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Index of Subjects --20cf303dd3b0c8a8be04fd3fe994 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 David Schoeberg said "inside, where the man of instinct begins, there, fortunately, all theory breaks down." Peace out. Jamie Simpson " On Jul 2, 2014 10:06 PM, "David & Alison Webster" <dwebster@glinx.com> wrote: > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Rick Whitman" < > dendroica.caerulescens@gmail.com> > To: <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca> > Sent: Wednesday, July 02, 2014 3:38 PM > Subject: Re: [NatureNS] Miner's Marsh offleash park... > > > As Dave has implied, the discussion has passed its "best before date". >> I read all of it and feel that much could be summarized as "it didn't >> cause any real problems when I was a child." This is quite possibly >> true but I believe in most cases the point relates to 50-60-70 years >> ago. There have been great changes in our world since then and we need >> to deal with it as we see it today. >> > > Hi Rick & All, > Thanks, I guess, for setting up another favourite soap box. But first, > I object to the conclusion that because my memory extends back 75 years my > comments are 50 years or more out of date. > > Being able to compare conditions over this long a period gives me a > good background against which to interpret the present and look into the > future. From a personal point of view I see only one positive in the > future; I will soon be dead and will not have to watch our tattered > ecosystems pass through the shredder of successive disruptions. > > At this point I will paste from a previous e-mail-- > START OF PASTE\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ > Hi Randy & All, Apr 30, 2013 > This has been a high-volume topic so I will not try to respond to > comments from all but instead will back up a step and explain more fully > the lens through which I see things. > > My lens is 78 1/2 years old, so my memory spans about 75 years. The > extent of environmental destruction, degradation and fragmentation that has > taken place during this period is nothing short of staggering. And the rate > of change is exponential; in the order of 10 times the loss in the last 30 > years as in the previous 45. > > And you may with justification ask; "So what ?" All this has happened > in spite of a Conservation Movement in North America that spans at least > 150 years, Naturalist Societies that span up to 100 (?) years and a more > activist Environmental Movement that spans 50 years. These movements have > exercised considerable clout due to the large numbers of votes involved. > > And now it is my turn to ask a question. With all these good people > doing good works with increasing intensity over time why is the environment > in tatters ? And remember, for a healthy natural world only one condition > is required; a healthy environment. > > I think the environment is in tatters because the primary cause of this > mess, the internal combustion engine, the private automobile and various > energy demands that developed as consequences have been accepted from the > start as positive, progressive and inevitable. > > But unless some way can be found to wean people from this mindless > pursuit of the horizon, and all the consequences that follow from it, then > the natural world will hit the wall. Splat. Not picking flowers will not be > sufficient to avert global warming; already well underway. Nor will it > bring back to life road kill, bridge impassable barriers to animal > movement, resurrect dead streams, unfill frog ponds or restore vegetation > to the huge expanses of pavement. > > And, with this backdrop in view, it is relevant to look at > demographics, attrition and recruitment. The Hunting & Sport Fishing ranks, > core Conservation support, are thinning. Attendance at National Parks has > been in decline for 4 decades (?). Most young people are more interested in > virtual trees that grow in 5 seconds than they are in real trees that need > 5 decades just to get started. And practical level-headed people are > repeatedly turned off by the zany egg-head notions that keep escaping from > the contemporary version of Pandora's Box. . > > So the really tough problem lies ahead and the political clout of those > who might wish to do something may be on a downward course. Consequently > the focus should be on the truly destructive forces, and how to diminish > them, not on politically correct thought and deed or youth indoctrination. > > END OF PASTE\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ > > All that being said, I commend those who attempt, in one way or > another, to convey interest in the natural world to the coming generations. > But "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers:" (or strange ideas) "for > thereby some have entertained angels unawares." > > I have frequently noticed an unfortunate tendency for professional > Biologists and 'Genuine Naturalists' to look down on ' the common people' > as an alien destructive race that can not be trusted. This breeds > resentment, mainly because it is rarely warranted, and e.g. leads to cheers > when scientific programs are cut or teminated, especially if the > environment is involved. So there is much fence mending to be done; at > ground level; not from a high horse. > > Yours truly, Dave Webster, Kentville > > > > > --20cf303dd3b0c8a8be04fd3fe994 Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <p dir=3D"ltr">David</p> <p dir=3D"ltr">Schoeberg said "inside, where the man of instinct begin= s, there, fortunately, all theory breaks down."</p> <p dir=3D"ltr">Peace out.</p> <p dir=3D"ltr">Jamie Simpson</p> <p dir=3D"ltr">"</p> <div class=3D"gmail_quote">On Jul 2, 2014 10:06 PM, "David & Aliso= n Webster" <<a href=3D"mailto:dwebster@glinx.com">dwebster@glinx.co= m</a>> wrote:<br type=3D"attribution"><blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" = style=3D"margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"> <br> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Rick Whitman" <<a href=3D"= mailto:dendroica.caerulescens@gmail.com" target=3D"_blank">dendroica.caerul= escens@gmail.<u></u>com</a>><br> To: <<a href=3D"mailto:naturens@chebucto.ns.ca" target=3D"_blank">nature= ns@chebucto.ns.ca</a>><br> Sent: Wednesday, July 02, 2014 3:38 PM<br> Subject: Re: [NatureNS] Miner's Marsh offleash park.