A new educational map is needed to replace the one that has been shaped by the industrial revolution and that is now leading inexorably toward the destruction of industrial society. The first environment summit in 1992 set out a route map by which industrial mankind must remake its culture and direct future cultural evolution. A rationally controlled technology does give us a means of survival for ourselves and many generations to come, although it must be supplemented by a social technology that encourages people to value and reward ecologically sound behaviour. The message of Rio is that Mankind must respond to survival imperatives with meaningful social action. Culture must again become an ally, rather than an enemy, in realising the strategies for survival that were set out in 1992.

This mindmap of cultural ecology carries the undercurrents of knowledge that flow between and into conventional subjects in a hierarchy of key topics.   It is an overview of the integration of knowledge required to produce a view of the topics that have to be brought together to explain human cultural evolution. Subjects have been replaced by summary topics.  Topics are the links between knowledge and action and are guideposts for society.  In the map it will be seen that traditional subjects, which are designed to produce specialists, are to be found three to four levels deep.

As a panorama of topics, cultural ecology maps the flows of materials from the stars to the body fluids of plants, animals and microbes.  It's nine conceptual pillars are centred on the following key ideas about the environment.

Ideas about diversity, ideas about nature's production and ideas about managing production define human exploitation of natural resources. 

Ideas about culture, society, conflict, development and environmental management define the conservation of natural resources. 

Ideas about what we do to nature and how we justify what we do defines the social patterns created by consuming natural resources.

This knowledge structure has been formatted and amplified for the web using MindManager software. The starting point is a mindmap which delineates the relationships as a panel of nested topics, and as a topic web. The information is presented with text notes. The notes are concise statements of the main elements to be considered for expansion.  The notes and other linked materials may be accessed through either the left hand menu which consists of nested lists of topics, or from the map menu on the top menubar.

Viewed through the human economic system and its ecological consequences, one set of  topics represent the exploitation of natural resources governed by people's ideas about human production.  This starts with  knowing how to tap resources for making goods.  When basic survival needs have been met, making is accelerated by ever- demanding markets.  Demand is by all nations across the world is now so great  that it is impacting on the limited stocks of materials and energy and the planet's finite space, producing changes in culture, society and environment

The stocks and flows of nature's production  represent the intrinsic organisation for producing the resources we loosely call 'natural''.

Conservation of natural resources takes place through attitudes about how to cope with the impact of human production which require the blending of ideas about culture, society and environment.  The practical aim is to sustain production from generation to generation, by developing global culture committed to conservation strategies.  Targets have to be agreed and met by adopting outcome- based conservation management systems.

But following the flows of ideas, and agreeing with the conclusion that the present cultural attitudes towards the dominance of exploitation have to be moderated by conservation management in home and community, is not enough.   The application of a new cultural ecology to living in an overcrowded world chasing new goods and services will ultimately depend on the actions of the majority in a democratic society. If each person fails to see, feel and act in relation to the long- term consequences of what he or she is doing, all will be lost. In the end, each person must be made to feel responsible for the present and future welfare of all mankind. Education can only become applied to change human behaviour in this way when  its content corresponds to or gives valid and acceptable guidance for dealing with reality.

Designing a new culture means adopting an activist attitude toward cultural evolution rather than passive acquiescence to the results of technology; but most important of all, it means actively intervening to modify norms, values, and institutions to bring them into line with the physical and biological constraints within which mankind must operate.