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Braus, Judy, Ed.; And OthersWOW! Windows on the Wild: A Biodiversity Primer.World Wildlife Fund, Washington, DC.Eastman Kodak Co., Rochester, N.Y.ISBN-0-89164-142-49469p.; Photographs may not reproduce clearly.World Wildlife Fund, Environmental EducationDepartment, 1250 24th Street NW, Washington, DC20037.Information Analyses (070) Journal Articles (080)

MF01/PC03 Plus Postage.Animals; *Conservation (Environment); ElementarySecondary Education; Endangered Species;*Environmental Education; Habitats; Interviews;Natural Disasters; Plants (Botany); PopulationGrowth; Wildlife

IDENTIFIERS *Biological Diversity; Environmental Action;*Environmental Awareness

ABSTRACTWindows on the Wild is an environmental education

program of the World Wildlife Fund. This issue of WOW! focuses onbiodiversity. Topics include: an interview with one of the world'sleading experts on biodiversity; the lighter side of biodiversitythrough comics and cartoons; a species-scape that compares the numberof species on the planet; natural disasters; a tabloid look at thewild world of nature; habitat loss, population growth, and the lossof diversity; bears; wildlife photography; facts and figures onbiodiversity; pink potatoes and other wild plants; how spendinghabits affect the earth; the Maya civilization; and student action toslow the loss of biodiversity. (JRH)

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WOW! A Biodiversity Primer

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Ask Dr. B!Discover what biodiversity is all about through the eyes of Dr.Edward 0. Wilsonone of the world's leading experts.

Comic ReliefCheck out the lighter side of biodiversity with these comics andcartoons.

Sizing Up SpeciesWhere can you find giant dragonflies and midget giraffes? In acolorful species-scape that compares the numbers of specieson the planet.

Mission ImpossibleAre natural disasters really "disasters?" Mother Nature tells allin this exclusive interview.

The Natural InquirerTake a tabloid look at the wild, wacky world of nature.

The HIPPO DilemmaFrom habitat loss to population growth, here's the scoop onwhy we're losing biodiversity.

Bear in MindHow would you react if you saw a bear lumber into yourneighborhood?

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(Front Cover): red-eyed tree frog--0 Gail Shumway; snow leopard-0 Galen Rowell/Mountain Light; young Kuna Indian woman-0 Kevin Schafer(Back Cover): long-horned grasshopper-0 Gerald Bishop; short-eared owl-0 Dwight R. Kuhn; Cissus cactiformsC 1990 J. Cancalosi/DRK PHOTO.(Page 2): topLisa Pomerantz; middle-0 Michael and Patricia Fogden; bottom-0 Brian Hallett; (): left-0 Gerry Ellis Nature Photography; right-0 Kevin Schafer

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Where the Wild Things AreSee the world's diversity through the eyes of wildlifephotographer Gerry Ellis.

Number CrunchingGet the facts and figures on biodiversity.

Raiders of the Lost PotatoFind out why scientists are scouring the planet in searchof pink potatoes and other wild plants.

Mailing It OverTake a "wild" walk through the mall and learn how yourspending habits affect the Earth.

Lessons from Jungle TombsWhat happened to the ancient Maya civilization and whydoes it matter today? Clues from the past are helping usbuild a better future.

Pacific Yew BluesFind out what happens when Joe Cordoza meetsElasto-Man.

BioBeatWriting raps and saving turtles, students across thecountry are taking action to slow the loss of biodiversity.

Biodiversity Rap-UpCatch the beat and get the final word on biodiversity.

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Editorial and DeOgrAdttifJudy rairs; Editcri7Luise Wcielflein. EditorKaren Keagle, Pwgram AssistantDiane O'Reilly, Research AssistantKimberly Kerin, Art Direno;:z

Scientific and Editorial ReviewersGerald Bishop, Editor, Ranger RickMagazine, National Wildlifedon; Maria Bober, COrporate HealthSafety, and Environmenc.E rt,astmaKodak Company, Carolpana;.Environmental Consultant; -GaryHartshorn. Vice President, Researcnand Development, WWF; Leonard. P.Hirsch, International Liiiion Officer,Smithsonian InstitutibriiNyMarshall;Environmental ConsultintavidOlson, Conservation Scientist, WWF;Mark Rovner, Vice President, P.ublic__.Affairs, WWF; Amelia Salzman; Senior :-Program Officer, WWFdphri Shores,Senior BiodiversitySpkialiii,LIS1.:_Peace Corps; Carolfne..Tkyktr;Director.Publications, WWF; Betsy-AlizarclWhitmanrEnvirOriiental-:Wiitei;Laurence"Wisetnan,Pitisident:American Forest Foundation.

Special thanks to thiniatteadiers andstudents who reviewed anart, and who helped shcpe this issue

Windows on the Wild ia.asqsraraugsasi,. ,tal education prOgia WorldWildlife Fund (WWF)'withinpport.from Eastman KodakCninpany andthe National Environthental Educationand Trainine Foundation.

For more inforrnatiOn'abbufWinciarcir,'on the Wild or how to order single issuesor multiple sets of 'WOW'-!,' pleasewrite to Environmental Education,WWF, 1250 24th Screehr/W;11,/ashing.ton, DC 20037. For nitirelitfOrrna donabout WWF. please write to theMembership Department at theaddress above.

WWF is a nonprofit coriseititionorganization dedicated to protectingthe world's biological diversity.

Printed on recycled paper conr...rttng10 percent post-consumer waste, usingsoy-based inks.

Printed by Quad/Graphies.,-Peviraukee.Wisconsin.

ISBN # 0-89164-142-4

01994 by World WildlifeFinid,All rights reier4etriisi*..'4'part of this publication-,may be reproducedwithout the:permission of 'World WildlifeFund.

NV,WI;rucooves OM Tea vino

e's studied ants from Amazonia to the South Pacific.He's tromped through rain forests, deserts, bogs,

and brush in more than 20 countries, on every continent in theworld except Antarctica. He's explored islands that most of ushave never even heard of. And he's discovered hundreds ofnew species. This globe-trotting scientist is Dr. Edward Wilson(right), one of the world's leading experts on insects ... andbiodiversity. Our Windows on the Wild (WOW) editor, DianeO'Reilly, caught up with Dr. Wilson, or Dr. "B" as she likes tocall him, in his office at Harvard University to ask him moreabout biodiversity. (By the way, the "B" is for biodiversity,of course.)

WOW: First of all, Dr. B, just what is biodiversity?

Dr. B: Well, to put it simply, it's all life on Eartheverything from the tiny parasites that live in yourgut to the 150-ton whales that swim in the seas. Youcan think about it like this: "Bio" means life, and"diversity" means variety. So biodiversity means thevariety of life.

WOW: So biodiversity includes all the differentorganisms on Earth?

Dr. B: That's right. But it's more than just species.Biodiversity also includes the amazing variety ofecosystemslike rain forests, deserts, wetlands, andcoral reefs. And it also includes the variety withinspecies, which we measure by looking at genes.

WOW: I'm not sure I get the connection betweenbiodiversity and genes.

Dr. B: Our genes are what make us who we are. Youhave black hair, I have brown hair. You have wavy

4 / Windows on the Wild

hair, I have straight hair. It's our genes that carry themessages about how we look, who we are, and whatwe do. And it's this genetic diversity that makes eachliving thing unique.

WOW: OK. But how do genes actually make usdifferent?

Dr. B: Try looking at it like this. Each species is likean encyclopedia of genetic information, containingbillions of genetic letters that give it a unique "codeof life." This code allows each species to adapt to theconditions of the ecosystem in which it lives. Forexample, over hundreds of thousands of years, someplants have developed certain chemicals that makethem taste bad, which keeps insects from devouringthem. Some animals have developed sharp claws,thick fur, keen eyesight, and other adaptations thathelp them survive. All of these traits are the result ofcoded messages in our genes that get passed fromone generation to the next. And when a species goesextinct, all that valuable information is lost.

Here's another way to think about it. Take french

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fnes They're made from potatoes, right? Well, it'sthe genes in potatoes that make them white or pink,bumpy or smooth, tasty or bitter. It's important thatthere's diversity in the kinds of genes potatoes havebecause this diversity allows us to mix and matchdifferent combinations of potato genes to make ourcrops grow better and to make sure they have thegenes they need to fight off diseases.

Like many birds and mammals, this youngchimpanzee needs large areas of foresthabitat to survive. But in many parts of theworld, natural areas are being lost toroads, houses, shopping malls, farms, andother types of human development.

Grasping a colorful heliconia plant, thistiny leaf frog represents just one of themillions of creatures that live in tropicalrain forests. More than half the world'sspecies make their home in these hot,humid forests.

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Kennan Ward 1994

Windows on the Wild / 5

WOW: So genes help protect our foodsupplies, nght?

Dr. B: That's definitely part of it. Butthe most important reason to protectgenetic diversity is that it's our safe-guard against future problemswhether it's a new disease, a naturaldisaster, or something we can't evenpredict. It's our genes that help usadapt

WOW: Does every species on Earthhave hundreds of different genes

Dr. B: Well, the number vanes fromless than a hundred to more than ahundred thousand, depending on thesize and complexity of the species.

WOW: Speaking of species, how manydifferent species live on the planet?

Dr. B: Would you believe that no oneknows for sure? So far, we have identi-fied about 1.4 million species. Thatmight sound like a lot, but it justscratches the surface of what's reallyout there. I estimate that the totalnumber of species on Earth is some-where between 10 and 100 million. And no one cangive you a better estimate right now. That's why I say,when it comes to biodiversity, we live on a mysteriousand unexplored planet. (For more about the num-ber of species, see pages 12-13.)

WOW: Gee, between 10 and 100 million? That'spretty amazing. Where do all these species live?

Dr. B: All over the world. But some places havemore kinds of species than others. For example,tropical rain forests are teeming with biodiversity,from the tip-tops of the canopy to the moist soilbeneath the forest floor. In fact, half the species onEarth live in tropical rain forests. Did you know thata single tree in the tropics can have more than 1000different kinds of insects living on it at one time?Now that's diversity!


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This dew-dropped rosy periwinkle fromMadagascar is not only beautifulit's alifesaver. It produces chemicals thathelp cure a variety of deadly diseasessuch as certain types of cancer.

But rain forests aren't the only places that you finda lot of species. Coral reefs are also incredibly di-verse. And some scientists estimate that the deepocean floor could be home to 10 million undiscov-ered species. Deserts, temperate forests, and otherecosystems throughout the world are also loadedwith speciesbut just not as many as are found intropical rain forests.

WOW: So are you and other scientists spendingmost of your time studying the tropics?

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Dr. B: Well, a lot of scientists are working in thetropics. But a lot of others are working to sort outhow other ecosystems work. You see, all ecosystemsare important, not only because they're home tomany species, but also because they perform anumber of important services. They help purify ourwater, clean our air, generate oxygen that webreathe, recycle nutrients, and even regulate ourclimate. Even areas that don't have a lot of differentspecies are still very critical to the health of theplanet. For example, many wetland areas, whicharen't as diverse as coral reefs or tropical rain forests,serve as nurseries for young lobsters, shrimp, fish,and other species. They also act as flood controls,help filter out water pollutants, and minimize stormdamage. And that's just the start. We still have a lotto learn about how compli-cated these natural systems areand how they work together tokeep the planet healthy.

WOW: How do people fit intoall of this?

Dr. B: I'm glad you askedthat. People are a huge part ofthe biodiversity picture. Forone thing, we are a verydiverse species ourselves. Wespeak many languages, live inmany different parts of theworld, and celebrate a varietyof cultural traditions. Andalthough many of us don'tstop to think about it, we are

Bengal tigers onceroamed widely acrossIndia and SoutheastAsia. Now they're introuble because ofhabitat loss and peoplekilling them illegally fortheir bones, which areused to make tradi-tional Asian medicines.

1111._

also a part of nature. Just like beetles and barracudasand bats, we have evolved over time, along withmillions of other species. And just like the rest of lifeon Earth, we depend on biodiversity for our survival.Unfortunately, we are also the reason biodiversity isin trouble.

WOW: What do you mean?

Dr. B: Well, it's part of what some people call theHIPPO Dilemma.

WOW: Hippo? As in the hippos that live in Africa?What are we doing to hippos?

© Gerry Ellis Nature Photography

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Dr. B: Actually, pygmy hippos in West Africa areendangered, but that's not exactly what I meant. Yousee, HIPPO stands for Habitat loss, Introducedspecies, Pollution, Population growth, and Over-consumption (using resources faster than they canbe replaced naturally). These are the top threats tobiodiversity in the world. The most serious problemby far is habitat loss, but all of them are causingspecies to become extinct. For example, take intro-duced species. These are plants and animals thatpeople have brought, either by accident or onpurpose, to places where they don't naturally occur.When this happens, the new species often spreadquickly, pushing out native species. Just look atHawaii. One introduced tree species has now wipedout more than 30,000 acres (12,000 ha) of nativeforest! (For more about the HIPPO Dilemma, seepages 23-29.)

WOW: I think it's sad that we're losing species, but Ithought that extinction was a natural part of life.What about the dinosaurs?

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Coral reefsare home tothousands ofanimalspecies likethis colorfulgrouper andthese brilliantred sea whipsin Papua NewGuinea.

Dr. B: Well, it's true that extinction is a naturalprocess that occurs over time. After all, more than 99percent of all species that have ever lived on Earthare now extinct! What I'm worried about is not theprocess of extinction itself, but how fast it's occur-ring. I've estimated that right now we are losing atleast three species every hour. That's more than 70each day! And the worst part about the extinctionshappening now is that we may not be able to recoverour losses for millions of years.

WOW: But why are you so worried about losingspecies? Is every single species of plant and animalreally that important?

Dr. B: In my opinion, every bit of biological diversitythat disappears is a priceless product of millions ofyears of evolution, and it should be cherished andprotected for its own sake. But biodiversity should besaved for other reasons, too. As I mentioned earlier,we need the genetic diversity of wild plants to makeour crops grow better and to provide new foods for

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0 Kevin Schafer: 0 Bill O'Connor/Peter Arnold, Inc.:0 Stan Wayman/Photo Researchers. Inc.

the future. We also need biodiversity to develop newmedicines. When I go exploring, I wonder if a newlydiscovered insect or plant might hold the cure forcancer or AIDS.

The more species we lose, the less able we will beto sustain life. In many parts of the world, people arealready struggling to survive because their naturalresources have been depleted. You can think ofbiodiversity as a safety net that keeps ecosystemsfunctioning and maintaining life on Earth as weknow it. No one knows if, or when, that safety net willbreak. And no one knows what will happen if it does.

WOW: Do most people feel that loss of biodiversityis a serious problem?

Dr. B: Unfortunately, I don't think enough peopleknow about the issue, and I hope that changes. Buteven those people who have studied the problemdon't always agree on how fast we're losing species,how serious the problem is, or what we should do tohelp slow the loss of biodiversity. Many of the mostrespected scientists around the world do feel that lossof biodiversityespecially the loss of habitat world-wideis the most serious problem facing the planet.

