I had to splash Silvert's rationality with a jigger of cold, hard
reality, but the scientific community needs to realize at some point
that if those worms in the bottom of the North Sea are going to survive,
the community needs to build public support for policies that promote
conservation.
To get that public support, the scientific community needs to use its
skills to create a "rapturous love affair" between the public and the
natural environment. Otherwise, the public spends more time caring
about middle-aged D-list celebrities dancing on some television set in
fantasyland.
Dave
William Silvert wrote:
Although this sounds like a lovely book, I am not terribly comfortable
with the concept, at least not in connetion with an ecology mailing
list. Part of our work as scientists is promoting a rational, rather
than romantic, concern for our environment, and while some of us (like
Ehrlich) may have gotten involved with ecology because of an emotional
attachment to beautiful creatures, many of us are having difficulty
defending the role of the ugly and even disgusting organisms that are an
essential part of ecosystems (such as detritivores).
I am curious to know how many parasitologists and mycologists feel that
their life's work was rooted in some "rapturous love affair" with
tapeworms or mildew. Who ever fell in love with nematodes and
polychaetes? (Although my late friend Peter Schwinghamer had a sign over
his door saying "Worms can teach us awe and wonder.")
My concern has a practical side to it. There are seal species far more
at risk than harp seals, but mottled grey beasts with nasty teeth do not
seem to attract the support of anti-sealing campaigners. It is hard to
argue that the biodiversity of beautiful flowers in Costa Rica is more
vital to our survival than the worms crawling around in the mud of the
North Sea, but much of the emphasis on conservation of biodiversity
focusses on tropical hot spots rather than the low and dirty.
I don't want to discourage anyone from enjoying the beauty of the
natural enviornment, but I also want to remind the scientific community
that ecology is not about beauty, it is about systems that often do not
appeal to our aesthetic sense. I like my work, but manage not to get too
emotionally involved!
Bill Silvert
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David M. Lawrence | Home: (804) 559-9786
7471 Brook Way Court | Fax: (804) 559-9787
Mechanicsville, VA 23111 | Email: [email protected]
USA | http: http://fuzzo.com
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"We have met the enemy and he is us." -- Pogo
"No trespassing
4/17 of a haiku" -- Richard Brautigan
