It takes much longer than 3 months for evolution to occur and it appears few humans have the patience to observe the environment before blundering blindly ahead.  Neither Time Magazine, Rush Limbaugh (perhaps the living definition of the "impatient man"), nor anyone else can make accurate predictions about the impact of this latest man made disaster because, and even BP acknowledges this, nothing like it has happened before.  Unlike past spills, this one did not occur on the surface - where more birds and animals would have been visibly affected - but deep beneath the surface, far away from human eyes and comprehension.

Human ignorance of the deep sea is almost as vast as the oceans themselves and while our impact  goes unseen eventually it is felt.

Take for example the Orange Roughy- a deep sea fish:  Remember them, they were all the rage on restaurant tables for a while, now they are rarely seen.  Why - because those catching them had no idea the fish they were reeling into their nets were 50 to 80 years old or that the species did not start to reproduce until 30 years and has a life span of 130.  Oh quotas were set because past experience has taught that over fishing is not good for the economy but - and it is a Big But - the Fisheries experts based catch quotas on surface fish, shorter lived and therefore faster reproducers.  Their scientific short sightedness has brought an ancient life form to the brink of extinction.

Ah, but the media hasn't served up that dish for mass consumption has it.  

The surface of our planet is littered with the corpses of man's ignorance.  Not content, we now venture into her very depths. The ocean is ancient.  The deep sea even more so.  The effects of short lived humans will be felt long after we are gone; and we will be gone unless we curb our voracious appetites and develop a patience as deep as the oceans.

In recent years scientists have discovered deep-sea corals and/or coral reefs in Japan, Tasmania, New Zealand, Alaska, California, Nova Scotia, Maine, North Carolina, Florida, Colombia, Brazil, Norway, Sweden, UK, Ireland and Mauritania. Because research submarines and remotely operated vehicles suitable for studying the deep sea are few and expensive to operate, scientific investigation of these remarkable communities is in its very early stages. But it is increasingly clear that deep-sea corals usually inhabit places where natural disturbance is rare, and where growth and reproduction appear to be exceedingly slow. Deep-sea corals and sponges may live for centuries, making them and the myriad species that depend on them extremely slow to recover from disturbance.

Unfortunately, just as scientists have begun to understand the diversity, importance and vulnerability of deep-sea coral forests and reefs, humans have developed technologies that profoundly disturb them. There is reason for concern about deep-sea oil and gas development, deep-sea mining and global warming, but, at present, the greatest human threat to coral and sponge communities is commercial fishing, especially bottom trawling.
 

2004 Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

Personally I'd like the Governments of the world to take on the policy of

"We need to err on the side of 'we're way to stupid to risk messing around with this'"

LBmuskoka,

all the more reason for us, the public, to remain agnostic aboot something like the BP Deepwater Horizon.

I tink it goes like this:  scientists 'discover' something and say agnostic things aboot it (it is conditionally true).  Then the media gets a hold of the info, and it becomes True.  Then the public gets a hold of it, and the precision, the statistics, etc etc the nuance gets washed away and it becomes akin to a Religious Truth.

I tink it is part of our nature, that we abhor a vacuum, so any belief is better than 'none'.

So, with the BP Deepwater Horizon, I saw a lot of  "OMG WE'RE GOING TO DIE!" and "CORPORATIONS ARE EVIL!"  and "OBAMA IS AT FAULT!" and "WILDLIFE ARE DYING!" as better than "Interesting.  I'll consider this."  The feelings and anxiety become the facts.

I think that my culture has been slowly but surely being able to separate how we view the world from the bits of the world that exist independently of us, so that those who feel shame at how we treat the world will be able to acknowledge that that is their belief and those who believe that Nature is quite horrid will be able to acknowledge that that is their belief etc etc etc.

Witch,

HA!  Maybe some schmart cookie can start Genetically Engineering some wildlife to becoming Living Message Signs, with things like "Are you SURE you want to do this?" when some naked beach ape is aboot to do something...'challenging'.

Or maybe do something like Warren Buffett is trying to do, change the Laws of Wall Street so that the people that incurr such great risks that have the potential to affect our society ALSO are affected by those risks :3

There are no bits that exist independently.  The planet is interconnected by currents of air and water and if someone pisses in the Yangtze it will eventually make its way to Victoria and vice versa.  One man may make no difference, millions will make the ocean smell like an urinal.

I would say there is a culture that has elevated the "truth of proof" to such a height that they wait until a disaster occurs and their reaction to their ignorance being exposed is to make a lot of noise so that no one notices their culpability.  It is impossible to "prove" that not doing something - ie not pissing in the Yangtze - will stop the global erosion of biodiversity. It is even more difficult to prove that something no one knew was there no longer exists because of our blind actions.  It is, however, obvious to most that spewing millions of gallons of toxins into the Gulf of Mexico impacts those living there as well as those around the world who like to eat shrimp; thus discovering one more link in the interconnectivity chain.

How many disasters have to happen before we - that is the royal we - recognize that by being agnostic is an action and one that impacts the unknown future?  How much of the invisible planet needs to be visibly destroyed before humans acknowledge the proof that their ignorance is greater than their superiority?

Personally I could remain agnostic to those who have no qualms of living in a toilet, except the smell keeps wafting over my small patch of paradise reminding me that there is no independence and I, unfortunately, am connected to the personal hygiene of strangers.

LB

Thought is action in rehearsal.

     Sigmund Freud

LBmuskoka,

may I say that I admire your soapbox?  It looks pretty, what with it's Puttyroot, Tall northern green orchid, bits of Bala bog and precambrian shield, a photo of Gravenhurst, a shoe worn smooth from the trails of Haliburton and a tadpole from Gordon Bay.

I think I admire my soapbox as well.  We could join ours together, with a little duct tape, anything is possible.  Or I could toss mine in the mine shaft over there.  Or we could both ride yours down the whitewaters.  Or lash the both of ours together and listen to the loons and comorants.

Oh look, some sunlight has been caught in your hair.  Quick, make a wish!

Ah, InannaWhimsey, soapboxes melt in the rain but duct tape is forever