WOW: Are there any lessons that we've learnedfrom the past that can help us solve this problem?

Dr. B: Good question. Unfortunately, we seem tokeep making the same mistakes over and over again.Some scientists think, for example, that environmen-tal catastrophes like soil erosion and toxic wastemight have caused ancient civilizations, like those ofthe Mayas and Romans, to collapse. Just in the pasttwo centuries, overhunting has caused the extinctionof moas, dodos, passenger pigeons, and more than ahundred other bird species. And those are just theones we know about. We've also learned someimportant lessons about contaminating the environ-ment with dangerous chemicals. Bald eagles andother birds of prey almost went extinct in the lower48 states because of pesticide poisoning from DDT.Once DDT was banned in this country, these animalsbegan to recover. But DDT is still manufactured andsold in other countriesso it's still a problem insome parts of the world.

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From the far reaches of Asia to the wildsof Africa and Latin America, humancultures are as varied as the landscapesand wildlife they depend on.

WOW: So do you think we can turn things aroundnow and help slow the loss of biodiversity?

Dr. B: Although the issues are very serious, I thinkwe can make important changes that will helpprotect biodiversity. Already many countries areworking together to conduct biological inventoriesso that we can find out more about the diversity oflife throughout the world. We're also working tounderstand the connections among living things so


that we can better understand what we need toprotect. But protecting biodiversity will involve all ofus, not just scientists. Political leaders, teachers,journalists, religious leaders, farmers, attorneys, andstudents need to get involved. And many of oureveryday actions can helpfrom turning down thethermostat to choosing organic fruits and vegetables.You should never underestimate what you can do. Becreative. Solutions will come from all of us! vMantids, with their bulging, compoundeyes and grasping front legs, are expertpredators and members of the mostabundant group of organisms on Earththe insects. There are more kinds ofinsects than all other kinds of livingthings combined.

Cannel Ervin: Educating Educators

When Carmel Ervin was young, she oftenventured out to her grandfather's South Carolinafarm and spent the day catchingfish and insects with nets andtin cans. "I never caught manyfish, but I did develop a love fornature that I'll never lose,"Ervin says from her office at theSmithsonian Institution in'ashington, D.C. These days,Ervin is busy making sure otherkids get the same kind offirsthand thrill of science thatshe had.

As a science educationspecialist at the Smithsonian,

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Ervin helps teachers learn how to spice up theirschool science programs. "Science is doing!" sheinsists.

So, on a typical day at a teacher-training work-shop, you might find Ervin leading a group ofteachers along the shores of the Chesapeake Bay.

You might see them crawling on all fours as theysearch for beach plants or digging madly in thesand for crabs.

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117.1Karen F. Elliott

Ervin knows that feW kidsthese days get to spend time on aplace like a farm. That's whyone of her main goals is to makescience come alive for kids in thecity. Instead of havingkids readabout blood circulation'iri7book, for example, she has themwatch blood cells move throughthe veins of a live goldfish. Or,to teach about the adaPtaticins ofteeth, she might haVe.itiidentsexamine animal skullS ranging in

size from a rat to an allikator.;.Carmel Ervin doesn't expect to turd

student into a scientist, but she does hope to helppeople learn more about the life that S. around'them. 'The more people know about the world,"she says, "the.more they'll appreciate and love theplanet we all share."


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s this a scene from "Invasionof the Killer Dragonflies"?No. It's what's called a species-

scapea landscape of differentspecies that symbolize life onEarth. Each of the organismspictured represents a differentgroup of living things, and the sizeof each picture indicates theknown number of species that arein that group, compared with theknown numbers in other groups.For example, the dragonfly


represents all the insect species inthe world, and the mushroomsrepresent all known species offungi. (If you look at the key, you'llsee that there are more than750,000 known species of insects,but only 69,000 of fungi.) Andpeople are represented by thegiraffe, which symbolizes all thebats, bears, cats, mice, and othermammals that live on the planet.

Scientists have identifiedapproximately 1.4 million species

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so far. But they predict that thereare millions of other species thathaven't been identified or de-scribed yetespecially "small stuff'like flies, beetles, bacteria, andfungi. And many of them areprobably in places that scientistshaven't really had a chance tostudy yet, like rain forest soils andthe deep ocean floor. Who knows,in the next century we might findmillions of new speciesrightbeneath our feet! V

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KEYi . Bacteria (4800); 2. Scarlet waxy capmushrooms (Fungi-69,000); 3. Seacolander (Algae-26,900); -. Trees, shrubs,and other higher plants (248,400);

Amoeba (Protozoa-30,800); Yellowtube sponge (Sponges-5000); i. Compassjellyfish (Corals, jellyfish, and relatives-9000); Leopard flatworm (Flatworms-12,200); . Roundworms (12,000);10. Earthworm (Earthworms and relatives-12,000); Scallop (Clams, squids, andother mollusks-50,000); ) 2. African seastar(Seastars and relatives-6100); . Dragonfly(Insects-751,000); I Jumping spider(Spiders, crustaceans, and other non-insectarthropods-123,400); Regal angelfish(Fishes, tunicates, and lancelets-18,800);

6. Leopard frog (Amphibians-4200);. Scarlet king snake (Reptiles-6300);8. Tree swallow (Birds-9000); 19. Giraffe

(Mammals-4000).

Illustration by Patrick GnanStatistics from The Diversity of Life by E.O. Wilson (Harvard University Press, 1992)

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by Caroline Taylor

twai a tough job, butsomebody had to do it.Anyway, that's what theytold me when I got theassignment. "We've had

enough of these natural disasters,"they said"the volcanoes and thehurricanes and the forest fires andnow the floods. So go interviewMother Nature to find out what'sgoing on. Then try to get her tolay off."

Right. Like you can just walkright up and tap her on theshoulder and say, "Excuse me?"

I won't tell you how I found her(can't reveal sources and methods,after all), but I can say it wasn'teasy. And when I finally did findher, we got right down to business.

"Let's start with volcanoes. YourMount St. Helens and your MountPinatubo? And that one that keepserupting in Hawaii"

"What's the problem?" shebroke in.

'The problem," I said, tryingnot to sound annoyed, "is that youkeep doing these destructivethings. The eruption of MountSt. Helens in 1980 devastated 200square miles (520 km2) of forestand dammed streams and lakes

Illustrations by Scott Ross

with lava and ash, killingJP,million fish and tons of otheraquatic life. That was in additionto all of the mammaIs, birds, .

reptiles, and other arunialf thatwere wiped out."

"You know what theyreplied. "Mother Nature Nkiiklinmysterious ways.'

"But why did you do it? _ _

"I suppose if you were MotherNature, you'd try to stop volcanoesfrom erupting?"

"Well, sure""Sorry, kid, but that's just not

the way I operate. You can't stop:Nature. I know I can be very'unpredictable, and maybe I don'talways make sense to you. Thetruth is, Nature just happens.Sometimes it's good for peopleand wildlife, and sometimes it's

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not.""But don't you feel bad about

all the mammals and bird.§ and'fishand people, toothat gethurt when one of those mountainsdecides to vent?"

`This may come as a shock toyou, but Nature doesn't have`feelings' like you do. I'm MotherNature, not a person. Arid by the:way, people are mammals. Why do

Kilauea volcano eruption, Hawaii-0 &Dames Summerhays

1.R BEST/Photo Researchers, Inc.

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so many of you humans alwaysinsist on separating yourselvesfrom Nature?"

"Well, I ...""What's more, if you'd done

your homework, you'd be awarethat just one year after Mount St.Helens blew, the landscape wasdotted with blackberries, ava-lanche lilies, lupine, bracken ferns,and other plants. And you'd knowthat killdeer, ground squirrels,gophers, and even mountainbluebirds moved back prettyquickly. One day the forests, deer,and elk will probably be back too.Sure, disasters are a part of Nature.But regenerationthe return of lifeafter these eventsis a part ofNature too."

Maybe she had a point. But Icould not forget my missiontoget her to lay off the disasters. So I


did the only thing I could think of.I switched subjects.

"I suppose you're going to tellme it was OK that forest fires ragedthrough 1.4 million acres (560,000ha) of Yellowstone Park in 1988?"

"Let's just say that they were anecessary part of Nature."

"You can't mean that!" I waslosing it, I know, but she didn'tseem the least bit sorry about allthe life she had destroyed.

"It was way overdue," she said,shaking her head. "From the 1880sto the 1970s, you humans thought

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that you should fight every singleforest fire. But fire can be impor-tant for maintaining healthyecosystems. In Yellowstone, thepark had more than 90 years'worth of deadfallold trees andkindlingthat had to be sweptout. You might say that the forestfires there acted like Nature'sbrooms."

I had her there. "So you justswept the poor animals out withthe underbrush, huh?"

"Not for long, kiddo. I hate tokeep criticizing your preparationfor this interview, but have you

been there recently? Less than fiveyears after those fires, Yellowstonewas back in the swing of things.Life was popping up everywhere.In fact, scientists predict that therewill be a tenfold increase in plantspecies over the next 20 years, notto mention an increase in animallifefrom insects all the way upthe food chain to birds and mam-mals. That's what I mean byregeneration."

"But what does this 'regenera-tion' business have to do withanything?"

"You're so stuck on thosenatural events that you're missing avery important pointnamely thatthe rich biodiversity of this planethelps it to recover from events likevolcanoes and hurricanes.Biodiversity allows Nature tobounce back when these big thingshappenand that is one reasonwhy it's so important to keepecosystems healthy and to protectbiodiversity. See, healthy ecosys-tems can weather these distur-bances better than ecosystems thatare unhealthy and fragmented.And believe it or not, some distur-banceslike occasional forestfiresare actually needed to keepecosystems healthy."

"Are you saying that forest firescan actually help promotebiodiversity?"

"Sometimesand in some ways.Many animals and plants areadapted toand even needsmall-scale disturbances like firesor floods or wind. "

"Look, Mother Nature." I wasgetting confused, and my head wasstarting to hurt. "I came here toask you to lay off, and instead youkeep telling me that all of thesenatural disasters arewell,natural."

"Except I wouldn't call themdisasters," she replied coolly.'That's a human term, and itdoesn't apply to the rest of Nature.

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I II

Diane Jukofsla a Chrts Wale Writing For Conservation

This time, the jeep is sen-ously stuck. Diane Jukofskyand Chris Wille climb out ofthe vehicle andsink to their kneesin the sticky redmud of theHonduran rainforest. Armedwith cameras andnotebooks, theyare looking forthe loggers whomade this illegalroad. And nowthey're stuck,more than a day'sdrive from the nearest town.

Getting stuck or lost is justpart of a day's work for Willeand Jukofsky, a husband-and-wife team of environmentaljournalists employed by aninternational conservationgroup, the Rainforest Alliance.The two writers travel through-out Central America coveringstories for media throughoutthe world.

"Most people do not under-stand why the rain forest isbeing destroyed or what'sbeing done to save it," Jukofskyexplains. 'That's why wedecided to establish an envi-ronmental news agency. We'reout here on the front lines ofrain forest conservation to getthe real story."

`The diversity of wildlife andthe diversity of conservationefforts make Central America

perfect for acouple of environ-mental journal-ists," Wile adds.`There's lots ofnews here, bothgood and bad."

Jukofsky wastrained as a writerterand then learnedabout conservationbiology whileworking: Winestudied biology in

school and learned journalismlater, on the job.

Their constant travel intoremote regions presents plentyof challenges for the wanderingwriters, but they know that whatthey're doing is critical to savingthe rain forest.

As Jukofsky explains, "Thebest way to generate support isthrough the media. The mediacan help convert scientificinformation into political action.The media can turn citizens intoactivists. And that's what weneed."

What about the jeep that wasstuck deep in the mud? Chrisand Diane got it out by stuffingsticks under the wheels. Then,covered with mud, they went tofind out about the loggers.

Kathleen Gabble

You humans crave order. You wantNature to be something beautifuland pleasant and safelike alandscaped rose garden." MotherNature sighed. "But I'm not good... or bad. I just am."

18

I opened my mouth to protest,but she interrupted again.

"I'll tell you something else. Theimpact of these disasters, as youcall them, is often much worsebecause of people's activities. In


many places you've whittled awaywild areas with your homes andshopping centers and roads untilthere are only small pockets ofnatural habitat left. That meansthat when a large fire or otherdisturbance occurs. it can wipe outsome species because there's noplace for the animals to go, andthere aren't always enough ofthem left to reproduce. You maynot realize it, but many peoplethink that the parks and protectedareas left in the world are too few,too small, and too isolated fromone another to bounce back aftermajor disasters."

She had an answer for every-thing, and it usually circled back topeople. But I wasn't done yet. Andeven though I could see it coming,I had to ask her about the summerfloods along the Mississippi Riverin 1993. 1 wanted to see her wiggleher way out of this one.

She took a long, hard look atme over the top of her glasses."Just where did you think all thatwater was going to go?"

'Well, uh, why not the Gulf ofMexico?"

"That would have been the casehundreds of years ago, but it justcouldn't happen that way in '93because of the way you people hadrigged things. Over the years,people filled in low-lying areas tocreate cropland. They destroyedmore than 19 million acres (7.6million ha) of wetlands in theMississippi River and MissouriRiver basins north of St. Louis.Those wetlands used to helpcontrol flooding naturally byabsorbing and 'holding' waterduring seasons of high rainfall andreleasing it during drier months.With no wetlands, there wasnothing to soak up the water. Andthat doesn't even take into ac-count all the other changes you'vemadethe thousands of miles ofpaved roads and hundreds of


shopping centers."'Wait a minute!" I cried. "The

levees broke, millions of animalsdied, and people lost their homesand farms. People will probably hedigging out of all that muck andslime for years. And you're sayingit's our fault?"

That was the last straw. Howcould she just ignore the damageshe'd caused? As I shut my note-book and got ready to leave, shejust looked at me and shook herhead slowly.

"You just don't get it, do you?"she said sadly. "You know, I feellike that comedian who always says,

Change Is Natural

What may seem like adisaster to us is oftenan important part of

the planet's life-building pro-cesses. Whether we like it or not,storms, fires, floods, and otherdisturbances are all part of hownature "works." And manyorganisms have evolved overtime to cope with these sorts ofupsets. For example, manyanimals rely on periods of heavyrains and floods to mate andfind food. And some trees needthe heat of a fire for their conesto open and release their seeds.

Sometimes natural distur-bances happen on a hugescalelike volcanic eruptionsand hurricanes and floods thesize of those in 1993. Fortu-nately, these big disasters don'thappen that often. But whenthey do, they can affectbiodiversity by wiping out plantsand animalsand occasionally

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`I just don't get no respect.' Butmaybe someday that will change.Remember, Nature just happens.And like it or not, you're part ofNature too. Whatever happens,happens to all of us. Got it? Ta,ta.,,

All of a sudden she was gone.And I was left with a splittingheadache and a notebook filledwith scribbles about fires andbrooms and the "natural" way. Somuch for this assignment. Thenext time they ask me to interviewMother Nature, I'm going to say,"No way." I've learned my lesson:Don't mess with Mother Nature.V

even entire species. Part of the.reason why it's so important toprotect biodiversity and main-tain healthy ecosystems is toenable life to bounce back aftersuch disasters. And in the past,nature has been able to recoveron its own.

