VISUAL ECOLOGY Without being able to see into the workings of our own landscapes, we may be unable to make necessary adjustments to changing environmental conditions. The feedback of experience between habitat and organism which guides environmental behavior is a cor- nerstone of ecology. In transparent landscapes, a visual ecology, where we are able to assess the conditions affecting us and make cogent environmental decisions, is both possible and necessary. Since humans are symbolic animals who interpret the world through abstrac- tion, deduction, and discourse, the feedback we receive from the environment is, of course, laden with symbolic meaning. But positive meanings(and hence constructive action) accrue more steadfastly to things that can be seen and experienced. That which is not seen is often viewed with fear and exaggeration. The first step toward building a sustainable world then is open our landscapes to view, such that we may learn from them where we are, to up the world better. opacity and fak how we are doing, and what we need to do to make ery in the landscape ultimately only serve to perpetuate the unsustainable status quo.