There is one modern view that holds man as master of the natural world, shaping it to meet his needs and desires. There is a conflicting view that we are but specks on the backs of tortoises on the backs of elephants, balanced precariously on floating logs, vulnerable to the slightest quiver of nature’s balance. Somewhere at the heart of this debate is the question of whether the human being understands its position in the natural world and is a sensible custodian of its own fortune.
There is much in Peruvian history, natural and political, for both sides to leap on and scrap ferociously with. It might be diverting, if not entertaining, to take a look at a very small slice of it.
Trade winds carry warm water west away from the Peruvian coast and a Humboldt current brings cold nutrient-rich water flowing in to replace it. The birds like…
