local economies through patent laws and other legal requirements, and continue to use agricultural chemicals and infrastructure based on fossil fuels that are the source of all these problems.

The solution is simple: people and communities are going to have to reintegrate themselves with the natural cycles and conditions through the stewardship of diversity. Key in this process will be mutually beneficial relationships between people of the community and between communities, while taking care of the seeds, soils, water sources, and landscapes. The “Noah’s Ark” approach to saving diversity will be to re-develop the “toolbox” that will be characterized by locally adapted grains, legumes, fruits, vegetables, and roots while paying attention to wild-plants that can be gathered and further encouraged for food production and other household needs. As people make the shift from relying on the market to relying on each other and Mother Nature, the maintenance of crop and natural diversity can provide the food security necessary to sustain our communities through the difficult conditions ahead. As we care for the crops, we will re-learn our role as stewards, while selecting and encouraging the crops that are more tolerant of extreme weather events and changing climates we are likely to see more and more of in the future. Rather than a crisis, this is an opportunity to create a renaissance in our human culture with our relationship to the Earth and with each other in a way that honors our potential and our creativity, rather than blindly whistling to the tune of industry while marching our children to a future of unhealthy food and toxic environments.

Miguel Santistevan, from Taos, NM, is a Ph.D. student at the UNM in the Department of Biology. He produces the monthly radio show ¡Que Vivan las Acequias!, available at www.lasacequias.org.