Is anything really protected?

[Travis]

Everything that is nature is expensable to us.  Just the fact it says it is "protected" does not mean it is really protected. The Brazilian Rain Forest is being chopped down, in the Yellow Stone National Forest they are allowing 4-wheelers (I am not sure about drilling for oil), G. Bush is trying to reduce the size of trees for cutting, oil is being drilled out in the ocean, and swamps are being drained.  Bottom line if there is something that we want or need in a protected area we will find a way to get to it. How much longer are we going to have protected areas around the world. How long is it until humans make a footprint on it - Not to long (a hundred years is not a long time). It reminds me of this bumper sticker that I bought couple years back that says "We are cutting down trees to make room for you fat ***" it was for my sister. Which I think is true maybe not the fat part but you understand the point. Until someone proves to me that protected means protected, I will not believe it.

I think it is sad to hear and see this going on. I just do not think things are protected. The only reason we protect is because we are distroying everything around it. Once  you make make a road you change the enviroment around it.  You start destoying life around the road. Most of the time the old growth will die off and new growth will replace it.

Finally, I do not think everything is doom and gloom but it is just sad to think about. Then to also hear it on the news, read about it on the forums, and just watch it happen. The only thing is Nature always wins in the end, period.

Travis

 

[lithopsman]

I agree with Travis,
Protected is simply a title, there are said "fines and penalties" but who is really counting everyone of this dart frog, that parrot, this tree? Nobody! I try to change that, even when it's just: don't kill those ants, they are good ants (red ants). Reply: What difference will it make anyways? My answer: It makes a difference for those would-be dead ants rescued by me. I try to rescue any animal, regardless of what it's done... Same with plants. It is my belief that although sme people say of ants or other numerous insects (like gnats): There's so many, what harm could it do? My answer is: Well, if everyone in the world said that, do you think that it wouldn't be wrong? NO! Also, it makes a difference for the lives that you took. Even "Protected" species that may be abundant in our area, but not over their entire range, aren't given too much respect. People for some reason just don't care. I DO! Skeptics: Think of it this way: If snipers/murders said simply: Well, there are more than 4 billion people in the world, what difference would it make? Wouldn't that be disasterous! Same thing with prarie bison. They went from 20 million to 1,000 in a few years for the same reason. Hunters/slaughterers figured that there were too many to make a difference... Well, look at them now. Not near as many, even with people who DO care! I also don't grow CPs to mutilate innocent bugs! In fact, I always use only dead/dried insects to feed my CPs and gecko. Anyways, that's just my two pieces of metal stamped with Abe Lincoln.

THANKS FOR LISTENING!!

 

[Ozzy]

There are alot of laws that protect plants from poaching. Laws are not worth the paper they are printed on if they're not enforced. The way most places enforce the laws are to catch a few poachers and make an example out of them. If you live in a place that have alot of rare plants you hear these stories from time to time. I've heard quite a few about vft poaching. They enforce the law on someone that takes a few plants and charge him with the maximum. This will deter the people that want to take a few plants for their collection, but the ones that make a living on poaching the laws are a joke.
I think you have to ask yourself what is the reason that I am not going to take this plant from the wild. Is your answer because you don't want to get caught, pay the fines and do the possible jail sentence. If so then you probably shouldn't be growing these plants anyway, because you obviously care more about how many plants you have than about the plant itself and it's survival. You shouldn't care about the laws. You should want to leave the plant where it has the best chance for survival.
There may or may not be laws that protect cp's, but when it comes down to it, that shouldn't matter to you. If you really love these plants you should do all you can to protect it and to make sure that they are still around for the next generation.

 

[Travis]

I agree. I remember seeing a pile of skinned minks that was about 4-feet high. It was a horrid site to see.

Just a hypothetical question here: What would happen if we found oil in North Carolina were the vfts are located? Would they be protected, then?

To go on with my little rant here. I am sorry to hear what is going on in CA but I wonder if this could have been prevented by having nature take its course. What I mean by that is when a nature causes a fire by lightening we seemingly put out the fire. Causing more under growth or fuel for the next strike but if we would have let the fire take its course the undergrowth would have been taken care of, right? The other problem people living in the woods *aka urban sprawl* forcing us to protect the houses and stopping nature from doing what it is suppose to do.

Travis

 

[schloaty]

Travis,
I was just ranting to by friends! If they want to live where there are a lot of wild fire, they should build their &^%! houses out of stone, and build a *&$@ moat!

Not likely. Oh, well.

 

[BigCarnivourKid]

Admit it schloaty, you really want them to put in a moat so you can talk them into letting you grow CPs in it

.

 

[BigCarnivourKid]

Quote[/b] (Travis @ Nov. 03 2003,9:51)]To go on with my little rant here. I am sorry to hear what is going on in CA but I wonder if this could have been prevented by having nature take its course. What I mean by that is when a nature causes a fire by lightening we seemingly put out the fire.  Causing more under growth or fuel for the next strike but if we would have let the fire take its course the undergrowth would have been taken care of, right?

I think more and more people are beginning to realize this Travis. I think we are our worst enemy most times. It is usually something that hasn't been thoroughly thought out until Mother Nature does something that brings us up short and makes us see the obvious! I would also like to point out that many of these fires are more serious because of the build up of fuel. Fuel that wouldn't have been there if a fire had been allowed to burn it out years earlier.

 

[Travis]

Well, at least cloning will take care of the extinct matter

!