Re: Life Duty Death

Javilk (javilk@shell1.best.com)
16 Sep 1995 10:31:39 GMT


Marty G. Price (mprice@Ra.MsState.Edu) wrote:
: It's nice to see sane stuff I disagree with, instead of lunatics in
: denial. It's safe to assume there are lots of people out there talking
: about balance, trade-offs, & reasonable concerns. You've assembled a
: nice list (which I snipped for obvious reasons).

: Now, a couple questions:
: You brought up the China/Third World CFC question. What gives with the
: current situation, when the national media, at least, is saying that
: ozone depletion is running "significantly higher than expected"?

There was an interesting comment, which I tend to favor, that volcanic
outgassing and other natural processes create more chlorine and flourine,
both ozone depleting "greenhouse gasses" than man does.
It has also been commented that the amount of methane, a greenhouse
gas produced by termintes, natural decay, and cows, has more effect than
our own greenhouse gas production.

I am not sure how true these statements are. They do, TO ME, seem more
likely. Man is not the center of the world. Long term cycles often
produce more aberitions from what we consider the norm, than we can even
if we try! A simple tornado (or was it a hurricane?) is said to have more
power than a hydrogen bomb.

: Second, what's your take on biodiversity & this great extinction? I
know : humans have been killing creatures off since (possibly) the wooly :
mamoth. How does concern with biodiversity (a VERY long-term item) fit :
in with the concerns of a market-centered world?

I don't know. People tend to favor wildlife if it does not try to kill
them. We have eliminated the grizzly bear, now we are trying to
erradicate Ixodes Damni and it's cousins because it carries Lyme dissease.

New species are always evolving, less able species are always dying
off. Many species have found ways of hiding in suburban, even urban,
areas. Animal Control will tell you that many of the incidents of
so-called satanic rites in which pets are sacrificed, are almost
invariably the work of an animal predator, often of either the cat family,
or the dog family. If you walk about, you will find burrows dug in many
seemingly public areas. Some of the grounds keepers will tell you of
their constant efforts to erradicate these animals. Golf courses are
particularly troubled by such.
Not to mention that for sheer biomass, the insects own this world, and
have probably done so since before the age of dinosaurs.

Don't get me wrong, we DO need to avoid mass destruction of various
habitats, and we could design our places to be more accepting of
wildlife. But... we do have to watch out for those animals who would
prey upon us!

-J- (Javilk@best.com)------------------------------------------------
Think Manageable, Think Personal, Think Responsible, Think Pagan. ---
Then take what actions may help all, and hurt none. -----------------