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snurriI love elephants, but I'm always aware of the complexity of conservation issues; being a North American concerned with the protection of pachyderms is something like being a Maasai tribesman and clamoring for the rights of the American Bison. Only not at all, because a bunch of Americans can generally produce more noise and funds than an equal number of Maasai. The fact is, if megafauna (yeah, I like that word) were common in this country, we'd be killing a lot of them just the same as we do the smaller animals, most of them without even pulling a trigger. This article on the elephant problem at TimesOnline encapsulates what often gets lost in the debate: an elephant living in your backyard is sort of like a big rabbit that can eat all of your crops every day, knock over your house for more, and kill you if it's in a bad mood. The article isn't perfect--witness this intriguing, controversial, and completely unsourced statement: "Scientists believe they may be seeking revenge for the culling of their parents." OK, yes, elephants are smart, have close family ties, and communicate through sound and over long distances, but even for a borderline anthropomorpher like me that's a HUGE jump. What scientists? Where? Despite that, it's a good look at the other side of the debate, and an important reminder of the real-people issues of the conservation debate.
Speaking of pachyderms and complex issues, over at Greg's blog there's been some discussion of the recent discovery of a baby mammoth and the cloning question that always seems to come up with prehistoric mammals.
Maps are cool. Check out this one, which imagines a world where the proportion of water and land on earth is inverted.
The other day I gave up on a movie from Netflix after 8 minutes. No, I am not going to tell you what it was. Ugh.
I wish I had some beer in the house.
Speaking of pachyderms and complex issues, over at Greg's blog there's been some discussion of the recent discovery of a baby mammoth and the cloning question that always seems to come up with prehistoric mammals.
Maps are cool. Check out this one, which imagines a world where the proportion of water and land on earth is inverted.
The other day I gave up on a movie from Netflix after 8 minutes. No, I am not going to tell you what it was. Ugh.
I wish I had some beer in the house.
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(no subject)
Date: 2007-07-15 01:18 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-07-15 01:19 am (UTC)I should be there by August.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-07-15 01:34 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-07-15 05:23 am (UTC)Anyway I had beer.I'm sorry you didn't have any in the house.
Count on a drunk girl to post about beer when you have all of these interesting things to say about elephants.
Suffice it to say that my imagination is too stunted/sloshed to be able to see the inverted map with any sort of creative eye. I will try tomorrow when I am up to my eyeballs in kids instead of suds.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-07-15 04:26 pm (UTC)Glad you had fun :-)