Disturbancesand thechanges they bringare natu-ral. And both small and me-dium disturbances "build"biodiversity because new speciesrush in to fill empty spaces.Problems occur when peopleget in the way of natural pro-cesses. By bringing new speciesto certain areas, dammingrivers, filling in wetlands, andreducing the overall amount ofspace for wildlife, we often putso much stress on ecosystemsthat even Mother Nature can'thandle the pressure. That'swhen natural disturbancesbecome real disasters.

E I 1V Eevs!!!

by Jody Marshall

he following special section containsinformation that will surprise, amaze,

and possibly even shock you. Read on to dis-cover a world where strange events, fantasticfeats, bizarre relationships, and weird discoverieshappen every day. "Where is this world?" you

ask. The answer's easy: You're living in it. Eachaccount presented on these pages describes aphenomenon that occurs right here on Earthaplanet with an infinite supply of natural wonders.As you read, you might find yourself agreeingthat truth is stranger than fiction.

NA -TUR-AL:I-INQUIRER1 'i

A. -I

C- 1:14PA,I;,LELlm:r11:

OCCURSUNDERWATER

tlantic City, NJOceans allover the world are the scene of an incredible sex-change phenomenon. According to researchersstudying the strange change, many kinds of fish andother sea creatures undergo a sex switch during theirliveschanging from either male to female or femaleto male, depending on the type of animal. Forexample, some male clownfish become females whentheir female mate dies. Then they find a new malemate.

Stoplight parrotfish swap sexes too: The bright redfemales eventually turn into greenish-blue males. Andcertain male shrimp become females when there's ashortage of mates.

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N A T U R A L

HAVE COLONIZED THE PLANET!

orldwideAliens areeverywhere on Earth

and have been for years! That'sthe word from scores of scientistsinvestigating alien colonizationaround the world.

"They've popu-lated the planet,"claims researcherE.T. Hunter."People come intocontact with themevery daywithouteven knowing it!"

Hunter is quickto point out,though, that theseparticular aliensaren't from outerspace. "They'refrom right here onEarth," she says, explaining thatscientists use the term alien torefer to plants and animals that

have been introduced into areaswhere they weren't previouslyfound.

Some of these alien introduc-tions have been accidental. City

rF

Illustration by Robert Burger

.d6.1

rats, for example, came to theUnited States as stowaways onships carrying European explorers

to the Americas. But in some casespeople have introduced animalsand plants on purpose. TheEuropean birds called starlings arean infamous example. In 1890they were released into New YorkCity's Central Park by people whothought it would be a good idea tostock the United States with all thedifferent birds mentioned inShakespeare's plays. Now millionsof starlings are all over the UnitedStates, and they're competingwith native birds for foodand nest sites.

Other aliens, whether they'rebirds, insects, plants, or otherspecies, create similar problemsfor native species around theworld. "We've got to be verycareful to avoid introducinganimals and plants into areaswhere they aren't naturallyfound," says Hunter. 'We'velearned the hard way that alienscan destroy native life forms."

Killer Has

Illustration by Leif Peng


tlantic OceanIt drifts through the sea devouringunsuspecting small fish and other creatures. But a

Portuguese man-of-war jellyfish is not just another carnivorousanimal. In fact, it's not an animal at allit's a whole colony ofspecialized animals. Tiny terrors form the mouths: Each onehas long tentacles lined with stinging cells that capture preyand defend the jellyfish. Other animals in the colony donothing but make a gas that fills the man-of-war's "balloon"and keeps it afloat. And still others take care of reproduction.These mindless meat-eaters manage to do all this without abrain or a heart. Without those body parts, you couldn't evenflick the TV remote!

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INQUIREREXOTIC MALEDANCERS

LLOPPOSITE SEXPapua New GuineaIn a flashy displaydesigned to impress females, male birds-of-paradise perform radical dance routines inthe jungles of Papua New Guinea. The acro-batic birds shake, shimmy, and sometimeseven hang upside down from tree branchesto show off their bright colors and longfeathers. The dull-colored females usuallypick the flashiest dancers to be their mates.

Illustration by Leif Peng

OOZEIN THE NEWS

alaveras, CAHave youtaken your frog slime today?

Probably not, since it isn't on themarket yet. But before too longmiraculous medicines, made fromthe slimy substance that oozesfrom frog skin, may be available atyour local pharmacy.

Frogs "use" their ooze to keeptheir skin from drying outand inthe case of certain species, to repelpredators. In a news statementreleased recently, frog fancierPolly Wogg said that the slimesome frogs produce is poisonousenough to kill a human.

Poison aside, medical research-ers think frog-skin secretions could

be as useful for humansas they are for frogs,although in differentways. For example,certain substances inthese secretions areproving to be effectivein treating infections,mental disorders, andother ailments. Thesticky slime might alsobe used to create a kindof glue that replacesstitches. And there maybe other uses as well. When usedas directed, frog slime might beable to keep all kinds of sickpeople fromwell, croaking!

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...,;;;,00" ..4:1" 'AC/ .L27"r ?,

Illustration by Robin Hotchkiss

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NAITU=RAL INQUIRERSHOCKING EVIDENCE REVEALS:

WE OWE OURLIVES TO SEASCUM

orid's OceansTheysure don't look like much. In

fact, most of the time they don't looklike anything at all. That's becausethey're too small to see without amicroscopeexcept when theymultiply to the point where theyform masses of foamy scum on theocean's surface. But some scientiststhink these tiny foam formersperform a mighty job, one thataffects the health of the wholeplanet.

What are these wee wonders?Certain types of ocean algae. Thealgae release sulfur compounds thatdrift up into the atmosphere, wherethey stimulate cloud formation. Andclouds help to regulate Earth'sclimate.

"Clouds are like a two-way atmo-spheric blanket," observes meteorolo-gist Storm Front. 'They keep Earthwarm by holding in some of the heatreflected from Earth's surface. Andat the same time they screen outsome of the sun's rays. The net resultis that the overall climate of theEarth stays within a certain rangecapable of supporting life."

Without the sulfur compoundsthe algae produce, not as manyclouds would form. And a cloud"shortage" could change the Earth'sclimate for the worse.

`The algae-cloud-climate thing is avery complicated process that we'rejust beginning to understand," statesFront. But he points out that at leastone thing is clear: A species doesn'thave to be big to have a big impacton the entire planet.


ESCOULD SAVEYOUR LIFE!

osta RicaAccord-ing to a statement

issued recently by medicalresearchers, vampires couldsave hundreds of lives eachyear.

"Vampires have a lot tooffer modern medicine," saysresearcher Dr. Drake Ula."For one thing, they're verysmooth 'operators," he adds,referring to the creatures'habit of biting unsuspectingvictims and "drinking" theirblood.

Unlike the vampiresdepicted in horror movies,real vampires are tropical batsthat feed mostly on the bloodof large mammals, such as cattle.The bats cut a small slit in theirprey with their teeth. A specialcompound in the bats' saliva keepsthe prey animal's blood fromclotting, allowing the bats to lapup a blood meal. In most cases theprey animals aren't harmed by theact, and often they seem unawarethat they've even been attacked.

Dr. Ula explains that it was thebats' ability to keep blood fromclotting that intrigued investiga-tors. "We wondered, 'Could theanti-clotting agent in vampire batsaliva be used to dissolve humanblood clots?' We figured that if itcould, it might be useful in dissolv-ing the clots that cause heartattacks."

23

Illustration by Steven Nau

Research has confirmed theseideas. In fact, it has shown thatvampire bat saliva works twice asfast in opening clogged arteries asthe medicines currently beingused.

Medical research on vampirebats parallels similar researchbeing done on other species, suchas leeches and venomous pit vipersnakes. "A lot of people get thecreeps when they think aboutthese guys," observes Ula. "But youjust never know," he adds. "Someday you could find yourself in ahospital, and a vampire bat or pitviper could save your life!"

From Costa Rica.to. Cameroon, fromNorth Dakota to Nepal

biodiversity is slipping away because of

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4111111 /1.141.11

by Luise Woelflein

ThetHIPPO:Dilemmais notabout real, live hippopotamuses. Instead, HIPPOslandcforthe-fivemajor problems threatening-the-Earth's biodiversity: abitat-

t1/4'

loss;Jntroduced species, olIution, opulation growth, and ver-consumption.Manytof these probleins are-interrelated. Pollution, for example, can harm eco-

J

systemsiand:themreaturessthat live in them.And too many people using toomany- resources.can-lead to pollution-problems and habitat loss.

Orr the,following.pages.you:11 find out more about these problems and howthey're threatening biodiversity.

a

,7

-0"*.-LHippos;gliketthisrchubbradultrareoften-huntedrfortheirmeat; Soefar; their numbersa.,..-are OK, but their relatives, the pygmy hippos of West Africa, are endangered because

of habitat:loss=

Frans Lanting/Minden Pictures

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The HIPPODilemma

tat LassAll across the planet, biodiversity

is disappearingmostly because ofone problem: habitat loss. Habitatsare the places animals and plantslive and get the food, water,sunlight, living space, and otheressentials they need to survive.Over time, species have adapted tospecific physical conditions in theareas where they live. They've alsoevolved complex interrelationshipsthat help them survive. For ex-ample, many plants depend onparticular animals to pollinatetheir flowers and disperse theirseeds, and animals depend onspecific plants for food.

When people clear woods forhouses, fill in wetlands for farm-land, or pave over meadows for ashopping mall, they alter habitatkilling or forcing out the animalsand plants that once lived in

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it, upsetting ecological relation-ships, and reducing the eco-system's ability to perform serviceslike flood control, water purifica-tion, and nutrient recycling.

Bits and PiecesIt's easy to understand that

when people build a huge shop-ping mall, plants and animals losetheir homes. But people can alsodegrade habitats by chopping thehabitat into smaller isolated pieces.This fragmentation can changeconditions in the habitat so muchthat many original residents can nolonger survive. Cutting a roadthrough a forest, for example,brings drier air and more sunlightto areas along the road. And thosechanges can affect which speciesare able to live there. In addition,

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Eyes on the World

To help charthabitat change onthe planet's sur-face, scientistsoften use equip-ment usually asso-ciated with spaceexploration. Satel-lites, circling highabove the Earth,take pictures andrelay them back toscientists on theground. The satel-lites also collectother highly detailed infor-mation, such as theamount of moisture in aforest or the level of photo-synthetic activity in theocean.

Special.Speciest

Forsome species, only1;oneisland, one mountainvalley;oronestreamis.homethe species livesnowhere else on Earth.Animals and plants thatlive only one area arecalled: endemics (en -DEM -icks). If anything happensto the areas where theylive;.endemic:animalsanthplants can be wiped. outforever. Of the plantsA3n -Madagascar, 80 percentareendemic;and half the-world's chameleon spe-

t ciesrlive.only on this.island. Panther chame-leons (right) are endemicto Madagascar.

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This satellite image shows the Earth's biological pro-ductivity and is made up of several years of data. Rainforests and other highly productive land areas aregreen; less productive areas, such as deserts, areyellow. In oceans, the most productive areas are redand the least productive are pink. Using images likethis, scientists can monitor planet-level change.


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0 Kevin Schafer

the road may provide easier accessto once-isolated parts of the forestfor introduced species, people, andother "invaders." And new animalsthat move in may compete withresident animals for resources orprey on them for food.

Roads, housing tracts, and otherdevelo ments may also separate a

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In the United States,WeArelOstimore than half

of our original0410,$'wettandstand prairies.

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The CA IPPODilemma

eciiesBefore 1985, there were no

zebra mussels in North America.Now, these small clamlike animalslive throughout the Great Lakesand have made their way to otherbodies of fresh waterincludingall the way down the MississippiRiver to New Orleans. Scientiststhink these European invadersmost likely arrived here in the .

ballast tanks of freighters. Shipsfilled their ballast tanks with waterin Europe and took on tiny, free-swimming zebra mussel larvae aswell. When the ships arrived in theGreat Lakes, they emptied theirtanks to take on cargo, flushing theyoung zebra mussels out into a newworld. Now the mussels are causingbig problems, including killingnative clams by growing on top ofthem and sinking buoys that helpships navigate.

New Kids on the BlockWhen species like the zebra

mussel end up in areas where they

0 Robert Rattner, 1993


don't occur naturally, people referto them as introduced, alien, orexotic species. And like the zebramussel, many introduced speciesend up causing big problems intheir new homes. That's becausethey usually arrive without thepredators, diseases, or parasitesthat keep their populations incheck in their natural habitats.

In addition, the new species canoften survive better than nativespecies in areas that have beendisturbed by people. And nativespecies often have no defensesagainst introduced speciesor thediseases they carry.

The Accidental TouristsZebra mussels were brought to

North America by accident. Manyother introduced species werebrought to their new homes onpurpose by people who thoughtthey were doing a good thing. Forexample, kudzu is a fast-growingvine that's native to Asia. In the

1930s, people startedplanting kudzu in thesouthern United States tohelp control soil erosionand to provide food forcattle. Today the plant is areal nuisanceit has spreadover millions of acres,growing over anything in itspath including trees andeven houses!

Zebra mussels, likethese covering aclump of freshwaterclams, are causingbig problems in U.S.Oakes and rivers.

,,Inalawaii,;there are more*,mtroducedtplant species.;thamendemic ones, such ?.

as,,thisfohra tree.,

LionIn general, pollution is any

human-caused change in theenvironment, such as pesticides insoil or water, that creates a harmfuleffect on living things. Sometimespollution problems are easy to see,such as an oil spill, an overflowinglandfill, or a turtle strangled byplastic trash. But many pollutionproblems are not so obvious. Youcan't see the acid in acid rain, forexample, but lakes, forests, andother areas in many parts of theworld are dying from its effects.Similarly, sediment that washes offconstruction or logging sites mayend up clogging waterways orsmothering offshore coral reefs.And pesticides spread on lawns,golf courses, and agricultural landoften wash into waterways where

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they can accumulate in the bodiesof fish and other organisms. Thelevels of toxins may get so highthat theorganismsdie, cannotreproduce, orbecomepoisonous to .

eat. -PollutionSolutions

In 1969, . .

the Cuyahoga .

River in Ohiobecame sopolluted it caught on fire! Today,the river has bounced back. Infact, in the past 20 years or so,Americans have really madeprogress on some pollutionproblems. By switching to less-harmful products, increasingenergy efficiency, and developingless-polluting technologies, we cancontinue to reduce pollution.

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Beluga whales in the St.Lawrence River have

such high levels of toxicchemicals in their bodiesthat they qualify as toxic

waste underCanadian law.

