Tuesday, April 6, 2004, 7PM | Room A118 Pendergrass Library / Veterinarian Hospital [Directions...]
Biodiversity: [Film] [Issues] [Science] [Resources]

Natural Connections

Directed by Sharon Howard and Michael Rosen
A Howard Rosen Production
Distributed by Bullfrog Films, 1999
46 minutes
Emmy Award winner

Our planet Earth furnishes everything life needs. It is a strong, yet fragile interweaving of plants and animals, including humans. Yet we seem to function apart from this fabric of life; we seem to have lost touch with our natural connections and the world's astounding variety of species and habitats. Indeed, humans are the largest threat to biodiversity, and the result of this threat will be an enormous loss for all time to come. Using stunning photography, Natural Connections illustrates this alarming trend with a look at five habitats and the scientists who work within them.

Tropical Rain Forest: At a research site in Costa Rica devoted to identifying and protecting biodiversity, entomologist Dr. Jack Langeno revels in the insect life found in this tropical rain forest. Though such forests cover only 6% of the earth's surface, they support over half of the known species on the planet. As esteemed scientist Dr. Edmund O. Wilson notes, ants and other insects are basic contributors to the maintenance of earth's ecosystem, turning soil, circulating matter, and helping create plant growth on which all animals, including man, ultimately depend. Yet species are becoming extinct even before we know what role they play in the ecosystem. And humans, historically, have degraded the ecosystem. Dr. Langeno points out that "…we associate the quality of life with the power to be wasteful," and with six billion of us, "…if everybody is wasteful to their maximum capacity, it's going to be a short ride." What is required is no less than a change in ethics and the way we connect with nature. Costa Rica has found ecotourism more profitable than cutting down rain forests and visitors are hopefully acquiring new respect and awareness of our impact on the biodiversity of rain forests.

Adams River: The pristine Adams River in British Columbia supports the densest population of sockeye salmon in the world. Here ecologist Bob Firstenburg hopes to find out why there has been a dramatic decrease of salmon in his home state of Washington. The answer, he contends, is that we as a species take up too much space. Other species can't compete with our impact in the form of pollution and overuse of water. With all life interconnected, the reduction in salmon numbers is a sign of an ecosystem out of balance. We got to this point, says Firstenburg, by a series of small, unintended acts and we need to reverse the process in a series of small, intended acts. Living with other animals is not a matter of survival but a question of values.

Tatoosh Tidal System: For over 30 years, zoologist Bob Paine has been researching this small island, the richest temperate tidal system in the world, a "paradise of biology." In observing the interaction of species and experimenting with colonies of starfish, Dr. Paine established a basic principle of ecology - that of keystone species. Such species are critical to the balance of an ecosystem. On Tatoosh it is the starfish. For kelp beds and fish it is the otters. But man can alter systems more efficiently than anything in nature, thus we are the greatest keystone species of all. As such we have a moral responsibility to understand how systems work and not push them to collapse. We must develop an environmental ethic which is founded on the right of all species to coexist.

Temperate Forest: In the temperate forests of western Washington State, Professor of Ecosystem Analysis Dr. Jerry Franklin's mission is to represent the forest and "…try to cut the best deal he can in a world dominated by man." His work has led to the modification of harvesting techniques so that forests can retain their biodiversity and productivity. Even so, the Puget Sound area has lost over 40% of its ancient tree cover in just over two decades, trees which would have eliminated over five million pounds of air pollution a year. We must be conscious and conservative in our consumption of forest products - even such innocuous products as paper cups. Use less "stuff," Dr. Franklin urges, "….conserve the forest, appreciate its complexity, maintain biodiversity, be humble."

Dr. Edmund W. Wilson: Winner of two Pulitzer Prizes, author of 20 books, and discoverer of hundreds of new species, Dr. Wilson is considered one of the greatest scientists of our time. He speaks of the sixth great extinction, this one not driven by natural global events, but by man. By habitat destruction, introduction of exotic species, pollution, population and over consumption (HIPPO) we are destroying diversity which will take 10 million years to restore. We must protect the biological wealth that sustains us because "there is no coming back to what there was before." Biodiversity, says Wilson, is the creation, and from every religious or even non-religious point of view, "it is wrong to destroy it."

Natural Connections is a plea to "embrace earth as a community to which we belong rather than a commodity belonging to us."