessons from Pond Scum

The Eco-jar cautions against our technological view of Earth’s Life System

Ted Merrill

What if our Earth was completely self-contained? What if no fresh supplies could be brought in and no garbage could be removed? If that were true, would you change your behavior or your thinking?

Well, it IS true!

Ted Merrill, a lifelong physician and ecologist, offers the Eco-jar as a working model of Planet Earth. An Eco-jar is a sealed, air-tight glass container, mostly full of water but also containing mud, sand, rocks, plants, and tiny creatures. You can easily make one by following Ted’s simple instructions.

Of course, you don't have to make an Eco-jar to understand Ted's clear discussions, which he presents in easy-to-understand and often entertaining language. He delves into our concepts of time and the future, money and economics, business and growth, and the amazingly simple chemistry of global climate change. And he explains his positions in such a way that you'll know exactly what he's saying, even if you're not an economist, a corporate executive, or a chemist.

But if you do create an Eco-jar of your own, and if you pay attention as it evolves and eventually finds its own natural internal balance, you will undoubtedly see more clearly what Ted is saying in this heartfelt book.

And once you begin to think of our Earth as a huge Eco-jar, you’ll understand how the lessons Ted shares apply to every aspect of human endeavor.

Ultimately, though, Ted asks a question of our global community: If indeed there is still time to make the necessary changes, do we have the will to do so?