Michael Rosenzweig is depressing us with facts about our destruction of our shared ecology. Preserving tracts of lands as parks and reserves is not enough, he argues. Global warming will destroy the parks; Australia has discovered that 95% of its preserves and parks will be under water with global warming. [How many degrees are we talking about?]

The more area of wilderness, the more species.

But we can learn to reengineer our habitats, conserving species diversity, and we can do it where we live. Michael calls this “reconciliation ecology” because it reconciles our needs with those of the diversity imperative. For example, Turkey Point power plant south of Miami, half nuclear and half fossil fuel, has 80 miles of cooling tubes that turn out to be perfect for crocodiles. That was by accident. In another example, British ecologists reengineered golf courses and even bomb craters to preserve a particular frog. [But it took 50 ecologists 25 years to save one frog. Do we know enough to make reconciliation ecology practical?] Also Eglund Air Force Base: it’s used without impediment by the Air Force but through small changes preserves the diversity of species there. Key point: “It is not a preserve.” The Air Force uses it, the trees are timbered, 2,5000 houses are there.

Categories: misc dw