5/17 - Value of Natural History

Today Josh gave an inspiring and well thought out lecture on why natural history is important to society. He showed us data that indicates a turn away from natural history and towards sciences more involved on a small level, such as DNA study. The study of these new sciences is quite important, and will no doubt unlock many important discoveries as we delve deeper. One reason this shift has made is that they are relatively new areas of science and thus allow for much undiscovered knowledge to be unlocked. This is not reason enough to stray away from natural history though; despite being one of the oldest forms of science, we still have a countless amount of things to learn about the creatures and organisms that surround us everyday. These discoveries can be equally important to the discoveries being made in the newer sciences. For example, acid rain was discovered due to a naturist. By studying and taking samples from the same river for many years, he was able to observe a rise in unwanted chemicals. By tracing these back to chemicals being released by factories, we were able to instate laws regulating these chemicals, in what was one of the quickest changes in policies regarding the environment. In addition to protecting the environment, human health has also benefited from natural history. Cholera outbreaks were linked to copepods which can easily be strained out of water by running water through a cloth - a discovery that would never have been found in a lab. There have also been times where disregarding natural history has harmed humans, such as the Ixtoc Oil spill. As soon as the leakage was stopped, all study of how the released oil effects the environment was also stopped. This came back to bite us recently, with the BP oil spill; because we didn't pursue the effects of the Ixtoc oil spill, we still have no idea of how the BP oil spill will harm the ecosystem in the short and longterm.

I agree with Josh that natural history should be a more important part of our society. Not only are the benefits to society clear, but I believe that an appreciation and study of nature brings personal benefit. By understanding what surrounds us and how it works, we have a better grasp of our place in the world. It helps us realize where we came from and that not that long ago we were more a part of this complex system. Just witnessing what nature has to offer can change a person and give them a less self-centered perspective, something that many people today could gain much from. If more people could appreciate and understand nature, we would not be in the position we are in now, having to worry about global warming and other human harm to the earth.

Posted on June 3, 2012 02:06 AM by beardendb