🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <33065746.464A@xmission.com>, msteitz@xmission.com wrote:

<snip> 
> I don't want to fire up this thread again, but in one part Harold
> Brashears says:
> > >You insist the postulation of the existence of undiscovered species is
> > >not only
> > >unjustified,
> > 
> > I would be interested in where I said this.  I looked over the recent
> > exchange (mostly with Braun & Jim), and I believe this statement is a
> > misrepresentation.
> 
> But in another he says:
> > that these individuals were very anxious for some Brazilian peasant to
> > cease making a living because of a hypothesized species loss based on
> > hypothesized species!
> 
> Do you or do you not accept the existence of undiscovered species? Once
> you concede their existence, you must assign them an importance equal to
> that of known species in your decision-making, because the term
> "unknown" does not describe any inherent properties of the species, only
> our ignorance of it. Also, once you make this postulate, you cannot go
> back and discredit the entire argument as being hypothetically based.
> Furthermore, it is a postulate with a 100% chance of correctness, and we
> would be irresponsible to not make this assumption. Either we make the
> assumption or we don't. You can't have it both ways.

According to the latest Conservation International newsletter, a
biological assessment team in September spent four weeks exploring the
Tahuamanu and Manuripi river basins in Bolivia. They found approximately
250 new fish species, including five species new to science - one of which
was a dinoaaur-like armored catfish covered in boney plates. Only 400
species had been documented from the entire country, according to the
article. 

One of the things CI sponsors are these Rapid Assessment Programs, where
teams of scientists go into an area to document its biodiversity. They're
doing this because no one else really is. The particular RAP above was
done in cooperation with the Field Museum of Chicago (great place, come to
the city and visit that museum). 

With more funding, more information can be collected to remove the
uncertainty from land management decisions. CI's work is two-fold,
conservation and developing ways for people in biologically sensitive
areas to earn a living with destroying the bio-diversity around them. 

It's a mission that makes sense to me, a lot more sense than a silly
argument over whether there are any new species to be discovered. The fact
that they found five in just four weeks of looking in a specific area
means you cannot dismiss the possibility lightly.

-- 
TJBroder               | How come when "Everyone says so" 
arteest &              | it's usually only you?
rational anarchist                                     
                         ><DARWIN>
                           L    L