Subject: Diversity (humor) forwarded from the PNW ecoforum list
Date: Aug 7 10:01:24 1999
From: Don Baccus - dhogaza at pacifier.com


>According to an EPA study conducted in conjunction with the U.N. Task
Force On Global
>Developmental Impact, consumer-product diversity now exceeds biodiversity.
>
>According to the study, for the first time in history, the rich array of
consumer products
>available in malls and supermarkets surpasses the number of living species
populating the
>planet.
>
>"Last year's introduction of Dentyne Ice Cinnamint gum, right on the heels
of the extinction
>of the Carolina tufted hen, put product diversity on top for the first
time," study chair
>Donald Hargrove said. "Today, the Procter & Gamble subphylum alone
outnumbers insects two to
>one."
>
>The sharp rise in consumer-product diversity-with more than 200 million
new purchasing
>options generated since 1993--comes as welcome news for those upset over
the dwindling
>number of plant and animal species.
>
>"As more and more species fall victim to extinction, we face a grave
crisis of decreased
>diversity, not only in America but across the globe," Hargrove said. "But
the good news is,
>these losses in biodiversity are more than offset by a corresponding rise in
>consumer-product diversity. Though flora and fauna are dwindling, the
spectrum of goods
>available to consumers is wider than at any time in planetary history. And
that's something
>we can all be happy about."
>
>Scientists are calling the current decrease in biodiversity one of the
worst episodes of
>mass extinction in the Earth's history. The rate at which species are
currently vanishing
>approaches that of the "K-T Event" that ended the Age of Dinosaurs 65
million years ago and
>resulted in a loss of 76 percent of the world's species. The current era of
>biodiversity depletion, however, is unique in that it is the first mass
extinction to occur
>in conjunction with an expanding industrial society, and thus, the first
in which
>consumer-product availability can function as a "balancing factor" to help
keep global
>diversity thriving.
>
>PictureAbove: An example of the planet Earth's rich abundance and
seemingly limitless
>diversity of consumer products.
>
>"Any healthy system needs diversification in order to flourish,"
University of Chicago
>biologist Jonathan Grogan said. "Any complex system, whether we are
talking about the Amazon
>Rainforest or the Mall of America, needs a rich array of species/products
if it is to
>survive. That is why, in light of the crumbling global ecosystem, it is
increasingly vital
>that we foster the diversification of the global marketplace by buying the
widest range of
>consumer products possible."
>
>According to Grogan, because of the interdependent nature of systems like
the Amazon
>Rainforest and the Mall of America, the disappearance of any one
species/product can lead to
>the disappearance of countless others.
>
>"The extinction of the Borneo hooded tern was an indirect result of the
disappearance of the
>native species of sea snails upon which it fed," Grogan said. "This kind
of vicious cycle,
>once begun, is impossible to contain. Fortunately, though, the process can
function the same
>way in reverse: The successful introduction of a new item can lead to
>additional items later on. For example, the proliferation of Love My
Carpet-brand carpet
>cleaner in hall closets across America would not have been possible
without the introduction
>of the affordable, easy-to-use Hoover 5.0 upright vacuum cleaner. And
thus, the cycle of
>life goes on."
>
>According to science writer David Quammen, much of the rise in
consumer-product diversity is
>a direct result of the decrease in biodiversity.
>
>"When a species vanishes, the world loses not only that species, but the
wide range of
>highly specialized physical and biochemical functions that species served.
These ecological
>losses necessitate the creation of new, synthetic products capable of
serving the same
>functions," Quammen said. "So, for example, when we lose a strain of
microbe that filters
>the water we drink, we compensate by developing the amazing Brita water
filter, with its
>patented filtration technology.
>When we lose a plant in the jungles of Indonesia whose berry bears an
extremely rare
>nutrient, we develop in its place fruity, fun-to-eat Flintstones chewable
vitamin
>supplements."
>
>Read the EPA report: "The planet Earth stands on the brink of one of the
most devastating
>global extinctions in history. By the year 2040, nearly two-thirds of all
current species
>will be extinct. Rainforest habitats that were once lush canopies of life,
sustaining
>millions of highly specialized and interdependent species of plants and
animals, have been
>reduced by upwards of 95 percent in some areas. Thankfully, however,
retail outlets which,
>as little as 50 years ago, were the domain of only a handful of basic
staple goods, have
>evolved into lush, highly developed supermarkets and department stores
with a nearly
>limitless abundance of consumer goods."
>
>Environmental and business leaders cheered the report's optimistic
findings, but they warn
>that consumers still have their work cut out for them.
>
>"As our ecological resources continue to disappear, we must all do our
part," Quaker Oats
>CEO Reuben McCall said. "That means diligent, conscientious commitment to
increased
>consumption of new products. If these products are not bought, nobody will
manufacture them.
>And if this were to happen, the damage to the precious diversity of our
consumer landscape
>would be disastrous."
>
>
>


- Don Baccus, Portland OR <dhogaza at pacifier.com>
Nature photos, on-line guides, Pacific Northwest
Rare Bird Alert Service and other goodies at
http://donb.photo.net.