In 1993 there were approxi-mately 5.5 billion people on theplanet. That's more than twice asmany as there were in 1950. Everyday we add about 250,000 morepeople to the planetor morethan 90 million each year. Howmany people is too many? Agrowing number of scientists andpolicymakers feel the planetalready has more people than itcan handle. And although manyexperts expect world population

to stabilize sometime after 2100,they aren't sure at what levelstabilization will occur. The lowprojection is a little more than 8billion; the high puts the humantotal at more than 11 billion!

The Human ImpactSupporting such huge numbers

of people is sure to put a lot ofpressure on natural resources. Allthose people will need food,clothing, shelter, fuel for cooking,


and other necessities. And in someareas, existing populations arealready struggling to survive. Forexample, one-third of the peopleon Earth can't find enoughfuelwood to meet their basic needs.As ecosystems are degraded, welose the resources and the servicesthey provide, such as water purifi-cation and flood control.

Easing the SqueezingFinding ways to reduce popula-


The HIPPODilemma

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tion growth is not easy. For example, studies have shown thatproviding educational opportunties for women can reducebirthrates. So can making health services, including familyplanning services, available to people. But biases and cus-toms in many cultures around the world can make thesesteps difficult.

consumptionRapid increases in

the sheer number ofpeople on the planetare causing big prob-lems. But there'sanother, equallyserious, people prob-lem: over-consump-tion. Increased de-

mand for some products and moreefficient ways to take resources

have led people to consume fossilfuels, forests, minerals, water, andother resources at a much higherrate than those resources can bereplaced. (Some resources, likefossil fuels, take millions of years toform and can never be replaced.)In addition, most of those re-sources are being used by peoplein industrialized countries, like theUnited States, to support a

Nalini Nadkarni:Treetop Explorer

How would you liketo be a professionaltree climber? That'smore or less howNalini Nadkarni (nah-LEE-nee nad-CAR-nee) describes herself.Nadkarni is a botanistat Evergreen StateCollege in Washing-ton. She spends muchof her time climbinghigh into the canopy of tropicalrain forests in Costa Rica.

"I was constantly climbing treesas a kid," says Nadkarni. Thesedays, she uses a special climbingharness, ropes, and clamps toclimb 100 feet (30 m) or more

© Mark Mottett/Minden Pictures


I

above the ground.Most of herresearch focuseson epiphytesplants like orchidsand ferns thatgrow along thetrunks andbranches of thetrees. Literallygoing out on alimb, Nadkarnicollects samples ofthe plants and

studies the roles they play in theforest, as well as how sensitive theymay be to environmental distur-bances such as acid rain.

As interested as she is in howthis information can contribute toforest conservation, Nadkarni


admits there's another reason shelikes to climb to rain forest cano-pies. "It's just so neat to be upthere," she smiles.

Perched high in the treetops,Nadkarni sees butterflies, lizards,frogs, colorful birds, and otheranimals that are impossible to seefrom the ground. She's so wildabout this magical world that sheoccasionally puts her young son,Gus, in a child pack and takes himalong too.

Nadkarni has discovered newspecies of plants on her tropicaltree climbs, and notes that the realexcitement of her work is "explor-ing new ground." Then she addswith a laugh, "Or maybe I shouldsay 'non-ground.'"

standard of living that manyexperts believe is not sustainable.(For more about sustainability, see"Lessons from Jungle Tombs" onpages 51-56.)

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Worldwide, trade in wildlife speciesand productsmade from themis worth at least five to eight

billion dollars each year. This wildlife tradeis pushing rhinos (above), tigers, and

many other species to extinction.

The Big PictureAs if contemplating its future, this young orangutan (below) looks out on a forest

home threatened by expanding human populations, logging, and other problems. Toensure the survival of species like orangutans and of the ecosystems where they live,we'll need to tackle all parts of the HIPPO Dilemma before it's too late. V

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by Antonio B. Arroyo

0

uppose a blackbear wanderedthrough thebackyards of asuburbanneighborhood.

Would everyone have thesame response to thissurprise visitor? Definitelynot! According to Dr.Stephen Kellert, professorof social ecology, peoplerespond to wild things andwild places in enormouslydifferent ways. Even twonature lovers can havevery different reasons forwanting to protect theworld around them.

Here are some of theways people might react ifthey did see a bearthrough their window:

Bear Necessities'Well, isn't that a tasty lookinghunk of meat. That baby wouldfeed the family for the wholewinter. How I'd like to put thatfurry hide on my back whentemperatures start dropping!"


Wilderness Bearers"Hey, look at that! There's a

bear in our backyard! Do yourealize how cool this is? It's likewe're living in the wildernessnow. This is better than watch-ing a National Geographicspecial!"

Teddy Bear"Look at that adorable littlebear. Isn't he just the sweetestthing?! He reminds me ofcousin MikeI think I'd like togo out there and give him agreat big bear hug!"

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Beary Pretty"My, what a beautiful creatureis gracing our backyard! Its furis so sleek. Its paws are somassive. We ought to get aphotograph of it for theliving room."

Illustrations by Mark Wickart

The Bear Bones'There's a young Ursusa mericanus in the backyard.Isn't it wonderful? Note theshape of its face, the color ofits fur, and its overall size.Hand me the binocularsI'dlike to observe it close up."

Unbearable"Yikes!!! There's a vicious bearin the backyard! Quick! Hidethe children! Get the dog inthe house! Call the police!"

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32

ears aren't the onlythings that elicit such a

range of responses frompeople. Think about a bee, forexample. What would pop intoyour head if you saw one flyingtoward you? 'There's myfavorite honey-maker!" or"What a great buzz that littleguy makes!" or maybe "Getthat stinging thing out ofhere!"?

Even landscapessuch as acity block or a stretch of rainforestaffect different peoplein different ways. One personmight find a city dynamic andexciting; another might find itnoisy and stressful. Oneperson might find delight inthe lush life of the rain forest;another might find it strangeand scary.

In short, attitudes towardliving things reflect the incred-ible range of values and inter-ests among people. As weconsider the problem ofbiodiversity loss, it's importantto remember that all of us seethe issues from differentperspectives. The challenge isto bring these different per-spectives together and developcreative, workable solutions. V


photos and text by'6erry Ellis

Snapping a perfect penguin portrait in thefrigid reaches of Antarctica ... catching thefirst hint of sunlight as it streaks across aparched desert valley in Australia ... zoomingin on the soulful eye of a mountain gorilla in:,Africa. As a wildlife photographer, I use mycamera to capture the wonder and divertiof lifethe beauty, the colors, the texttiret,the relationships. All species are tied togetherand to their physical environment in a thbti,sand different ways, forming ecosystems' asdiverse as your imagination. --;,

The images in this article aresame of myfavorites. As you look at each one, imaginewhat it would feel like to be thereto take inthe wildness, to feel the breezes-. and. thecalls of wild creatures, to sense the rhythms.61,,nature. And consider how luckyyou drkto:;:bp&g.,.living on CfPlimet so lush ana;01i.'

-Photographer Gerry Ellis has been snapping pictures ofwild places and faceslike this mountain gorilla inRwandafor more than 15 years. He hopes his pic-tures develop in people a deeper sense of apprecia-tion for the tremendous diversity of life on Earthandmotivates them to take action to help preserve it.

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Full photo: Ade lie penguins, AntarcticaInset: Thorny devil, Australia


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The African plains resound with thethundering hoofbeats of zebras,wildebeests, and other animals asthey gallop across the dry land insearch of water and grass. As theseasons change, many savannahcreatures migrate vast distances insearch of fresh food and water.

Top: African elephants, AfricaLeft: Burchell's zebra, Africa

Inset: Kenyan sunset

I

Bathed in turquoise waters, coral reefsfeature a dazzling seascape ofcolorful marine creatures. Theseincredibly diverse communities thrivein the warm, shallow seas of thetropics.

Right: Heron Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Bottom: Pink skunk anemonefish in anemone,South Pacific

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Along an island coast, this redmangrove tree looks as if it justwalked into the water.Adapted to growing in salt-water, it can thrive whereother trees can't. Egrets, fish,crabs, oysters, and manyother creatures depend onthese trees for food andshelter.

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S.Acre for acre, there can be more life ina healthy wetland than in almost anyother kind of habitat. Wetlands providea variety of ecosystem servicesincluding flood control, water purifica-tion, and food and shelter for aquaticcreatures.

Top: Red mangrove, U.S. Virgin Islands

Left: Great egret, United StatesInset: Skunk cabbage, United States

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Top: Bird-of-paradise, with praying mantis,. Malaysia

tree fro'g: VenezuelaBotfom7Sc..arlef katydid, Australia

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For every 100 pounds (45 kg)of people, there are 1000

pounds (450 kg) of termites.

The. averageArrierican'senergy,

Use is roughly:ecicOeqenttp.tti,

.Kiroxidcin:s1:

12.Chineie,Indians-;;1:;X147 B.ingladeshis,

281' Tanzanians, or /=' 422 Ethiopicins:: /

Over the past 50 years, theamount of pesticides used

on crops in the United Stateshas increased by 900%.

Only 0.003% of all pesticidesactually reach their target

insects each year.

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war


More than half the Earth'sspecies are

believed to live in thetropical rain forest. Fewerthan 1500 scientists world-

wide are trained to identifytropical organisms.

In just a pinch of soil,you might find 5000

different kinds of bac-teria. And chances are

many of them areunknown to science,because not even

5000 bacteria specieshave been identified

and describedworldwide!

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PP'

Illustration by Stephen Bauer

Giant bluefin tuna,which are almost

extinct from overfishing,can sell for as much as

$60,000 per fish. APorsche 968 coupe sells

for approximately$40,000.

There are about 650 speciesof birds in all of North

America. There are about850 species of birds in CostaRicaa Central American

country that's half the size ofTennessee.

Scientists estimate thatat one time oysters inthe Chesapeake Baycould filter an amountof water equal to the

total amount in the bayin just a few days.Today, with oyster

populations at only 1%of their historic levelsbecause of pollution

and overfishing, it takesthe oysters nearly a

year to filter the sameamount of water.

To survive, a singleharpy eagle re-quires nearly 39

square miles (100km2) of rain forest.An eyelash mite

spends its entire lifein a person's

eyelashes.

Many expertsthink that human-caused damageto natural habi-

tats results in a lossof between 10

and 1000 speciesevery day.

A coral reef cansupport close to 3000

species of fish andother marine life.

Each year, poachersremove 1500 tons(1350 t) of coral tomake jewelry and

trinketsthat's morethan the weight of

250 African elephants!

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A single tree in a rain forestcan be home to more than

1000 species of insects. Somescientists estimate an area ofrain forest the size of a football

field is cut down or burnedevery second.

Less than 5% of Earth'sland surface is

protected in nationalparks.

If you weighed all theanimals in an acre

(0.4 ha) of Brazilian rainforest, over 90% of thetotal weight would be

invertebrates, andone-third of that

would be termitesand ants.

One-fourth of all prescriptiondrugs used today were

originally derived from plants.Only 5% of all plants have

been studied for medicinaluse.


_Raiders of the

by Susan Milius

alvin Sperling--a botanist forthe U.S. Department ofAgriculture's (USDA) Agricul-

(14tural Research Servicewondered whether getting onthe plane had been a mistake.

His flight was supposed to be a quick hop overEcuador's lowlands, but it had become somethingvery different.

Thirty-two passengers plus luggage werecrammed into an airplane built for 16. They hadflown directly into a huge thunderstorm. Rainpounded the plane and lightning flashed every fewseconds, followed by a huge clap of thunder. Thepilot, blinded by dense clouds, couldn't see theground, much less a landing strip. Sperling couldn'teven see clouds because oil leaking from the enginehad splattered his window. Water seeped in throughcracks around the window and drizzled downthe cabin walls. Passengers screamed as thecraft dropped sharply and then jerked upwardagain. Every so often the copilot groped hisway down the aisle, wringing out soggy rags hehad stuffed into cracks to try to stop the leaks.

Finally a hole opened in the clouds, andthe pilot caught a glimpse of the airport. Afew minutes later the plane was safely on therunway. Sperling sighed with relief. Hecouldn't believe they'd made it.

Globetwiting BotanistsDangerous air travel is just one of the

hazards that botanists like Sperling face in theirjobs. He is part of a small hand of professional plant


1 -73 "7-,

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0 Calvin R. Sperling


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hunters who search the globe for seeds and otherplant samples that will end up in special collectionscalled "gene banks." (See "Banking Plant Genes" onpage 42.) Gene banks are treasure chests ofbiodiversity, where seeds and other plant parts are

. stored and then sent out to be tested for theirpotential to improve crops. Plant hunters are racingto save what remains of the planet's genetic heritagebefore growing human populations and otherfactors wipe it out.

Some people say Sperling is the Indiana Jones ofthe plant worldhacking through jungles on hisquest for rare plants and maybe wrestling a poison-ous snake or two along the way. But Sperlingdoesn't think of himself that way. He agrees that heand other plant hunters have brought back amazingtreasures that would make Indiana Jones proud. Forexample, plant hunters on one trip in the Andesfound a green-and-white streaked tomato thatended up being worth more than $8 million tocommercial tomato paste makers. On another trip,they found the seeds for a type of wheat that's

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In a colorful market in Colombia, CalvinSperling (inset) found dozens of differentkinds of potatoes and other crops. Heand other botanists collect and studyplants and seeds from around the world,making sure to gather only what theyneed and to leave behind enough plantsto replace what they take.


worth an estimated $14 billion! But Sperling thinkshe's like a lot of other people: just doing a job thatneeds to get done. Still, his job is anything buttypical.

The Best Laid PlansWhen scientists like Sperling want to collect

plants, they can't just get up and go. Instead, theyhave to plan very carefully. They have to predict notonly where the plants they want will be growing, butalso when the plants will have ripe seeds.

Sometimes, no matter how careful scientists are,things don't work out the way they had planned.For example, on one trip Sperling managed to finda rare chickpea whose seeds he wanted. Unfortu-nately the plant was in flower and wouldn't go toseed for two months. Sperling couldn't very wellcamp beside the plant to wait, so he decided to lookfor seeds left over from the previous season. Forseveral hours he carefully sifted through soil.Finally, he found one seed.

11111111°1111°.BANKING PLANT GENES

Step inside a USDA gene bank and you'vestepped inside a "Fort Knox" of the plant world.These banks don't store money or goldbut theydo store something equally precious: seeds andother plant parts. These plant parts contain theplants' genesthe codes that determine theplants' characteristics. Here's how scientists dealwith their special treasure.

Seeds: To store seeds successfully for longperiods of time, each gene bank has to keep theseeds alive, or viable. For most seeds that's easy todo: Scientists first dry them out, thenstore them in sealed packages in a coldroom. The seeds "think" it's winter!Seeds can also be stored for muchlonger periods of time in the "deepfreeze": Scientists store the seeds inliquid nitrogen at 321° F (-196° C)!

