Species Extinctions.

Posted on Biodiversity, Children and Nature, christian faiths, Church Responsibility, Green Parties, National Parks, Nature Conservation Ethics, Nature Conservation Philosophy, People for nature, Religion and radical conservation, religious organisations, Uncategorized, wilderness reserve

Religions of the world – AND CONSERVATION

When I was a child of four it was a wondrous thing to look up at a giraffe. From the advantage of being small, the size of these beautiful animals seemed to tower towards the sky. Elegant in posture and stance, with friendly large eyes,that looked down from a great distance, they seemed to suggest that they were much wiser than they seemed. In the world of children these are nothing less than magical animals. May they always be with us.

And now I read that their populations are collapsing: poaching being a major factor. Until now we were keenly aware that rhino and elephants were sustaining pressure. But giraffes? They were never in the news as endangered. That has changed. And what if they become extinct? Would it matter? Clearly, from the world of children, a wonderful animal would have been removed: leaving the lives of children the poorer for that.

So what about the great religions of the world in all of this?

Conservation programmes across the world are not protecting species. Why? Because an affection for wildlife is not there. Yes, we may not want to see a species pass to extinction but we are not exercised on the issue to want to DO something to save it. I can speak bluntly of this because I have been involved in conservation all my life; a life, I suspect, that is longer than most reading this blog. And yes, there are wonderfully dedicated people around the planet who care for nature with a passion. But the problem is one of numbers. Conservation has become the politics of numbers. Unless people, in their millions, offer a voice towards conservation, we will continue in this inadequate drip-feed approach to conserving species. Yet, how are we to reach the millions that are needed?

The great religions in the world have the ears of the hundreds of millions of their followers. They also have great cathedrals and mosques, churches and temples that could readily be used to reach out to their faithful on matters of nature conservation. The founders of these great religions discovered enlightenment in wild places. Such places appear to hold spiritual qualities that can benefit all of us, provided they remain intact. Therefore, once a year, could the spiritual leaders of these great religions not preach to their people of the value of preserving nature? That way the thinking of hundreds of millions of people will enter the debate on how best to prevent the draining away of so many species into extinction.

We have tried the other; dedicated groups across the world trying to do what they can against the indifference of the many. And it has not worked. The Red Books of extinctions are proof of that.

The dedicated associations, clubs and individuals who care, with a passion, for nature might consider this and now focus their energies on persuading the religious leaders, that they know, to take up this thinking. They, in turn,to be encouraged to generate a ground-swell that will move up the chain to the highest spiritual leaders that they would embrace this idea for conservation, and make it possible that the places of worship under their care would, for one day a year, be used in this fashion. We need their help. At this stage we must think in such radical ways if we are ever to instill a global ethic for conservation.

Members of conservation clubs and associations around the world, and public conservation bodies, entrusted to the preservation of species, might wish to debate this idea. We have tried everything else – and yet we lose species. This loss will continue unless people, in their tens of millions, have a change of perception of the value of wildlife to all of us.

Patrick.

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Three cheers for the little guys!

 

At first I found it difficult to see them. Then … there they were. Like tiny garden snails rafting together in little groups of a dozen or more. I was down on my knees leaning out over a sulphur-rich spring in Banff National Park in Canada. 

According to the experts in the park there are only five known populations of these snails in existence.

A really big guy in the world of these snails would be no larger than a pea. But conservation is not just about protecting the big and the conspicuous. Little fellows too should have a place in our hearts!

(Extract from the book  – Planet Dancing.)

 

Patrick.

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Ancient Eyes in the Surf

 

Some years ago I spent a wonderful ten days on an island nature reserve in the Gulf of Mexico. It was the first time that I saw horseshoe crabs. Everything about them spoke of ‘ancient’. Indeed they have been around for over three hundred and fifty million years.

But in the world of these horseshoe crabs there is now a problem; they are harvested for a property in their blood. Their blood is strange in that it is copper based. Scientists utilize this property to test for the presence of bacteria.

In the past these crabs were harvested in their millions for processing into animal feed and fertilizer.

Horseshoe crabs still come into the shallows of the waters of the Gulf of Mexico – but in far fewer numbers now. 

(Extract from the book – Planet Dancing.)

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1 – Why should we care if species become extinct?

 

It’s a reasonable question.

There’s a little guy that lives in one of the driest places on Earth – the Namibian Desert in south-west Africa. The place may be dry but even a little fellow needs water. So where is he to get it? Where indeed? 

A thin fog, so weak that we humans cannot see it, drifts in from the Atlantic Ocean. There are prospects in that. It may not be much – but water is water. So this little guy, a beetle, looked at the problem a long time ago and came up with an intriguing method of capturing from this fog the little amount of water he needs. 

To do this he stands in the path of the fog with his back towards it. The word ‘stands’ is not exactly correct. He stands almost on his head so that the greatest amount of his back faces into the fog. The drifting fog condenses on numerous bumps on his back to form tiny droplets of water. These droplets are channeled down his back and into his mouth.

We can only speculate on how such a process of water catchment evolved. It must have taken thousands of years of trial and error by this Namibian Fog Beetle. We can only stand in astonishment at what these beetles have achieved. For just this wonderment alone they should have a place in our hearts.

