Ecologists should have a passion for what they do (I hope we do, for what our paychecks are compared to most science/tech fields). Many of us, I think, are human oddities that can get excited about a research topic dismissed as 'gross' by the general public. I prefer wetland work, and am never happier than when I'm knee-deep in muck, assessing plant communities, despite the looks I get from the general public when I emerge from the site.
Aesthetics are a good substitute argument for some current environmentalism. As much as we may dislike it, it's doubtless you'll get more public support from a single baby pygmy hippo video (our dancing D-list celebrity) than from a million soil cores. One would prefer to use moral standings (intrinsic value), or survival/health (can't survive without a working ecosystem), but human nature is to not care about something until it's in one's face. The strengthened cries for investment in alternative energy last summer, silenced as soon as gas dropped below $2.50/gallon, showed that beautifully. As soon as it hit the pocketbook, people were willing to conserve and embrace alternatives. Well-meaning ecologists can prove as many points as they want to, but conservation won't take place until the public will is there. Instilling a love of the land is prime in that. I recall the case of the White Lake Basin Ranch [if I got the name right] in B.C., Canada. The area had been shown by researchers to be an insect biodiversity hotspot, but no conservation efforts were made until the land was purchased by the non-profit B.C. Nature Trust. Despite extensive compiled evidence for why it should have been protected, it would still be vulnerable if the public hadn't stepped up. ============== ANDY MARTIN Ecologist AECOM, NYC ________________________________ From: David M. Lawrence <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Tuesday, January 6, 2009 2:12:56 PM Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] New Book for Nature Enthusiasts 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 -- ------------------------------------------------------ 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 ------------------------------------------------------ "We have met the enemy and he is us." -- Pogo "No trespassing 4/17 of a haiku" -- Richard Brautigan __________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Canada Toolbar: Search from anywhere on the web, and bookmark your favourite sites. Download it now at http://ca.toolbar.yahoo.com.