Whether put in cold storage or thedeep freeze, seeds can't stay viableforevereventually they have to be takenout and planted. Then scientists collectfresh seeds to put back into storage.


Safeguarding FoodWhy go to such effortand take so many risks

to collect and preserve odd plants like pink pota-toes, white sunflowers, purple-skinned peanuts, andweedy things that only a botanist can identify?Simple. Those plants could provide us with newfoods or other products. They might also havecharacteristics that scientists could transfer toexisting crops, such as the ability to grow with lesswater, resistance to a disease, or the ability to growfaster.

Where the Genes AreWhen Sperling and other U.S. botanists visit

other countries to collect plants, their trips arearranged and carried out with the cooperation ofthe host country. All the material they collect isshared between the host country and the UnitedStates. And the material that's brought back to theUnited States ends up in gene banks. There it canbe screened for beneficial traits and scientists can

-IA

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oV.

Photographs: Agricultural Research magazine, USDA

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Protected by aface shield andthick gloves, thistechnician getsready to preserveseeds in a vat ofliquid nitrogen(left). Other seeds(below) are storedin separate bags ina room that staysbetween 41° F(5° C) and -4° F(-20° C).

4

In thisbustlingmarket inThailand,people andproducetravel byboat.

try to breed those traits into crops. If plant research-ers or breeders in the United States or in othercountries need genetic material in the collections,the USDA sends it to them free of charge. And if adisaster strikeslike the corn disease described inthe box on the rightscientists have plenty ofmaterial on hand to work with when searching for asolution.

The Whole Plant: Not all plants can bestored successfully as seeds. That's because someseeds, such as those from wild rice and manytropical crops, cannot survive cold storage.Other plants, including many fruit and nuttrees, don't "breed true"their seeds produceplants that are very different from the parentplant. To preserve these plants scientists save thewhole plant. Then they use parts of these plants,such as cuttings or tubers, to clone new plants.The USDA has collections of whole plants at tenspecial centers across the country. One center inNew York state, for example, grows 2,500 typesof apples.

Bits and Pieces: All the information that'sneeded to create a particular plant is stored ineach of the plant's cells. That means thatscientists should be able to grow plants even ifall they have is a leaf, a few grains of pollen, oreven just a few cells from a plant. Growing aplant this way, though, is often very difficult. Butscientists are trying to perfect ways of doing so.And they're developing ways to store these littlebits of plants in gene banks.


NEAR DISASTER' CHANGES: CO

In 1970 a plant pathologist in Floridafounthat a previously minor diseasecorn. This was as strange as if people started',dying from the common cold..By the end.of:the year,- this new deadly form ofThe'dise'ase.f

- -had spread all the way. to Texas and'iMiiineiiiand had destroyed a billion of

t 15 thcorri=a 13O u percen t o f eScientists disCovered that one gene niadeg,prone to The-disease and-that 80peiceiit of theCorn ifi'the Uhited States carried' thislen'et,Within two or three years, a crash Erogram

-7-'euPplied`faimers with seed withOutlthegelieAnd the near disaster reempliasite eijiefor genetic diversity.

Down on the farmAs scientists scour the world for plant material for

gene banks, they aren't just looking for wild plants.They're also interested in collecting and savingplant varieties that people have cultivated for a longtime. For example, people in Asia have traditionallygrown thousands of different varieties of rice andfarmers in Peru have grown dozens of kinds ofpotatoes. Saving "old" crop varieties is important forthe same reasons as saving wild species: They usuallyhave a lot of genetic diversity that people may beable to transfer to modern varieties.

But protecting those traditional varieties can beas difficult as preserving wild plants. That's becausefarmers often give up using traditional plant variet-ies when offered modern varieties that are moredisease resistant or can produce higher yields. InEcuador, for example, dozens of traditional foodcrops disappeared in one generation when farmersswitched to new varieties.

Potatoes AplentyIn many parts of the world, farmers still grow

traditional crops. One such place is Peru. StephenBrush, an anthropologist from the University ofCalifornia at Davis, has found two valleys in Peruwhere the average family grows 12 kinds of pota-toes. In those valleys, people grow purple-skinnedpotatoes with solid purple flesh, red-and-whitepotatoes, and potatoes covered with little knobs.

Brush found that about 50 percent of the potato


Gene banks are important in the battle to savegenetic diversity. But many people argue thatthe: best wartb_preserve diversity is.t6 save plantsin their habitat's. That's becaiige no collectioncan save all the world's plants, and -saving.,.habitat alsb saves other species the :plants"..-;depend On, Stich as pollinating insects and -geed-.dispersing.liird§.

Calvin Sperling agrees that protecting plantsin their native. habitats is important. He pointsontS-iliat setting reserves can algo be' a moreeconomicalWay to preserve plants. But hecautions_thatthese reserves'can only.cornplemenigtoririglilanti in gene bahliSii6r.'Cbrii.:.pletely.replate them...

Dr Eloy Rodriguez: Medicine Man

When chimp researcher Richard Wranghamsaw a young chimpanzee eat the leaves of anAspilia plant and then throw up a short timelater, he wondered if the leaves might have madethe animal sick. But when he saw that the chimphad thrown up a lot of parasites, he wondered ifit had eaten the leaves to get rid of the parasites.He decided to contact someone who he knewcould help solve the mystery: Dr. Eloy Rodriguez.

As a medicinal plant chemist, Rodriguez tracksdown plants that can cure sickness and disease.The job requires quite a hit of detective workfrom observing the behavior of wild animals tointerviewing people in communities that havetraditionally used natural medicines. Because rainforests boast so many diverse plant and animalspecies, Rodriguez spends several months a yearin these areas hunting for medicinal knowledge.

Rodriguez collects samples of promisingplants, then returns to his laboratory at theUniversity of California at Irvine to analyze howthe plants' chemicals affect various diseases. Inthe case of the Aspilia, he had Wrangham send

fields in one of those valleys were planted withmodern white potatoes. But he also discovered thatthe farmers were still growing as many varieties ofnative potatoes as farmers in the other valleythey

just had less acreage planted with native potatoesthan the other farmers. This suggests that, inaddition to scientists who collect and preservetraditional varieties of crops in gene banks, fannerscan preserve traditional varieties right on the farm.

The Quest ContinuesAlthough people are preserving crop diversity in

some parts of the world, many "old" varieties andwild plants are disappearing fast. Will we have thematerial we need to make the crop improvementswe want? Will we be able to head off the next plantdisaster? No one knows for sure. But scientists likeSperling are rushing to collect and preserve seeds asfast as they can.

0

him somesamples anddiscovered thatWrangham'shunch wasright: Thechimp probablyhad eaten theAspilia as a kindof medicine. Infact, Rodriguezfound that theplant has thepotential toattack viralinfections as well as certain kinds of canceroustumors.

By discovering the rain forest's hidden medi-cines, Rodriguez isn't just helping to save humanlives. He's also helping to save the rain forest. "Aspeople hear about new discoveries in the rainforest, I hope it will encourage them to workharder to protect these ecosystems," he says.

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v

0 Dr. Eloy Rodriguez

This article was adapted with permission from -Raiders of the Lost Potato" by Susan Milius, International Wildlife. March /April 1991, © NationalWildlife Federation.

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MARKETPLACE AT Ytt

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41.

Miguel and Carmen would be there anyminute. Simone hurried to put on her makeupand pull on her faded jeans just in time to run outthe door and catch her ride to the mall. A bunchof her friends were meeting for pizza and amovie, and Simone's neighbors, Miguel andCarmen, were going to drop her off before theirbasketball game....

Wait a minute. What does this have to do withbiodiversity? Everything! From makeup to basket-balls to gasoline, the products we use every daylink us in hundreds of ways to nature's incrediblediversity.

What's more, whether you prefer jeans orstretch pants, basketball or soccer, lots ofmakeup or none at all, you have the power tomake more than a fashion statement throughthe things you buy. By choosing certain productsover others and deciding not to buy something,you can show your support for recycling, habitatprotection, energy conservation, and other issuesthat affect all of us. And the more you knowabout the products you buysuch as wherethey come from, how they're made, and howthey affect the environmentthe more poweryou'll have as a consumer.

MAILING IT OVERillustrations by Lisa Pomerantz

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Banana Split

Every year the averageAmerican consumes morethan 25 pounds (11 kg) ofbananas! That's good for ourhealth. But most bananasthat make it to our supermar-kets come with a heftyenvironmental cost. Ba-nanas grow only in tropicalcountriescountries that arealso home to threatenedrain forests. Eachyear, people cutdown more rainforests to makeroom for bananaplantations. Inaddition, bananagrowers often usea lot of pesticidesto fight the many

as they grow. During harvest-ing, the plastic is tossed away,ending up as trash that canpollute soils and streams.

Recently, though, somebanana growers have turnedto "eco-friendly" ways ofproducing bananas. Theyhave stopped cutting downmore rain forest, have re-duced their use of pesticides,

and are starting torecycle the plasticbags. And they arelooking for ways touse the "small, large,and spotty" ba-nanas for baby foodand banana chips.

Some bananagrowers have be-

ECO-OX.Rainforest AllianceAPPROVED

pests that attack bananatrees. And because peoplewho buy bananas want"perfect" looking fruit, somegrowers end up throwingaway bananas that are toosmall or too large or havetiny spots.

There's also anotherproblemplastic. Bananagrowers use plastic bagstreated with pesticides tocover the banana bunches

come so "green" that they'veearned the "ECO-O.K." seal ofapproval from the RainforestAlliance. ECO-O.K. bananasmeet strict standards set bythis environmental group andsport the bright sticker shownabove. So far, only a fewfarms have earned the sticker,but the Alliance hopes thenumber will keep growing.

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V

Pass the Popcorn

A movie just wouldn't be thesame without popcorn. Andlife in general wouldn't bethe same without corn. Cornnot only gives us obviouscorn products like popcornand cornmeal, but alsosweetens toothpaste, soda,and peanut butter. It thick-ens pies, binds magazines,and fries food. And itsbyproducts are ingredientsin many other products suchas glue, fireworks, ink, batter-ies, and paint. Besides thecorn we grow in the UnitedStates, many varieties of wildcorn grow throughout theworld. Scientists are con-stantly searching for ways toimprove our crops by incor-porating genes from thesewild populations into domes-tic corn. Preserving wild cornand the places where itgrows may help preserveour own food supply.

Sweet Tooth

Believe it or not, the choco-late you eat is made from theseeds of cacao (ka -KOW)trees that grow in the tropics.The beans are roasted,ground up, and mixed withsugar and milk to makecandy. Unlike many crops,cacao trees grow well underthe shade of taller trees.

That's good news for rainforests. Instead of cuttingforests to plant cacao,farmers can grow the treesunder the shade of the rainforest canopy or commercialtrees such as rubber or Brazilnut. Another plus for cacao isthat farmers can grow ahealthy crop without using asmany pesticides or fertilizers

as they do with other crops.And fewer chemicals helpprotect tropical soils. By theway, if you think you likechocolate, listen to this: TheAztec Indians valued theircacao beans so much thatthey used them as money!

Bikistota Feather

1-rg a tong'waY from the,,raj0f94eigap:your locals,

pet store: But thousandsof wild parrots make thetrip everyyearillegally!

The,wild pet trade, is aserious problem forpartots and other threat-

' ehediand endangered-.speciesi*.Although somepairOts'arb bred in cap-tivity, many wild-caughtblrds are still smuggledinto. the.-United Statesevery year. And manyof the captured birdsdon't survive the long tripfrom rain forest to pet.stoie. Unless you can beabsolutely sure that aparrot or other potentialpet was raised in captiv-ity,,it's best to say "no'., ,.

wild pets.

Drug Store:Diversity

From cancer drugs to antibiotics;we can thank biodiversity formanyof the medicines.that save omr,Jiyes. In fact25 percentof all prescription medicines in-the United States haye activeingredients that were originally derived from plants. Otherorganisms also contribute to our national medicine chest. Fbrexample, some medicines used..to reduce blood pressOre,

$14. Cornetfrom thevenorrrof snaktStalled pit vipers. Right0o.v0,40:z.-scientists and local experts are literally racing against thechains saws to test plantsimtheztain forests-for their.potential.in44,fighting diseases.

How Much Is Enough?

OK, you just had to buy that hot, new pair of shoes. But how many pairs of shoes do you need? Howmany CDs? How many clothes? How many videos? Americans buy more "stuff" than anyone else in theworld. And all this stuff takes energy and resources to create. Do we need it all? How much is enough?

What do you think?

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It glitters? It shines ;And ittarr 'toprocess the gOldbre:= Ek-;"re,ally4rness..up,;theenyirprm-,,,,,,! pertszestimate-,thqminers-ment big , s go .; e ac more an ,ons,,ii 7.. xfft' tiT

4 that'shiny, yellow metal that of golain the Amazon'every7.:`-0 you ,wear aroundyour year, eleasing morethan100 k

and dangle from your.ears.,44 tons:(901) of toxiamercury into&UnfortOncrtelyttwpen-people! it, water-gThesmercurybUYgOlaproductsf_theprieel -_is'so:deadly that ex;en;:a little ,'tag may notalways include- bitcarrkill fish, birds andtheterovironmentat:coststhatiV.':pepple.V:

s'A StskOl+Wstit 44;4'3.. 4 v.:comofrom mining:: Somepeoplegbink thatyou

Gold is mined using,a4 ;-,4 should buy gold:that comes7variety of processes to re' only from mining-operatiOns-':,

and.helpit74.. thatmeeyregulati4onsand: ieparate the gdiel.from.the.&, tak4careof the land. Others-,.

surrounding rock., Cyanide is _ say,it's best to buy jewelryfaietitrabt.thietgOldirli-Ta*deifr-61-n satergubstitUteSi4

and sulfuric acid is sometimes4,,,Whatdowou think? How.-7,produced when the sulfur in' would you find out about safer!,-,the. oreis exposeata-air-andi': altemcrtives?-tf "water...-,Both of these sub=,-stances can cause serious.pollution problems, fromq,,contaminating the soil to.:poisoning fistv3AthOugt-ilTh..mining operations are reguitoted by government; some ,

people believe the regula-tions ore not stronTenough*.iandirrsome:caseStmaYmatbe adequately enforced.;:

EVen more deadly `drewsmall;scale-miningoperations%in some-countriesin-Latirrik"Arnerida, which-use mercUriiii,,'

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MallitAcrossitAmerica

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Mails are as American as apple pie: But are mallsgOod for the-,environment? Do they benefit.the_community?

Do.they-savelenerMStfadeVtIM'M"Are, they easy to get to bymass transit? -'

Do they-encouragerecycling?4~ '-'-HowAwould:you.weigh thevros:and-cons?*

f,O+Y.L.-+ ++,

rl

Mb.

Pizza Pizzazz.

Mozzarella. Provolone.Goat cheese. To manypeople, the best pizzashave lots of cheese. Everwondered why cheesestaste different from oneanother? The reason for this"cheesy" diversity is that:each kind of cheese gets itsflavor from a different ,7.".

bacteria or mold!.

