response 7

The previous week’s readings consisted mostly of the IPCC, but also of a collection of excerpts on biodiversity and conservation. The topics in the IPCC were on probable climate changes by region, possible adaptation and mitigation in order to deal with climate change, long-term perspectives, and uncertainties.

This half of the IPCC was easier to understand than previous assigned topics. The graph on suggested forms of mitigation in different sectors that will be affected by climate change was accessible enough, although a little generalized and not as informative as the preceding paragraphs. I think describing possible options to cope with climate change is important in documents such as the IPCC. It seems that whenever the argument on climate change is raised, naysayers will often demand a reasonable alternative to systems already in place. For example, progress with Agenda 21 was sluggish because of its lack of direction on how to actually implement sustainable development.

The readings on biodiversity and conservation ranged from explanations on drivers for loss of biodiversity, to the creation of the earth depicted in Genesis. I found the grouping of these readings to be very revealing. For example, in Genesis, man is portrayed as the ruler of the plants and animals bestowed upon the earth by God. In “With Mouth Wide Open”, the cod is described in the context of a commodity, and it isn’t until the very last sentence that it is revealed that the author is aware of this unfortunate designation (describing its human hunters as even more greedy than the wide mouthed fish itself). This seemed to reveal the prevalence of the idea that earth is prime for man’s taking and nothing more than a resource to harvest. In the excerpt “Biodiversity Reaches the Peak”, the “dynastic succession” of global ecosystems seems to suggest that we mistakenly assume that the status quo is static despite histories of mass extinction that will probably wipe us out as well. My favorite excerpt was “The View from Walden”, where common views on biodiversity and man’s place within it are deconstructed. While I admit to being guilty of assuming things like the concept of a climax wilderness untouched by human hands, it agree with the author’s idea on how biodiversity is not static, and we are very much apart of it, no matter which way we affect it.