Excerpt
As humans contemplate the future of the world, at least three stories of nature have emerged. In one story, the earth's natural systems continue to be degraded as the human population grows and global system failure is the story's end. In a second more optimistic narrative, the possibility of recovery is envisioned—population sizes decline and we restore and return to times of the past. Yet a third narrative is one in which humans gain the power to manage nature and ecological problems through technology.
I prefer a fourth story. An intermediate story in which science is an essential element in enabling a future without permanent damage to the planet's living infrastructure. Our goal is a future in which natural ecosystems are sustained while providing essential services to a human population that shows no signs of a decrease in growth. For this to become a reality, many changes must be made and not only by societies, but by environmental researchers. Here, I focus on the latter.
The first change relates to the conceptual models that guide research. Ecologists have traditionally focused extensively on Earth's least disturbed areas such as wilderness areas, rain …
Footnotes
Margaret A. Palmer, is a professor of biology and entomology at the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland. She recently chaired a 20-member panel of ecologists to develop an action plan for the Ecological Society of America based on some of the ideas raised above (www.esa.org/ecovisions) Her research is focused on stream and river restoration, particularly in urban settings.
- Copyright 2004 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
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