Wayne Gilchrest: “Dr. Norse, chief scientist for the Center for Marine Conservation, reminds us that biodiversity and ecosystems do such…”

“Dr. Norse, chief scientist for the Center for Marine Conservation, reminds us that biodiversity and ecosystems do such things as maintaining climate, removing pollutants from the atmosphere, building soils to sustain the agricultural industry, and protect coastlines, and these are essential, all of the things I just described, to human existence. Just as our astronauts are absolutely dependent on expensive, engineered life support systems to sustain them in the cold void of space, what sustains the entire Earth in the cold void of space is the life-supporting functions of the world's ecosystems and biodiversity. These things provide the habitat that all species need, including humans. Unfortunately, our responsibility for being stewards of the land often conflicts with our apparent and obvious need to produce and consume resources. Just as we would never sell the original Constitution of the United States or the Chesapeake Bay to foreign investors for any amount of money, we should not sell our biological diversity for a percentage. We must reexamine our knowledge on these issues.”