The CosmeticConnection

Did you know the red colorin some face powders,lipsticks, blushes, and eyemakeup comes from thebodies of crushed insects?It's true! What's more,cocoa buffercomes fromthe seeds ofthe cacaotree. And theluminous,translucentlook of someeye shadowscomes fromground-up fishscales!

The Jeans Scene

Jeans. Flannel shirts. Towels.Socks. It's amazing howmany different things aremade out of cotton. The-rawmaterials for all these fabricscome from cotton plants.But growing and processingcottondyeing it differentcolors, making It wrinkle-free,and so onuse a lot Ofchemicals. In,fact, morepesticides and ferfilizers areused for cotton than almostany other crop. _

Because of our increasedawareness-of the dangers af'-pesticides and other chemi-cals, people are now devel-oping ways to make cottonproduction less harmful. Forexample, a woman namedSally Fox hastultivcrtedcotton that naturally growsin shades of brown, tan, andgreen. Her method elimi-nates.the pollution and highenergy required for manu-facturing dyes and dyeingthe fabric. And severalcompanies now sell clothesmade from her "FoxFibre"cotton. _

A Large Order of Fries And500 Gallons of Water To Go

Believe it or not, it can takemore than 500 gallons (1900 I)of water and five pounds(2.3 kg) of grain to make fourquarter-pound hamburgers.And in some areas, theamount of water could be2500 gallons (9500 I)! Seemlike a lot? The fact is, produc-ing beef is not the mostefficient way to convertnatural resources into proteinfor our diets. That's because ittakes a lot of land, food, andwater to raise a herd ofcattle. And when you com-pare the resources it takes toproduce beef versus otherfoods, you can see onereason why a "beefy" societylike the United States uses somany of the Earth's resources.While chomping away onyour next burger, consider thefollowing:

The average Americanconsumes the equivalent ofabout 120 quarter-poundersevery year.

Over 70% of the grainproduced in the United Statesis fed to livestock.

Some experts estimate thatit takes 40% more fossil fuels tomake a pound of proteinfrom beef than from soy-beans.

In some areas it can takeas much as ten times morewater to produce a pound ofbeef than a pound of wheat.

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Besides using enormousamounts of water, grain, andenergy, raising beef cancause other environmentalproblems. If not properlymanaged, too many cattle intoo small an area can meana loss of natural vegetation,packed-down soil, and lots ofcow manure that can con-taminate rivers and streams.And in some parts of theworld, forests are beingcleared to make way formore cattle ranches or togrow crops to feed cattle.

So should you stop yourburger binges? Before youdecide, it's important to thinkabout all sides of the issue anddo your homework. For ex-ample, many people areworking to improve grazingpractices and make beefproduction more eco-friendly.Some nutritionists say_that leanbeef can be a good sourceof protein in your diet. And lotsof people earn their living byraising and selling beef.

Veggieburger or ham-burger or both? It's a meatydilemma, but only you candecide.


Recycled Soles

One person's trash is anotherperson's...shoe?! That's rightif you're talking about Dejashoes, which are madealmost entirely out of re-cycled garbage. The shoesare made from old tires, wetsuit manufacturing waste,magazines, reject coffeefilters, polystyrene cups, milkjugs, and even soda bottles.For example, tire rubber isused to make more than 40percent of the soles, andreject coffee filters and filefolders are mixed into apaste and then dried tomake the inner soles.

There are more and morecompanies like Deja Shoe,that are using recycledmaterials instead of virginmaterials. Although recycledproducts often use lessenergy and resources, therecycled stamp doesn'tautomatically mean theproducts are great for theenvironment. It's alwaysimportant to ask how prod-ucts are manufactured,whether or not they can berecycled, and what hap-pens when the products arethrown away. Many compa-nies have consumer hotlinesto answer your questionsabout their products. V

I

SuzanneIudicello:Legal Eagle

Everthoughtabouthugging ahalibut?How aboutcuddling ashark? According to SuzanneIudicello (YOU-dih-CHELL-oh),general counsel for the Centerfor Marine Conservation (CMC)in Washington, D.C., it's tough toget people fired up about pro-tecting fish because fish aren'texactly warm and fuzzy. So, herjob involves conducting newspa-per and broadcast interviews toboost the public image of sea life.

But that's just a small part ofwhat keeps Iudicello on her toeseach day in the nation's capital.As the top lawyer for CMC, shespends much of her time testify-ing before congressional commit-tees that deal with ocean-relatedissues. She also meets withrepresentatives of the fishingindustry and works with conserva-tion groups that share CMC'sgoals. Through all these means,Iudicello is determined toprotect the health and diversityof the nation's oceans.

Iudicello has simple advice forstudents who might be thinkingabout an environmental career."Get your dog or a friend and gofor a walk in the woods or alonga beach," she says. "There'snothing more inspiring for thiskind of work than being out-doors!"

LKaren F. Elliott


S

ivIALLING 1 i OVER

Dani Sjahalam:The Good Wood Man

"Green" products are turningup more and more these days.Consumers can buy everythingfrom organic vegetables torecycled toilet paper. And it'sbusiness people like DaniSjahalam (DAN-ee sah-HAH-lahm) , vice president of Lynn-Nusantara Marketing Companyin Oregon, whomake "buyinggreen" a realoption.

Sjahalam sells"smart" rainforest woodproducts tofurniture dis-tributors andcatalog compa-nies in theUnited States and Canada. Hisproducts are made from treesgrown in Indonesia, the countrywhere he grew up. The trees areharvested in a way that minimizesdisturbance to the forest. Be-cause of that, the RainforestAlliance, a U.S. conservationgroup, has given Sjahalam'sproducts a "smart wood" label.

Sjahalam explains that hisbusiness gives him the chance toeducate importers about thevalue of buying wood productsthat don't destroy rain forests.But best of all, Sjahalam and hiscompany are showing othercountries that they, too, can dothe "smart" thingprofit fromrain forests, while adoptingtechniques to minimizebiodiversity loss.

0by Chris Wille and Jonathan Adams

ne thousand years agothe Maya people en-

joyed a spectacularcivilization in what is now Guate-mala, Belize, and Mexico. TheMaya built amazing temples andwell-planned cities, roads, andsewer systems. They also studiedastronomy, developed calendars,and played a game that was sort ofa cross between soccer and basket-ball. (They played for keepsthelosing team was sometimes be-headed!)

They grew crops using cleverirrigation systems, managed fishfarms, and hunted wild pigs andturkeys. The population grew veryquickly, until there were more

people in this part of LatinAmerica than there are today.

Then something happened. Theentire civilization collapsed anddisappeared. Archaeologists havespent decades sifting through Mayatombs to decipher their ancientlanguage and to learn what wipedthe Maya out.

Today these experts may becloser to solving the mystery. Manyof them believe the Maya pushedtheir environment too hard: Theycut the forests, which allowed soilerosion to eat away their farmland.They hunted game until it was tooscarce to feed the growing popula-tion. Eventually, most of thepeople vanished, leaving behind


Braulio Carrillo National Park, Costa Rica-0 Kevin Schafer

What Does SustainableMean?

A sustainable way ofliving is one in whichpeople get what theyneed without diminish-ing the ability of otherpeople, wild species,or future generationsto survive. Forexample, a fishery issustainable only ifpeople limit thenumber of fish theycatch, leaving enoughfish to reproduce andmaintain a healthypopulation.


vast empty cities that were sooncovered by jungle.

Even though the Maya haddeveloped complex farmingsystems, many experts feel thatthey couldn't continue to feedtheir growing population. It's verypossible that they made too manydemands on nature, causing theirway of life to collapse. In short, theMaya civilization wasn't environ-mentally sustainable!

Now, ten centuries later, peoplearound the world are facing someof the same problems that mighthave toppled the Maya. In manycountries, forests are disappearing,water supplies are drying up, richtopsoil is eroding, and growinghuman populations are puttingtoo much pressure on the environ-ment. Despite lessons from history,we're having a difficult timerecognizing our problems, facingup to them, and figuring out whatit means to live in a sustainableway. In many parts of the world,we're using both renewableresources (such as trees, soil, andwater) and nonrenewable re-sources (such as minerals andfossil fuels) faster than they can bereplanted, replenished, or re-placed with human-made substi-tutes or new technologies.

Building sustainable communi-ties is going to take new think-ingabout what we buy, howbusinesses are allowed to operate,how we trade with other nations,how much energy we use, how weget our food, and how we live ourlives. On the next few pages, you'llsee examples of ways people arealready making some importantchanges. But this is just a start. Weneed a new generation of creativeand committed thinkers to build amore sustainable society.

A DEAL WITH DUCKS

The people of Jocotal in ElSalvador don't have much money,but fortunately they live near asmall lake that provides plenty offish and birds to eat. At one time,though, the birds were not veryplentiful. But the people of Jocotal,working together with scientistsfrom the capital city, San Salvador,came up with a plan to benefitpeople and wildlife.

For a long time, the people ofJocotal had hunted ducks, espe-cially black-bellied whistling ducks.Unlike most ducks, which lay their

Photographs: © Lynda Richardson

eggs in reeds near water, whistlersnest in holes in trees.

The Salvadorans had cut most ofthe nearby trees for firewood.Ducks that managed to escape thehunters had no place to nest. Andby the mid-1970s, only about 500whistlers were left.

Biologists and Jocotal villageleaders studied the situation anddevised a plan to help the birdsrecover: They made woodennesting boxes and nailed them tothe remaining trees. In the firstyear of the program, the villagerswatched in satisfaction as 800ducklings emerged from thenesting boxes.


Whistling ducksand the villagers ofJocotal have agreat partnership.The ducks getsturdy nestingboxes near thewater, where theyfeed on waterhyacinth and otheraquatic plants. Andthe people getfresh duck eggs.

Then the biologists made animportant discovery. The duckhens were laying more eggs in eachbox than they could possibly hatch.Some boxes had more than 80eggs, but even the most ambitiousduck mom could care for only 25or 30 eggs. The biologists thoughtthe "excess" eggs could be animportant source of food for thepeople of Jocotal.

The villagers hung up more nestboxes and began protecting theducks from hunting. Special duckwardens began patrolling Jocotal tomake sure nobody harmed thebirds. Now, at certain times of theyear, the wardens take the extra

eggs from each box and distributethem to the villagers.

With almost 500 nesting boxes

around the lake, the duck popula-tion has climbed to more than15,000. And the people ofJocotal

use eggs as a sustainable foodsource. That's a win-win deal forpeople and ducks.

FARMING FOR THEFUTURE

The Spray brothers in centralOhio haven't used pesticides ontheir 720-acre (288-ha) farm in 15years. They don't need to. Insteadof using chemicals to grow healthycrops, these creative farmers use avariety of safer alternatives. One ofthe most important things they dois to rotate their crops each season.For example, they might grow cornone year, clover the next, alfalfathe next, and broccoli the next.This crop rotation interrupts thenatural life cycles of weeds, cropdiseases, and insects and otherpests. And because some crops addnitrogen to the soil, the rotationmethod helps keep the soil rich innutrients. The Spray brothers alsodo hand weeding and use manureto enrich the soil. The results speakfor themselves. They get goodharvests, have limited problemswith pests. and don't pollute thesoil and water.

Thousands of miles to the west,the 1500-acre (600-ha) Pavichgrape farm is also trying alternativefarming techniques. The farm,located along the California-Arizona border, supplies about 1percent of all grapes that are usedto make table wines in the UnitedStatesand it does so withoutusing weed killing chemicals ortilling the land. The farmers coverthe soil with a mulch made fromleftover crops and manure. Themulch reduces soil erosion, holdsin moisture, and acts as a naturalfertilizer. And by not tilling the soilwith heavy equipment, they protect

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it from erosionand reduceenergy and labor costs. Just like theSpray brothers' farm, Pavich growsgreat crops with no chemicals andfewer resources than traditionalfarming.

Eco-friendly farming is catchingon across the country. From smallco-ops to larger-scale farms, peopleare experimenting with sustainableagriculture. Although not allexperiments work, we are learninghow to feed more people withoutusing as many pesticides andwithout destroying the soil'sproductivity. Many people are alsousing these techniques in smallerfamily gardens and schoolyard

fID Kevin Schafer

Ladybugs, like the onesclustered on this tree, canbe a farmer's best friend.These beetles are naturalpredators and help controlpests by eating them. Andthat means farmers don'thave to use as manydeadly chemicals.

plots. And in many communities,consumers are pushing for saferpractices by buying organic pro-duce and refusing to buy productsthat don't meet environmentalstandards.


GORILLA COUNTRY

Tucked away in the heart ofAfrica lies the tiny nation ofRwandaone of the most denselypopulated countries in the world.Nearly every hill and valley hasbeen turned into farmland. Withso many people, there's not muchroom left for the country's mostmagnificent wild creatures: moun-tain gorillas.

The International GorillaConservation Project (IGCP),sponsored by local and interna-tional conservation groups, wasdesigned to protect the gorillaswhile also helping the Rwandans.Getting everyone together was thefirst step. Most Rwandans hadnever seen the gorillas. Andfarmers who lived near the gorillaswere concerned mostly aboutprotecting the forest to save theirwater supplies. The conservation-ists were worried that if peoplecontinued to put pressure on thepark that had been established,the gorillas and their habitatwould disappear.

After many discussions, theIGCP began to take shape. It wasbased on the assumption that if atourist industry could be created,then more money would flow intothe community. This money couldhelp pay for protecting forests,gorillas, and water supplies.Because tourists pay for food,hotels, and guides, increasedtourism would also mean moremoney for individuals. At the sametime, an education program couldhelp communities better under-stand why the park was important.

The park now raises hundredsof thousands of dollars every yearfrom tourism. The money is usedfor everything from paying parkguards to educating tourists and


© Martha Hill

Despite efforts to protect mountain gorillas, there arefewer than 650 of these primates left in the forests ofRwanda, Zaire, and Uganda.

the public about water issues and care of gorilla habitat means takingconservation. For Rwanda, taking care of the local community.

MOUNTAIN OF MAJESTY

The country of Nepal in theHimalayas is the site of an innova-tive conservation project that linkspeople and wildlife. In centralNepal is Annapurna, one of thetallest mountains on Earth. Theland around Annapurna rangesfrom deserts to forests and sup-ports a variety of species such asblue sheep, snow leopards, orchids,and bamboo. Five ethnic groupsalso live in the area.

Annapurna's striking beauty

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55

Galen Howell

draws an increasing number oftourists every year. These peoplecome to trek, or hike, through theHimalayas. Although trekkersbring badly needed money to thelocal economy, they need wood forcampfires and cooking. And theyhave created a growing demandfor milk and other dairy products.As a result, local people havecleared more and more forests toprovide firewood for the touristsand pastures for milk-producingcows and yaks.

The government of Nepal,along with conservation organiza-tions, has developed a plan tobalance the needs of the localpopulation, the tourists, and theenvironment. The plan, called theAnnapurna Conservation AreaProject, provides local people withthe resources they need to care fortheir families. It also provides

Trekkers come to Nepalfrom all around the worldto climb the world's high-est mountains. Localgroups are working toeducate the trekkers abouthow to take better care ofthe land when they visit.

