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Oh, come on, are you trying to say that all endangered species will just adapt to live amongst humans if their habitat is destroyed? Your idea about polar bears
by oinksoft 13y ago
Oh, come on, are you trying to say that all endangered species will just adapt to live amongst humans if their habitat is destroyed? Your idea about polar bears foraging for human garbage is laughable: These creatures are (1) purely carnivorous, and (2) incapable of living in warm climates. Polar bear population has plummeted as their natural habitat has dwindled. Further, the reason for wanting to save the polar bear is not just to save one species, but that this animal's decline is a bellwether for the decline of the entire arctic ecosystem. We can't say for sure what will happen if the arctic ecosystem disappears.
The ongoing massive extinction event driven by human activity is a real thing. Do you want to live in a world where the only animals alive are ones that humans raise as livestock, or that thrive amongst humans? Nothing but pigs, chickens, pigeons, sparrows, cockroaches, bass and such. Sounds awfully grim to me, but without serious efforts towards preserving wildlife, this is precisely what the future holds.
- dchichkov 13y agoIt is purely a question of having the right technology. There is no law that says that you can not engineer a polar bear that is not purely carnivorous, is capable of living in warm climate and very useful to humans in some way. Same goes about every other species. And it is not that sad. Well designed ecologies can be diverse and beautiful. Even more diverse and beautiful than naturally evolved once.
- djrobstep 13y ago[citation needed]
- dchichkov 13y agoWell, I can't source precisely that phrasing. But imagine an engineered ecology that is: less cruel than a naturally evolved one; as diverse; also includes some 'dinosaur-killer-sized' asteroid impact aversion system that prevents global scale mass extinctions. Wouldn't you find that ecology more beautiful than a naturally evolved one (that we have now)?
- mturmon 13y agoGiven humanity's track record, my imagined idea of an engineered ecology is not so rosy as yours. Who would do it, and what would their motivations be?