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Species Extinction & Human Population Growth

  • #21
Sure glad I started this string and lit the fuse. Interesting stuff and a discussion about illicit drug use would follow along similar lines where the product sellers and product users are concerned. I stopped using cannabis years ago partly because my money was literally going up in smoke and partly because law enforcement officers were putting their lives on the line and worse. It's easy to feel real small and inconsequential when taking on any huge subject, how many times has someone used the excuse for not voting, "My Vote Doesn't Count Anyway"? When I am out field collecting local native snakes I'm careful to leave the wooded areas and flat rocks the way I found them. I have a special love for areas I grew up with and can even relate funny stories about specific rocks or plants that are still in the same place. My paternal grandparents established a camp by a small town called Tightwad near Warsaw, Missouri in 1940 and being invested in that area I have watched the environment change over the years and especially when Truman Reservoir went in and flooded the lowlands including the three primitive lakes that my grandparents established. I miss the small frog species and especially the cottonmouth snakes that called the area home. With all of that water in the valley and an increase in nighttime moisture there has been some plant and animal species change I have witnessed. A species of Lichen like they use in model railroading in several areas that I never saw previously. I'm always on the lookout for some already discovered sundew species in the damper areas since none are currently thought to be in this part of the Midwest. My old pre-Truman Lake Reptiles of Missouri book indicated a tiny colony of Pygmy Rattlers (Sistrurus miliarius streckeri) right in the wooded hill / cedar glade areas of the family camp I mentioned. The updated copies since the lake went in aren't showing that colony any longer so when I am combing those woods and encounter a glade, some time is spent looking and hoping for a relic group they might have missed. My brother, who introduced me to snakes as a kid, claims and I believe him that he encountered a small rattlesnake with a girth the size of his little finger and about 8" long which could only be a streck'.
I just wanted to prove that I am invested in the natural world and being a bit of a novice where CP's are concerned assumed that conservationists and law enforcement in those countries where Nepenthes exist were proactive and had helped to gather information used in the Cites report. You are right about the market driving poaching and that is a tough nut. I watched a show about the California abalone and the poaching by the Asian community there. What struck me was the blank dear-eyed look the offenders had during the arrest and seizure process, it was obvious that they could care less and would most likely return to the practice once they were released. The same thing with the invasive snake-head working it's way up the Mississippi to the Great Lakes. The poaching of the small black bears in the Southeast for their gallbladders is despicable too. What I learned here has altered my thinking and I will be more conservative where my collecting is concerned and even though I am a single speck of sand on a planet full of sand will just take satisfaction in doing my part and passing that attitude along to my 14 grand kids.
[richjam1986], thanks for admitting that you obsess, I don't feel as alone now. :-))
You can tell how obsessive a person is by the number of words it takes to make a point. :0o:
 
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