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training to help them bettermanage the tourist industry.

The project was designed andput into practice by people wholive in the area. One of theirgreatest successes was requiringtrekking companies to use kero-sene instead of wood for heating

and cooking. Far fewer trees arenow cut down, and that's savingmore habitat for wildlife.

The Annapurna ConservationArea Project directly links theneeds of wildlife with the needs ofpeople. And that's critical to thesuccess of any conservation project.

MAYA INMEXICO

When theircivilization col-lapsed a milleniumago, the survivingMaya scattered andlived in smallgroups. Today, theMaya population,along with that ofother groups livingin the area, is onceagain increasingrapidly. In south-ern Mexico andnorthern Guate-mala, people arecutting and burn-ing the forestatechnique knownas "slash and burn"agriculturetoplant corn andbeans. This methodof agriculture canbe sustainable if it'sdone on a small scale and if theland can lie fallow for at least 20years between plantings. But itbecomes a problem when toomany people practice it in one areaand don't allow enough time forthe cleared land to regenerate.

Rosa Maria Vidal is working inMaya villages in southern Mexiconear the Guatemalan border tohelp look for new solutions. She isa Mexican biologist and the

t 56

0 Chris Wille/Rainforest Alliance

Maya farmers in Mexicoare developing sustainablefarming practices to pro-vide as much food as pos-sible for the communitywithout destroying theproductivity of the land.

president of an environmentalgroup called Pronatura-Chiapas.

"We want to save the forest and


its wildlife," Vidal says. "And wewant to help the people living inthe highlands grow enough food tofeed their families. They knowslash-and-bum farming is notsustainable for the number ofpeople we have, so we're helpingthem look for alternatives."

The Maya invite Pronaturaspecialists in farming and forestryto live in their villages and workside by side with them. The special-ists learn ancient Maya secrets,such as how to use forest plants asmedicine. In exchange, they teachfarmers new ways to produce asmuch food as possible withoutdestroying the land.

Other groups are also workingwith the Maya to find ways to makea living without harming theenvironment. One option is toharvest forest products withoutcutting down the trees.. For ex-ample, some farmers gather sapfrom chicle trees for use in chew-ing gum. They also collect allspice(used in cooking), ornamentalplants (such as orchids), andvaluable sap from rubber treesallin ways that don't harm the forestsas much as slash-and-burn agricul-ture.

Both the Maya and the special-ists who work with them under-stand that they have to work withnature to keep the system going.They know that people depend onproductive soils, clean rivers, andhealthy forests to survive.

"Help people. Conserve theforest. It's the same job," Vidaladds. "We need a healthy environ-ment to guarantee the future ofany village, city, or country." V


Henri Nsanjama: Crafting Conservation Plans That Work

Cruising down the OkavangoRiver in Botswana, HenriNsanjama (N-sah-NJAH-mah)spots a crocodile slipping off theriverbank into the water.Nsanjama turns to theBatswanan guide standingbehind him. 'Tourists would paythousands of dollars for a sightlike that," he says, gesturingtoward the creature.

Nsanjama, who is vice presi-dent of World Wildlife Fund'sAfrica/Madagascar program,grew up in Malawi. He had hisfirst encounters with wildlifethere as a boy on hunting tripswith his grandfather. But overthe years, Nsanjama began tonotice that wildlife populationswere dwindling while humanpopulations kept growing andspreading. By the time he was19, Nsanjama was so concernedabout what he saw that he knewhe would make wildlife conserva-

0 Sam Simon


Lion his life's work. He went on.to study wildlife biology, re,source economics, and environ-mental management.

Today, the projects that:::Nsanjama oversees help protectrhinos in Cameroon, elephantsin Zambia, giant lobelia plintsin Uganda, and lemurs inMadagascar. All these projects'are also designed to benefit:',local people. Nsanjama believesthat the key to conserving7African wildlife is to findfor local communities to "have astake in it." And wherever he:._travelsfrom wildAfrica to his office in downtownWashington, D.C.Nsanjamapromotes the many benefits o_ fwildlife conservation.

Nsanjama's work is demand-ing, but he doesn't doubt hiscareer choice. "I don't thinkcould have done anything betterwith my life than this."

"Joe! Get down here! We're late for my show! Joe?"Joe Cordova sat in his bedroom reading Elasto-Man

comic hooks and pretending his sister, Elena, could beshrunk down smaller than her fifth grade self. Like maybepea size. That way nobody would have to listen to hershouting. That way she'd be too small to organize environ-mental rallies and petitions too. And the next time she triedto get Joe to go to something like a Biodiversity Show, hecould pick her up between his first and second fingers andplace her gently inside his Detroit Tigers thermos. With thelid on. Out of everybody's way.

There was a gentle knock at the door and Joe's fatherpoked his head into the room. "Time to go, son."

Joe closed his comic book and tried to give his dad aman-to-man look. "But, Dad, Michigan has a basketball

Illustrations by Randy Hamblin

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game tonight," he said. "Can't I stay home and watch it?"Mr. Cordova paused to consider. Joe knew basketball

had been a good excuse. His father had graduated from theUniversity of Michigan, and he had a soft spot for everyMichigan sports team.

"Elena will be disappointed," his father said. "She's put alot of energy into this show."

"Dad," Joe said in a steady voice. "I gave up tuna meltsfor dolphins, I rode my blue bike to save the blue whale,and I helped build a seven-foot African elephant out of oldegg cartons. I've shown my support for Elena and heranimal obsession. Can't I have a break? Just this once?"

Mr. Cordova chuckled. "It should be a good game," heagreed. "Be sure to do your geometry homework, OK?"

Joe grinned and nodded. When his father closed the

58 Windows on the Wild / 57

pacific Yew Blues

door he leaped up, grabbed his foam basketball from thefloor, and tossed it through the hoop over his doorway in aperfect swish. Life was sweet!

It was funny the way Elena managed to influence thefamily, especially since she was only in the fifth grade. Butsomehow she seemed like the mightiest voice in theCordova household. Ever since she'd seen a movie aboutdolphins with her fourth grade class, she'd spent her sparetime trying to save the world's plants and animals. Joe'sfriend Henry had told him not to wony. "In a few yearsshe'll be more interested in two-legged creatures," he'dlaughed. "She'll forget about dolphinsyou'll see."

Joe wasn't so sure he could wait.loe?" Elena walked in wearing a green costume that

tapered away from her body in dozens of snake-like projec-tions. Disappointment filled her face.

"What are you?" Joe asked. "An octopus?""I'm a Pacific yew tree," Elena said matter-of-factly. "They

grow in the Northwest and they're very important. Doctorshave used chemicals from their bark to make an anti-cancerdrug."

"You look more like seaweed than a tree," Joe said.`That's not funny, Joe," Elena said angrily. "What if the

Pacific yew had gone extinct before people discovered itsmedical value? What if nobody had protected it oncepeople found out how valuable the bark was?"

Joe grinned. "You mean it's possible we could 'yews'those trees up?!"

Elena rolled her eyes. "I can't believe you're skipping myBiodiversity Show."

Joe shrugged."I know, basketball," Elena said. "Fine. I guess you don't

care that for the grand finale your little sister is going to getup in front of two hundred people and sing the first publicperformance of 'Pacific Yew Blues.' I bet vou don't evencare the world is losing its biodiversity. Do you ?"

Joe didn't answer her at first. He was beginning to thinkit would be pretty funny to see his sister dressed like a greenoctopus singing a song about a tree. But he wasn't going tochange his decision.

"I'm just not the nature lover you are, Elena. I've gotmuch more important things to think about."

"Protecting biodiversity is important!" Elena insisted."Not to me," Joe said. "Break a leg, Sis. Or should I say,

break a limb!"Elena shook her head and trudged out into the hall.Joe chuckled to himself When he heard the car doors

slam, he knew he had the house to himself. He grabbed hisgeometry book and headed downstairs. After making abowl of popcorn, he plopped into his favorite chair andswitched on the television with the remote control.

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'This is the life," he sighed, munching on the popcorn.It was an exciting game, with Michigan up 36-34 at the

half. Having finished all but one geometry problem, Joedecided he'd earned the right to put down his pencil andpick up the remote for a little channel surfing. This wasanother advantage of having his family gone. Elena hated itwhen Joe zipped through the channels without stopping.'Wait! That was an old episode of 'Wild Kingdom!'" she'dcry. 'Wait! An endangered whooping crane!"

"Big whoop," Joe would say, skipping on past rock videosand talk shows and old sitcoms.

This time, Joe found that skipping through the channelswasn't quite as much fun without Elena to torment. Hepaused to watch a few minutes of "Murder She Wrote" andeven took a peek at a nature program on African elephants.Then, just as he was cruising past a rerun of "Cheers!" heheard a strange squishing sound coming from the kitchen.

"Elena? Mom? Dad?" he called uneasily.No one answered. He heard the squishing noise again."Hey, who's in there?" Joe yelled, reaching for the

phone. He knew he could always call the police if heneeded some help. But then a strange figure appeared inthe doorway, and Joe was too surprised to dial the phone. Itwas a man with gray hair and pale gray skin and a strangeability to stretch.

"Elasto-Man?" Joe asked in disbelief."I am the ghost of Elasto-Man," the figure explained. "I

disappeared from the planet many decades ago.""No way, man," Joe said. "I was just reading about you

this afternoon. You were right in the middle of that battlewith the Evil Wart Thing."

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'''`'s;gptrti

Elasto-Man shook his head "Never mind. I've come totake you on a trip

"Oh, sorry Not tonight. I'm catching the game and"You have no choice," Elasto-Man said sternly. He

grabbed Joe around the wrist, then oozed through akeyhole in the front door. He pulled Joe behind him.

"Hey, how'd you do that?" Joe asked. Then, lookingaround, he added, "Where are we, anyway?" There weren'tany houses; instead, the full moon illuminated a smallclearing surrounded by tall trees.

"We're in the past," Elasto-Man told him. "How do youlike it?"

Joe didn't have time to question whether or not this wasreal because he was too busy looking around. Across theclearing he could see a small group of deer nibbling onsomething and raising their heads from time to time in themoonlight. Overheadeven with the full moonhe couldsee more stars than he'd ever seen from his house.

"Hey, how far back are we?" he asked. "It's gotta bebefore Nintendo was invented!"

Suddenly something large and dark appeared at theedge of the clearing. It moved along the trees quickly and

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!gn

Zr

almost silently. Joe squinted to see what it was."Whoa!" Joe exclaimed. "Is that a bear?"Elasto-Man didn't answer. Instead, he tugged on Joe's

arm and pulled him through a hole in the ground."I know where we're going now," Joe said. "The future,

right?"Elasto-Man nodded."Cool. Maybe I can find out what position I'll play when I

go pro," Joe said with a grin.The next thing Joe knew, they were standing on the

street in his neighborhood."Wait, is this the future or the present? It doesn't look

that different to me," Joe said. There were a few new houseson his street and the usual line of parked cars was missing,but otherwise it wasn't so different.

"Where are the power lines?" Elasto-Man asked crypti-

60 Windows on the Wild / 59

pacific Yew Blues

cally. He didn't give Joe a chance to answer, but pulled hiswrist again, drawing him inside the door of the nearesthouse.

Inside what used to be Joe's house, a young boy waswatching a baseball game on television. Elasto-Man ex-plained that he couldn't see or hear them, so Joe couldmove about freely.

"Hey, he's watching the Detroit Tigers!" Joe announced."Look again, Joe."Joe peered at the set. The score flashed on the screen

and Joe burst out laughing. 'The Detroit Tires?" he ex-claimed. "What's the deal? Where are the Tigers?"

"Gone," Elasto-Man said somberly. "Extinct."Joe stared at the TV. He thought about a tiger he'd seen

on one of Elena's nature programs once and how awesomeit had been. He was kind of sorry to find out they'd disap-peared. 'Well, that doesn't mean you can't say their name,"Joe said out loud.

"It's been a while. People started feeling worse and worseabout the fact there were no real tigers. They just decidedto change the name."

"Hey, how are the Detroit Lions doing then?" asked Joe."You mean the Detroit Lightbulbs?""Oh.""Next I suppose you're going to ask about the Michigan

Polystyrenes?"Joe rolled his eyes. "What kind of a name is that? Who's

going to be intimidated by a squad of Styrofoam?"Just then he noticed the kid watching television was

eating something out of a bowl. "Hey, what's he eating?Chocolate-covered nuts?"

"It's imitation chocolate," Elasto-Man said. "With most ofthe rain forest gone now and many cacao tree plantationswiped out by disease, cacao trees are rare and real choco-late is too expensive for most people. So are cashews andBrazil nuts and ..."

"Hardly any rain forest?" Joe asked, thinking how upsetthe news would make Elena.

"Well ... a few pockets here and there, plus what's in thezoos," Elasto-Man explained. 'Would you like to go visit thezoo's rain forest? They have fake waterfalls and plasticparrots, and they even have a stuffed sloth that ..."

`Thanks, but I'll skip it."The more Joe walked around the house, the more

changes he found. Elasto-Man told him how a series ofterrible wars had broken out in many parts of the worldover resources like water and forests. After the wars ended,people everywhere started working to protect biodiversity.But by then it was almost too late. Still, people had takenaction that had saved quite a bit. Every house was nowheated and cooled with some combination of solar, wind,


and fusion energy, which meant a lot less habitat was beingdestroyed in the search for coal and oil.

There was a lot less pollution too. They'd cut consump-tion of just about everything. And human populationgrowth was finally under control. But there were so few wildareas left now that people had to make reservations threeyears in advance to get into national parks. And people hadonly paintings, old photos, and nature recordings toremind them of how some animals had looked andsounded.

'Well, at least people still have you to keep them laugh-ing," Joe said, forcing a grin. This future world was begin-ning to make him uneasy.

Elasto-Man shook his head. "I told you before, Joe.I'm a ghost. With most of the rain forest gone, realrubberthe super-stretchy stuff I was made ofis

gone too. But there are new comic book characters now,like Techno-Man and his enemy the Rad-Waste Beast.Besides, this kid watching the game doesn't care aboutdoesn't even really realizewhat's missing. And neither domost other people. They grew up in this worldthis iswhat's normal."

"What?!" cried Joe. "Half the stuff they eat is fake andabout all they ever see is people. Every place is either a cityor a park they can't get into for years!" He was beginningto feel a little hysterical. "How could they just let all that lifego? Didn't people care what they were doing? Didn'tpeople think about protecting ... what's Elena's word ...BIODIVERSITY?!"

Elasto-Man shrugged. "Like I said, they thought about ittoo late for a lot of things. Most people just didn't under-stand biodiversity and how it related to their own lives."

"And I've been telling her it's all a waste of time!" ThenJoe had a new thought. "Elasto-Man, aren't I supposed toget back to the present now?"