Scientific studies of the behaviour of these beetles has resulted in the production of fog nets covered in thousands of glass beads that can be used to capture water from fog.

So even a tiny insect like this can be of direct benefit to us. We would be wise, therefore, to take care that NO species becomes extinct. We simply don’t know the potential value to us of ANY species into the future.

Three cheers for Namibian Fog Beetles!

(More on species extinction to follow.)

Patrick.

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Children and Conservation – a World Dance-Day for Nature!

 

Clearly we are not winning the battle to conserve species. At this stage, to shake all of us out of our lethargy, we need a world event for nature.

What if we were to pick a day and on that day let the children of the world dance for nature? Let them dance in their own country but let them know that children in other countries are dancing too. Let them know that English children and Dutch children and Japanese children and American children are dancing on that day.   

Let them know that they dance for the joy of being children; that they dance in the delight of their own existence; that they dance to celebrate Nature in all her wonders. And perhaps, we reserved adults that we are, might dance a little as well.

We should dance for the starfish.  We should dance for the snow worms and the musk turtles and the silence of the great whales.We should dance for the symmetry of tuna and the beauty of sea hares.We should dance for the snipefish and the magpie larks. We should dance for the ice fields of Antarctica.

We should dance too a requiem for the species that tried and failed. We should dance for the Great Auk, the Japanese Wolf, the Labrador Duck, the Elephant birds, the Quagga and the Giant Irish Deer. We should dance too in remembrance of species we have recently driven to extinction – even before we had time to give them the dignity of names.  

 

And when the dancing stops we should cheer with the joy of knowing that all the children of the planet, and some adults too, danced that things be made better for nature: That we become aware that planet-wide movements for nature are now needed if conservation is to become significant.  Such a Nature day would be worthy of remembrance.

Patrick

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American Religions and the Endangered Species Day – May 21

 

We no longer have the luxury of leaving conservation of species merely in the hands of government agencies. The problem is simply bigger than governments. All of us must somehow engage with the problem. But before we can react in meaningful ways we must be guided as to what the problems are and how we can best assist in alleviating these. But there is a snag. We need nothing less than people, in their millions, engaging, with affection, in conserving species. A few thousand committed people here or there will have no sustaining effect. So what to do?

We need to harness the organisations of the great religions in the world, and specifically in the USA, that they will rise to the challenge of getting involved in programmes of nature conservation. The wonderful thing in this regard that religious groups have is a structure and the ability to talk from their altars to millions of their followers. This facility could be used to great effect if church leaders would agree to allow their ministers to talk from their altars on conservation issues. Given the magnificence and the mystery of creation it seems an acceptable and wholesome thing to use the houses of God in this manner. And nature needs help from whatever source it can draw upon.

What I am proposing is that on May 21, USA Endangered Species Day, that those in religious authority in the USA discuss this idea among themselves and make a pronouncement on that day that from then on they will set aside one day a year as a nature conservation day. On such a day their pastors or ministers will talk to their flocks on how best each member of their congregation can be a catelist for good in conserving species.

This idea will cost nothing (rare among ideas nowadays). It only requires good men and good women in the major faiths to discuss this idea and agree to act upon it. Do that and this, the fifth year of USA Endangered Species Day, will be judged as having been a great occasion for the conservation of species.

Please think about this.

Fond regards

 

Patrick

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USA Endangered Species Day May 21 – What might be done?

 

Passed by the USA Senate, May 21 will be Endangered Species Day this year. This will be the fifth annual Endangered Species Day in America. 

The intention is to heighten awareness of species passing to extinction and to promote conservation worldwide.

And how might we do that? We need to consider doing things that will be effective and that will be embraced by large numbers of people. As never before conservation is now the politics of numbers. We need large numbers of people to engage on May 21 if this idea of an Endangered Species Day is to be meaningful.

So what might we do?

One thing that parents might consider is, beside their family name, giving a ‘nature name’ to each of their children. The child on growing up would hold this particular name as special to them and would want to see that this particular species is protected. Rather than people trying to understand ‘the environment’ or ‘habitat’ – by focusing on one species and getting to know the ways and the needs of their particular species children will come to know a lot about that species and what is needed if it is to survive. If hundreds of thousands engage with this simple idea – that way lies conservation.

Nature is in deep trouble and needs help. There is a quality in wilderness that allows great spiritual minds to discover there what they seek. It is puzzling therefore that the great religions of the world are largely silent on conservation issues.

The leaders of these great religions, whether they be Catholic, Jewish, Muslim or others, might like to debate this and agree, within their respective churches, to set aside one day of the year as a special day for nature conservation. On such a day they would talk to their millions of followers on the need to conserve species. I would ask church leaders to debate this idea among themselves. We need your help.

Poverty in underdeveloped countries is driving species to extinction. The super rich in America and elsewhere might follow the extraordinary example of Bill Gates and Warren Buffett and others in giving millions of dollars away for the benefit of those who have little. Alleviating poverty in such countries can take the pressure off endangered species. The extraordinary rich might wish to consider this.

These three proposals, among others, are elaborated upon in much greater detail in the book Planet Dancing.

At this stage we really do need to think outside the box of conventional conservation thinking if we are to be effective in conserving species. we now need a world conservation ethic towards nature. Planet Dancing attempts to set down a blueprint on how we might best do this.

Best wishes to all on May 21. 

Patrick