| The Magazine of the CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES |
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Life on the Edge Hope, Faith, and Love
Be, begat, begone. It's a popular extraction of philosophers and poets—and scientists, too, on occasion, such as Edward S. Ross in "The Selfish Dragonfly." A title chosen in deference to Richard Dawkins's book, The Selfish Gene. Dragonflies have been around for over 200 million years and their behaviors, however apparently ruthless, are obviously successful at perpetuating their species, while their genes are all but immortal. And yet the animals' ingenuity (note the "gene" root, from the Greek: to beget) and their beauty, so expertly captured in Ross's photography, seem to belie the parsimony of the adage. Compare, for instance, Homo sapiens, who are very much a work-in-progress. In his recent book Guns, Germs, and Steel, Jared Diamond considers human evolution over the last 13,000 years, since the first domestication of plants and animals. He argues, forcefully, that accidents of geography and climate led to the emergence of dominant civilizations in Eurasia. But in an interview that appears on page 20, "Diamond's Hope," Diamond looks with guarded optimism at the forces of humanity currently scouring the globe. Though he has seen some of the worst destruction firsthand, he also feels that both individuals and corporations are capable of learning and adjusting. The fruits of two recent lessons learned are described in these pages. "Mono Lake Rising" celebrates the renaissance of Mono Lake where, following the court decision temporarily barring Los Angeles from taking water from the lake's contributing creeks, the natural ecosystems are gradually returning. Already, the riparian landscape is looking lush. But as author Jane Braxton Little explains, all is not entirely well. It appears that just adding water isn't all it's going to take to restore Mono Lake's health. Forces of nature will still have to cooperate. Over Tioga Pass, the National Park Service and the public have learned that instant gratification is no better for bears than it is for people. Photographs of Yosemite rangers hand-feeding bears and emptying trash cans in their path so that visitors can watch the animals scrounge were taken a few decades ago, but they seem as old as the Ark. It doesn't take much to attract a curious bear, particularly if it has had good pickings in the past. Michael J. Ybarra, in "Smarter Than the Average Tourist," describes the way today's rangers are protecting bears and people from each other. It is a bit easier, it turns out, to manage the onlookers than the native inhabitants. But there are rogue elements in any mammalian community. In this issue we announce California Wild's first Photography Competition. The categories all focus on the natural landscape, and native animals and plants. Please, no pet shots. We are really looking forward to seeing your photographs—slides or prints. The announcement is on page 6, and more details are available on our website (http://www.cal-academy.org/photocompetition). Winning photographs will be published two issues from now in the Winter 2001 edition. They will also be put on display at the Academy. We can't let this season pass without gratefully acknowledging the citizens of San Francisco for the recent passage of Proposition B. The positive vote, coupled with donations from private foundations, corporations, and individuals means that the California Academy of Sciences will be able to retrofit its buildings and improve its facilities. The result will be an exciting place to explore, an institution even more relevant to the future of a healthy, global environment, and one more vital to the scientific education of all of us, especially the next generation. Keith K. Howell is Editor of California Wild. |
Summer 2000
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