Elasto-Man nodded.'Well let's go." said Joe impatiently. "I want to get back

to my living room. Can you do it?"Joe didn't even hear an answer. Something had made

him squeeze his eyes closed, and when he opened them, hewas sitting on his living room chair with his geometry bookin his lap. Michigan was ahead by six points and a half-eatenbowl of popcorn sat beside him.

He jumped up and checked the clock. Eight thirty-three."Cool!" he exclaimed as he grabbed his jacket off the

chair. If he ran, he might still catch the world debut of"Pacific Yew Blues."

61

Bad news about the world got you down in the dumps? Are you ticked off about toxic waste? Exasperated byextinction? Indignant about indifference? Do you feel like everyone else is screwing up the world and there'snothing you can do about it? Well, read on. Here are some individuals and groups out to prove that each oneof us can help preserve biodiversity. From purchasing acres of rain forest to producing music videos, they'retackling projects that are making a real difference.

MAKINGBEAUTIFUL MUSIC

Seattle, Washington: Imaginehaving to audition to help out theenvironment! That was the firststep for dozens of prospective"Ecosounders." "Ecosound" usesmusic to raise awareness about theenvironment. The organizers, ledby a local county councilman anda representative from Seattle'sOffice for Education, held citywideauditions for singers, dancers, andmusicians. The 100 talentedwinners then went throughenvironmental "training" so theywere up to speed on a variety ofenvironmental issues. They toureda local hatchery, a tree farm, alandfill, a sewage treatment plant,and an urban toxic dump. Theyalso listened to presentations on avariety of environmental topics.Afterward, they worked for months

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to write their own environmentalsongsin every style from rap tosouland they choreographeddances to go with each one.Finally, they put everything to-gether to create a music video.The "Ecosound" package, includ-ing a curriculum guide, will bedistributed to all schools in theSeattle area.

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Raysard Jones, an Ecosound rapartist and dancer, says the videocan definitely change the waypeople view the environment."People really feel different afterthey've seen it. Still, we need toreach a whole lot of people all overthe world. If everybody would getinto it, change would happenmore and more."


In addition to creating thevideo, the Ecosounders are start-ing to change things right at homeby encouraging urban residents totake part in the city's Adopt-a-Street program. Participants in

Adopt-a-Street plant trees andgardens, paint storm drains toreduce toxic dumping, and helpwith other activities designed toimprove the environment in theirown neighborhoods.

RAGS TO RAIN FORESTS,

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Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin:Like many people around theworld, students at Lincoln HighSchool were looking for a way theycould help save tropical rainforests. They found the answerright at homein their closets. Asa way to raise funds to help pre-serve rain forests, the studentscollected more than 2500 pounds(1125 kg) of clothing and donatedit to a store that resells the clothes.Half of the proceeds from saleswill go to protect rain forestsaround the world. As organizerJeremy Marmes said, "We had a lotof fun doing it. Each homeroomtried to get the most clothing, andthe winning one had a pizza party.We never thought we'd be able


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collect so much!"The Lincoln High group is a

chapter of Save the Rainforest(STR), an organization started in1988. Today, 30,000 schoolsnationwide participate in STRprograms. Each school decides itsown way of raising funds, fromholding bake sales to designingand selling T-shirts and postcards.And if they want, schools candecide to send their funds to aspecific rain forest program.

Altogether, schools involved inSTR have raised more than$400,000 nationwide! The projecthas also inspired some students toattend summer programs in LatinAmerica to see rain forests forthemselves.

FROM INDIANA TOINDONESIA

Fort Wayne, Indiana: To EarlWells, it seemed obvious: Zooshave to do more than houseendangered speciesthey alsohave to find a way to protect wildspecies' habitat. As director of theFort Wayne Children's Zoo, Wellsconvinced the zoo to donate oneyear's profits from its gift shop tothe island of Mentawai in Indone-sia, where a U.S. scientist wasleading an effort to preserve theisland's rain forests. Then Wellsturned to schools in the area tohelp raise additional funds and toeducate the general public aboutwhy this effort was important.

Thousands of students re-sponded by participating in avariety of activities, from selling icecream cones to holding dances torecycling aluminum. At LaneMiddle School, students turnedtheir hallway into a rain forest tohelp teach others why it's impor-tant to save these unique habitats.They also raised more than $400to help set aside land in Mentawai.

In the end, all the schoolsinvolved raised more than$14,000! Their effort accom-plished more than raising money:All the publicity convinced theIndonesian government to outlawfurther logging in the forests onMentawai. And because logging isthe greatest threat to these habi-tats, things are looking up for thisfragile forest ecosystem.

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HABITATS CLOSE TO HOME

Halifax, Massachusetts: Preserv-ing biodiversity doesn't begin andend with tropical rain forestsit'salso important to save habitats yousee every day. According to eighthgrader Ryan Mc Cary, "I'm going tolive in Halifax most of my life, andI don't want to see it polluted."Ryan is part of the Halifax chapterof Kids for Saving Earth (KSE).For six months, members of theenvironmental club met afterschool and on Saturdays to studyMonponsett Pond and the water-ways that feed it. "I thought takingwater samples would be boring,"commented John Mather, "but Ireally liked it. It has really changedthe way I look at nature."

As one measure of biodiversityin their local pond, club membersstudied insect life. They discovered

ENERGY SAVERS

San Diego, California: Did youknow that teenagers use about 80percent of the energy in theaverage household? But aroundSan Diego, that number may bedropping, thanks to students atMemorial Academy.

After ninth graders at Memoriallearned about energy in theirscience class, they decided to takesome conservation action. Theyformed the Energy Club andstarted a schoolwide recyclingprogram. They collected andrecycled over a ton of papersaving energy by saving resources.

But that wasn't enough for thisenergetic bunch. The students,who speak both Spanish andEnglish, next decided to spreadthe word about energy issues byteaching two Spanish-speaking

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that the streams feeding the pondare healthyso pollution prob-lems in the pond must be comingfrom other sources. "I expectedthe water in the streams to be a lotmore polluted than it actuallywas," noted Gretchen Snoeyenbos.

KSE members also interviewedolder people in the communityand studied the area's history. KSEfound that Monponsett Pond hasbeen an important resource forpeople for hundreds of years.Then they put together andpublished a book on the history ofthe pond. The work they did wasso impressive that they wereinvited to present their book andfindings during a special meetingat the United Nations. Their workalso convinced their congressman,Barney Frank, to promise to make

fifth grade classes at a nearbyschool. "It was scary to be up infront teaching," one studentadmitted. "But it was great whenthey remembered what we hadtold them."

To cap off the project, thegroup designed an energy fairfilled with educational games andexhibits. The fifth grade studentsspent the day looking at exhibitsand playing energy bingo andother games. Students fromTijuana, Mexico, also participatedin the fair, making it an interna-tional event.

The Energy Club's "teachers"helped their fifth grade studentsunderstand the connectionbetween energy and other envi-ronmental issues. The studentsfound out that by reducing the

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preserving Monponsett Pond apriority. And they used the moneythey raised from selling the bookto buy infrared pictures of thearea, which the town is using toprotect wetlands.

The Halifax club isn't stoppingthere, though. They're expandingtheir studies to the nearbyWinnetuxet River, and they'rehelping the MassachusettsAudubon Society count all am-phibians and reptiles, or "herps,"found in Massachusetts. The KSEmembers are responsible forcounting all the herps in onequadrant of the state, whichincludes the area around theWinnetuxet. After that, they'llsearch for other ways to safeguardtheir local environment.

amount of energy they use, theycan cut down on pollution andreduce the pressures to developwild places. Saving energy, savingresources, saving wildlife. That'swhat Memorial Academy's EnergyClub is all about.


TURTLES IN TROUBLEBarrington, Rhode Island: It wasa trip to Central America thatinspired Kate McCalmont tosingle-handedly take on an effortto save an endangered species inher own home town. On a familyvacation in Costa Rica, Katewatched endangered olive ridleysea turtles crawling onto a beachto lay their eggs, then later saw thehatchlings make their way out tosea. Returning toRhode Island, Katecontacted localbiologists to find outabout turtles native toher area. They toldher about the dia-mondback terrapin,an endangeredspecies that, in RhodeIsland, is found onlyin Hundred AcreCove near Kate'shometown ofBarrington.

Kate then orga-nized an exhibit to tell people inthe community about the terrapin.She put together a huge display

th posters telling about the

endangered diamondback terra-pin and its connection to thethreatened Runnins River. Theexhibit included a map showingthe terrapin's nesting ground inHundred Acre Cove and all thesources of pollution along theRunnins River, which empties intothe cove. Kate presented theexhibit at other schools and toteachers who had gathered at the

schools, then convinced the towncouncil to declare the troubledterrapin to be Barrington's officialtown animal. And Kate designedand sold a Protect-the-TerrapinT-shirt to raise money. AltogetherKate raised more than $500 todonate to the local BarringtonLand Trust, which has establisheda special terrapin research fund.

Kate's efforts have made a realdifference for thediamondback terrapin."A lot of people didn't evenknow that the turtle existeduntil I did my project," shesays. By working to curbpollution of the RunninsRiver, she's continuing herefforts to try and save theturtle. She advises otherconservationists to focus ona variety of projects to gettheir message across."Anyone can help save theenvironment if they want to.They just have to do lots of

different things to help makeother people aware of theproblems and to motivate them toget involved."

Peter McCalmont

University of Connecticut for aspecial conference. She alsoexhibited it in the local library.She circulated petitions in local

THE BROOKTROUT BUNCH

Hopatcong, New Jersey: Forstudents at Hopatcong MiddleSchool, a class project turned intoa statewide campaign to save thebrook trout. In class, studentslearned that the fish is a threat-ened species in New Jersey andthat numbers of these fish havebeen decreasing in the statebecause of habitat destruction.They also discovered that the fishis extremely sensitive to changes in


0 Maryellen Soriano

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Bienvironmental quality and that itsplight indicates an increasingdanger to other aquatic species.These students decided to dosomething about it.

They joined other students inNew Jersey in petitioning lawmak-ers to name the brook trout as thestate fish. They wrote letters totheir state representatives andsenators. They also wrote to thegovernor. When the law finallypassed, the governor made aspecial trip to Hopatcong Middle

School to sign the bill.But students at Hopatcong

didn't stop working to help thetrout once it had become the statefish. Instead, they formed theirown after-school group called theBrook Trout Bunch (BTB). Thenthey put together exhibits andparticipated in other activities tomake the public aware of thethreatened fish and to encouragepeople to do things to protect itshabitat. And with the help of alocal chapter of Trout Unlimited,

a conservation group, they startedProject H.A.T.C.H.

Using a 55-gallon (209 1)aquarium that they placed in theclassroom of their club leader,Maryellen Soriano, the BTBmembers raise trout from eggs.Each spring, members clean up alocal stream, then release thehatchlings they've raised. For BTBmember Becca Caruso, 'That's thepart I like bestsetting the troutfree and helping to restock thesefish in the wild."

Are you looking for ways to get involved in helpingto preserve biodiversity? Here are some national organizations

you might want to contact as well as some ideas for gettinginvolved locally.

On the national level:

Children's Alliance for theProtection of the Environment,Inc. (CAPE), P.O. Box 307, Austin,TX 78767.

Earth Force, 1501 Wilson Blvd.,Twelfth Floor, Arlington, VA22209.

Izaak Walton League, 1401Wilson Blvd., Level B, Arlington,VA 22209. (Address your letters tothe stream monitoring programcalled Save Our Streams.)

Kids Against Pollution, P.O. Box775, High St., Closter, NJ 07624.

Kids F.A.C.E., P.O. Box 158254,Nashville, TN 37215.

Kids for Saving Earth, P.O. Box47247, Plymouth, MN 55447-0247.

KiDS S.T.O.P., Box 471, ForestHills, NY 11375. (Send a 9" x 12"stamped, self-addressed envelopeand include $2.00 for postage.)

The Natural Guard, 142Howard Ave., New Haven, CT06519.

Save the Rainforest, 604 JamieSt., Dodgeville, WI 53533.

I The U.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency, Office ofPublic Affairs, 401 M St., S.W.,Washington, DC 20460.

National conservation andenvironmental organizations.Some run environmental summercamps.

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On the local level:

Be sure to take a look in theactivities /volunteer section of yourcommunity newspaperlocalenvironmental organizations oftenadvertise stream clean-ups andother activities that you might wantto get involved in.

Get in touch with state or localdepartments of environmentalconservation.

Contact local environmentalorganizations, state and localdepartments of natural resources,and zoos and botanical gardens.

Ask your teachers for ideas.Many successful projects havebeen launched from ideas thatstarted in classrooms.

Brainstorm with other inter-ested neighbors and friendsandremember: "Think globally, actlocally."


by Brian Lloyd

Wake up, everybody,Really open your eyes.Look outside:the doorYou'll see a major surprise.It's cooler than the Shag Attack,It's hotter than Spike Lee.It's got more sounds and got more movesThan even MTV.

Yeah, I'm talking 'bout the placesThat span across this planet,And the host Cifcrazy crittersThat we often take for granted.You don't need-a. diplomaFrom a big.uriiversityTo learn the word for all this lifeIs BIODIVERSITY.

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JBIODIVERSITYmeans differenceIn three kinds.pfscenes:_In HABITATS,-inSPECIES,And in our ba.ic.GENES.Don't freak if this sounds tricky,Stay cool, because,I:ll claimThat all of this is'siinplerThan your average video game.

HABITATS are placesMade up of special featuresVegetation, nutrients,Climate, soils, and creatures.From Senegal to Central Park,From Haiti to Hong Kong,A healthy range of habitatsHelps life keep going strong.

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SPECIES are the animalsAnd plants that fill our nationsFrom cockatoos to kinkajous,From melons to carnations.Species pollinate our crops,They're mascots for our teams,They give us food and medicines,They dazzle life and dreams.

GENES are what determineHow populations varyHow tall we are, how strong we are,How intelligent, how hairy.A healthy, varied gene poolMakes all of life more brilliant,And species in the face of changeAre adaptable, resilient.

Now I hate to be a downer,I hate to burst your bubble.But you ought to know the truth:Biodiversity's in trouble.The reason? People everywherePollute and build and grow.The wildest life will be in mallUnless we stop, you krlpw.

A world with only cities?A little dull, I'd think.A world with only roaches?Now that would really stink.A world without a range of genes?Now that would be a grim one.Imagine every human beingA clone of Homer Simpson!

"Protect our many races,"Said Martin Luther King."Protect the tribes and forestsOf the Amazon," says Sting.From decades past to present dayThe rally cry has grown:Diversity's what life's aboutWe can't survive alone.

Refrain:Deserts, peat bogs,Passion fruit, and tree frogs.Spiders, seaweed,Centipedes, and sheep dogs.Mule deer, killdeer,Crocodile, and ginkgo.Diversity's dull?No, I don't think so.

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Windows on the Wild is an environmental education,program oWorld Wildlife Fund with support from Eastman Kodak Company

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