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biodiversity Carrying Capacity Durango Herald Population Public Health

More About Wild Species

The article below may be copied or published but must remain intact, with attribution to the author. I also request that the words “First published in the Durango Herald” accompany any publication. For more information, please write the author at: richard@population-matters.org.

 

More About Wild Species

© Richard Grossman MD, 2008

 

The library of life is burning and we do not even know the titles of the books.

Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, former Prime Minister of Norway

 

            September’s article announced a contest to write about your favorite species of animal. It gave hints about my favorite animal, and promised to reveal what it is. Although the contest’s official deadline is past, I welcome submissions at: contest@population-matters.org.

            Why am fixated on wild species? Because they make up our most precious treasure, biodiversity. Biodiversity, or biological diversity, refers to the huge number of different plants and animals that have developed over the ages. Almost two million different species have been described and cataloged. Biologists suggest that the actual number of different species is many times this great. There may be another eight million animals and plants that haven’t been described yet!

            My friend, Al Schneider, just found a new species of plant in the sunflower family north of Cortez. Gutierrezia elegans has just been given its common name, Lone Mesa snakeweed. For more information and pictures of this pretty plant you can go to Al’s website: www.swcoloradowildflowers.com. Just think, there may be many more undescribed species right where we live!

The tragedy is that we are losing biodiversity faster than species are being described. Our era is dominated by humans, and we are causing species to go extinct at an alarming rate. The last time that there was such a rapid loss of biodiversity was the end of the epoch of dinosaurs.

There are several ways humans cause species to die off. One is by direct killing, such as the dodo, a flightless bird that was hunted to extinction. Another is by introduction of exotic species. Australia had no proper mammals except for the dingo, (Canis lupus dingo, probably brought by the first aboriginal settlers) until Europeans arrived. They introduced foxes, rabbits and other domestic animals that out-competed and wiped out many of the more primative marsupials.

Pollution threatens many living things, including whole species. The bird with the largest wingspan in North America is an example. The California condor (Gymnogyps californianus) was headed toward extinction from lead poisoning. They would feed on carrion that had been shot with lead bullets. An aggressive program of limiting lead shot and hatching chicks in a laboratory has reestablished these amazing birds.

In most of the world, including the USA, the largest threat to biodiversity is habitat destruction. People in our country are living in larger homes on larger lots with larger lawns, competing with wildlife. Roads and highways block migration routes of many animals, thus creating killing zones for many who attempt to cross. As the human population grows and we consume more, our impact on the natural world is exploding.

Dr. E.O. Wilson, the famed Harvard biologist, made a superb video in which he pleads for preservation of biodiversity. Search for it at: www.ted.com. Wilson uses the acronym HIPPO to help remember the causes of loss of biodiversity: Habitat destruction, Invasive species, Pollution, Population growth (human), and Overharvesting. There is also a beautiful book in the Durango Public Library titled Sustaining Life: how human health depends on biodiversity. This book shows the many ways we depend on species that we might not even be aware of.

The growing human population—and our extravagant consumption—are the primary factors that threaten biodiversity. The Living Planet Report 2008 tells it like it is. Prepared in part by the World Wildlife Fund, this is an account of the state of our natural world. It is available at: www.footprintnetwork.org. The report describes the economic value of biodiversity and the many services that the natural world performs for us. The report compares our use of resources with what is available.

Oh, yes; my favorite species is Hyles lineata, the white-lined sphinx moth. Like most sphinx (or hawk) moths, it has a wide body. It is usually seen in the evening or night, although I have seen them in broad daylight.

One of this species’ endearing qualities is its vision. H. lineata can discriminate colors when the light is very dim. Whereas humans need sunlight to see colors, and some animals perceive them even in dim moonlight, my favorite (other than H. sapiens) species can discriminate colors by faint starlight! Even on the darkest night these moths can find their favorite flowers to sip nectar.

There is amazing diversity in the natural world. Unless we slow our population growth and our consumption, we will leave scant resources for our progeny.

