Dangerous Ideas 09

Bettering Our World (WorldChanging)

One of the articles that I found really interesting, is "Biodiversity:How Much Nature is Enough?" It talks about how no matter what, extinction of certain species will happen. Which makes sense, because even when humans weren't as influential to the environment as we are now, animals were still dying out, because that's just the way of nature. But just because it will happen, doesn't mean we can't make an effort to make that list smaller. This reading talks about different methods of doing that, the main one being hotspots, which is knowing that some animals will die, but we should focus on the areas with the biggest biological diversity, and scarcest conservation. What I found most interesting about the reading was the whole concept that a cloned songbird wouldn't even be able to sing, because they learn it from the songbirds around it, and there wouldn't be one to teach him. But then it makes you wonder what made the first song bird decide to sing?

The other reading that I found to be very interesting was the "Mapping" section. When I think of new mapping, I would think to myself, "What more is there to map on this planet? Haven't we been everywhere?" But the mapping that they begin talking about is much more than just land, and sea, and it can be such a crucial part of discovering solutions for problems, now and in the future, and even uncovering some mysteries of the past. An example of this is the mapping of the Chixculub Crater on the Yucatan, to find scientific proof that an asteroid hit and did so many damage to earth many years ago. Also, other than looking at the big picture, they also talk about mapping the small little things in life, and it how it can also make a huge impact on our environment. They talk about mapping the small habits of animals, the trails they take, the temperature of the air at that time, and all sort of other details. Using the modern technology that we have, we can map that stuff out, to show us scientific information that can help us deal with preservation of wild life, and so much more. Although we have mapped so much, there is still so much more for us to find out and discovery.