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comment by user-inactivated
user-inactivated  ·  4550 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Are you ready for de-extinction?

How do you stand on the "we're part of the environment, so any extinctions we've caused are natural" position? (Even disregarding the fact that we caused extinctions at a vastly greater rate than they've ever come before.)

I should add that practical de-extinction has been my dream since I read Last Chance To See when I was a kid. I do think we have a responsibility to the biosphere just as much as we do to the planet in general.





theadvancedapes  ·  4550 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Deconstructing the "natural/unnatural" dichotomy plays a big role in my own personal scientific philosophy. I think it is completely tenable to argue that "we are part of nature so these extinction rates are natural." However, I also believe that because we are have an incredible power over all life on earth, that we also have a responsibility for it. We have a moral imperative to treat the biosphere that allowed for our existence with respect. This happens to also be a prudent position for our species to take since we do not benefit from destroying ecosystems that we directly and indirectly rely on.

user-inactivated  ·  4550 days ago  ·  link  ·  

That's the position I take. But it's hard to convince taxpayers to fund endangered species-research. Have you read Last Chance To See?