Where are the Leopard Sharks?

[Buadhai]

It wouldn't be so catastrophic if there weren't so many people. With seven billion almost anything we do is going to have a huge impact.

Perhaps this is why very high intelligence has evolved only once. It doesn't seem to work that well.

 

[Bowmouth]

Yes, and how are you going to achieve that change in behaviour?

I do not know the answer to your question. I wish I did but I don't.
It's in my believe that it's mainly the world's rich and educated societies that are responsible for the majority of the disruption and destruction of our natural world. Call me a pessimist but I don't believe re-educating those societies is enough to save this world.

 

[stevenl]

I do not know the answer to your question. I wish I did but I don't.
It's in my believe that it's mainly the world's rich and educated societies that are responsible for the majority of the disruption and destruction of our natural world. Call me a pessimist but I don't believe re-educating those societies is enough to save this world.

Disagree with you there.

The major sources for disruption in nature (and usage of energy, pollution, etc.) are China and the US. In the US education is only of high standard for those who can afford it, but very limited to others, and China is developing fast, very fast, but still has a long way to go with regards to environmental policies and awareness.

 

[Quero]

Are you claiming that education must be of the caliber of Harvard or Stanford in order to be effective in enlightening people to the need for environmental protection? Or are you saying that of the major industrial economies, such as the EU, the level of education represented by Oxford or Sorbonne is the norm? As a product of US publicly-funded education myself, I have to say that your statement shows very little understanding of that particular aspect of the question.

 

[stevenl]

I am saying that if you look at the level of education, especially the more worldly aspects, the public European education is of much higher standard than in the US. At least the people in Europe seem to be much more aware of world problems, including environment, than in the US.

 

[Quero]

Having lived for extended periods in Europe, North America, South America, and Asia, and having been involved in education in all countries i have lived before coming to Thailand, I have to call you on knee-jerk generalisation. Can you support your claim?

 

[stevenl]

Firstly, this is way off topic.

Secondly, I have lived all over the world as well, and as said, the Europeans seem to be much more aware of world problems than people from the US. Seems indicates that that is my opinion, based on my experiences.
Whether you agree or not is up to you.

 

[mase]

Ignorance is not exclusive to one country. It appears to be running rampant throughout the entire planet. Rich/poor, developed/undeveloped,educated/uneducated, it makes little difference.

 

[Bowmouth]

I think we can all agree that it's a HUGE problem and that things are not likely to get better anytime soon. I sometimes wish I could travel through space and time and take a sneak-peek at this world 500 years from now ("beam me up Scotty")....

:nuke:

 

[Quero]

Firstly, this is way off topic.

At this point of a thread, topic 'drift' is natural. We have drifted from the relative rarity of leopard shark sightings to the possibility/likelihood that this is an effect of human activity to a more general discussion of the effects of ecological depredation due to human activity. Perhaps a thread split is in order.

Secondly, I have lived all over the world as well, and as said, the Europeans seem to be much more aware of world problems than people from the US. Seems indicates that that is my opinion, based on my experiences.
Whether you agree or not is up to you.

Did I misunderstand you? As I read your post, my interpretation was that you made a bald claim that people from two particular nations are mainly responsible due to their poor educational systems. I asked whether there was any support for that claim.

I agree with Bowmouth that this is a global problem that cannot be laid at the feet of any particular nationality. Without taking into account environmental damage caused by low-tech yet widespread methods such as dynamite fishing or drift net fishing, here's my own support for this view. Among the major anthropogenic environmental disasters worldwide, we may list the following:

• Macondo Blowout/Gulf of Mexico, United States, 2010, the largest accidental marine oil spill in world history; responsible party: British Petroleum (Europe)
• Baia Mare, Romania, cyanide spill, 2000; responsible parties: Esmeralda Corporation (Australia) and Romanian government (Europe)
• Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (mad-cow disease) crisis, mainly UK but also over a dozen other European countries, 1989-2003; responsible party: British beef industry (Europe)
• Chernobyl, Russia, nuclear power plant explosion, 1986; responsible party: Ukrainian government (Europe)
• Bhopal, India, toxic gas leak, 1984; responsible party: Union Carbide (US)
• Three Mile Island, United States, nuclear reactor meltdown, 1979; responsible party Metropolitan Edison (US)
• Aznacolar, Spain, heavy-metal-infused wastewater spill, 1979; responsible party: Bolidan AB (Europe)
• Meda, Italy, dioxin leak affecting 11 villages, including Seveso, 1976; responsible party: Industrie Chimiche Meda Società Azionaria (Europe)
• London, England, smog crisis, 1952; responsible parties: British industry in general (Europe)
• Love Canal, United States, chemical waste dump, 1920-1953; responsible party: Hooker Chemical Company (US)