Sunday, August 15, 2004
Super Ants in Australia:
And yet another effect of our modern world. Argentine ants have invaded Australia. As could be expected they have had disastrous results. While migration of species is a natural thing, the rate at which this occurs today is not. Australian species have been devastated in the past by non-native species. Rabbits, cats, dogs, and now ants have had a terrible effect on the unique eco-system there. They are not alone. Canada is currently fighting several invasions of this type, not the least of which is the Japanese Horned beetle which is devastating trees in Ontario. The fact is, we will not win this fight. Once a species is established, fighting them is mostly a losing battle. In most cases the damage done by the fight is worse than the infestation itself. Sooner or later the native species will adapt to the new conditions. That doesn't mean that they will all survive in the new circumstances. Evolution can take many years to stabilize a new environment. Once the damage is done, it is done. We should probably just let nature take care of itself. Most of our efforts to stop this in the past have been a miserable failure resulting in much more damage than would have been the case had we just left it alone. The real solution is to not let it happen in the first place. Humans will not likely learn this in reality until we assist in the spread of a human disease which wipes out a great portion of the population. This day is coming. It is inevitable in a world with so many people traveling from so many places to so many places. The world is not a sterile place, there are many virus' and bacteria that we don't even know about yet. For some of them, once we do, it will be far far too late. Survival is going to become more difficult, especially for those of us who live in relative safety. The world most certainly start to react to us as if we were the virus. The results of this are only just beginning to be felt. The only way to stop the process is for us to stop acting like a disease on the planet. Don't hold your breath. There are still far too many people who prefer to stick their head in the sand and pretend that there is no problem. It is these individuals who create the greatest danger of all. While we fail to recognize the problem, there will be absolutely no solution... just debate.
And yet another effect of our modern world. Argentine ants have invaded Australia. As could be expected they have had disastrous results. While migration of species is a natural thing, the rate at which this occurs today is not. Australian species have been devastated in the past by non-native species. Rabbits, cats, dogs, and now ants have had a terrible effect on the unique eco-system there. They are not alone. Canada is currently fighting several invasions of this type, not the least of which is the Japanese Horned beetle which is devastating trees in Ontario. The fact is, we will not win this fight. Once a species is established, fighting them is mostly a losing battle. In most cases the damage done by the fight is worse than the infestation itself. Sooner or later the native species will adapt to the new conditions. That doesn't mean that they will all survive in the new circumstances. Evolution can take many years to stabilize a new environment. Once the damage is done, it is done. We should probably just let nature take care of itself. Most of our efforts to stop this in the past have been a miserable failure resulting in much more damage than would have been the case had we just left it alone. The real solution is to not let it happen in the first place. Humans will not likely learn this in reality until we assist in the spread of a human disease which wipes out a great portion of the population. This day is coming. It is inevitable in a world with so many people traveling from so many places to so many places. The world is not a sterile place, there are many virus' and bacteria that we don't even know about yet. For some of them, once we do, it will be far far too late. Survival is going to become more difficult, especially for those of us who live in relative safety. The world most certainly start to react to us as if we were the virus. The results of this are only just beginning to be felt. The only way to stop the process is for us to stop acting like a disease on the planet. Don't hold your breath. There are still far too many people who prefer to stick their head in the sand and pretend that there is no problem. It is these individuals who create the greatest danger of all. While we fail to recognize the problem, there will be absolutely no solution... just debate.
# posted by Wil Smith : 7:03 a.m.