 

Published in the Durango Herald 11-2008

Categories
Action Contraception Durango Herald Family Planning Medical Population Public Health Reproductive Health Women's Issues

No on Amendment 48

The article below may be copied or published but must remain intact, with attribution to the author. I also request that the words “First published in the Durango Herald” accompany any publication. For more information, please write the author at: richard@population-matters.org.

 

No on Amendment 48

© Richard Grossman MD, 2008

 

 

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof….” First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States

 

            “I am sorry, Mrs. Folk. There is nothing I can do.” I am in my office, holding ultrasound pictures. The Folks are sitting in front of me, looking dumbfounded. Two of their three children are present; the oldest is at school.

            “These pictures show a tubal pregnancy. It is very early, but we can still see the fetal heartbeat. It is clearly outside of your uterus.” Mrs. Folk is crying now.

             “In the past we used to treat ectopic pregnancies with surgery, or even just medicine. That is not possible now. Your chances of dying from this pregnancy are about fifty-fifty.”

            Approximately one pregnancy in 200 is in the wrong place. Although a woman’s uterus is wonderfully adapted to nourishing a developing fetus, her tubes are not. When a pregnancy grows in the tube, it tears the fragile tissue, causing pain and internal bleeding. Women still die of tubal pregnancies.

            Is the above scenario some sort of science fiction, set in some remote hard-hearted future? No, not if proposed Amendment 48 passes this November election. This scenario could happen right here in Colorado next year.

            Clearly 48 was drafted to stop all abortions in Colorado (even after rape or incest). It is short—and extremely deceptive. Nicknamed the “Personhood Amendment”, 48 reads: “As used in sections 3, 6, and 25 of article II of the State Constitution, the terms ’person’ or ‘persons’ shall include any human being from the moment of fertilization.”

            Section 25 of the Colorado Constitution states: “Due process of law. No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property, without due process of law.” If a developing fetus (or even a newly fertilized egg) is defined as a person, then anyone who interrupts a pregnancy, no matter if it is potentially lethal to the mother, could be punished. The woman herself would be an accomplice. This would mean that anyone, including a physician who does surgery to save a woman’s life because of a tubal pregnancy, would be subject to the same penalties as a first degree murderer. Would the police have to investigate women who have miscarriages, too?

            The proposed amendment is so extreme that, if 48 were to pass, it would create legal havoc in our state. It would take years and millions of dollars to work out the legal implications.

            This amendment would not only prevent abortion, but it might also prevent many forms of contraception. Antiabortion people claim that hormonal birth control and IUDs cause abortions. Their evidence for this is weak, and is at odds with the majority of medical experts including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists—my professional organization.

            The sad fact is that the amendment would probably increase the number of abortions! Making abortion illegal doesn’t stop women from trying to interrupt pregnancies—it makes them use desperate means. For instance, when abortion became legal in Norway, the abortion rate didn’t increase. Women did get better care, however. Remember that the best way to prevent abortions is with access to good contraception.

            Moreover, proposed Amendment 48 would prevent couples from taking advantage of many infertility treatments. In vitro fertilization would be banned because of the risk of losing an embryo—defined as a person.

            The people who wrote this proposed amendment (and the 131,245 people who signed petitions to put it on the ballot in November) appear to be honest, God-fearing Coloradoans. Their website lists physicians who support the amendment, but very, very few live in Colorado! In fact, they are outsiders testing the waters in our state to see how they can control women’s reproductive lives. Because of their efforts to impose their strict religious beliefs on everyone, they are the closest thing we have in the USA to the Taliban.

            This proposed amendment would punish parents and physicians who believe that all children should be planned and loved. It has been centuries since people were punished so severely for trying to help women control their fertility. There is strong evidence that the motivation to seek out and kill “witches” in Colonial times was to eradicate women who held the secrets of contraception. This was one way men could retaliate against women who knew more than they did.

            Don’t let religious zealots control women’s lives in Colorado. Vote “NO” to proposed Amendment 48. Go to www.protectfamiliesprotectchoices.org for more information.

 

Published October, 2008