----- Original Message -----
From: "Eric Swanson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "globalchange" <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, July 10, 2007 12:43 PM
Subject: [Global Change: 1882] Re: To Improve the Economy Put a Price on
Climate Pollution
> Well, something like 1/3 of the food we eat depends on insects for
> pollination. There are other wild type bees out there, but they also
> have taken a hit. In my area, I've become intensely aware of the fact
> that there are almost no bees (including bumble bees or carpenter
> bees) foraging on the flowers. Bees love clover and the clover
> patches are nearly empty. That might seem to be a small thing, except
> that there also appears to be a big dieback in the butterfly
> population as well. Whether these changes are due to the spring
> weather and whether that weather is representative of climate change
> are big questions. There are other possible causes for the decline in
> the insect populations, such as pesticides, which makes it even more
> difficult to sort out the problem.
Could it be GM crops?
> My point is that there is much more to the adaption of man to his
> nitch than just the raw temperature range. It's obvious that man is a
> very adaptable creature, since we have survived under widely varying
> extremes in temperature. I hope the economists out there actually
> think outside the box of civilization to consider the facts of our
> relationships with nature when they do get around to considering the
> costs and benefits of climate change. I doubt they will be able to do
> this, since they aren't likely to focus down to the level of insects
> or bacteria. To me, that is a really scary aspect of our situation.
The point is that in a free (for all) economy there is nobody in charge, but
worse there is no one to enforce the rules. Therefore, the rules of decent
and prudent behavior might as well not exist. You are right to be worried.
We live in a world where only the strong and rich win!
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