Belief inspires a passion for conservation
In "What’s at stake in the evolution debate,"
biologist Pepper Trail attempts to enlist conservationists in the
culture wars (HCN, 10/3/05: What's at stake in the evolution
debate). Trail insists that we must side with one warring camp or
the other. According to Trail, the good guys are scientists who
advance "reality," while the bad guys are knuckle-draggers who
peddle "belief."
Time to gird for battle? Well, count me out. I’d rather spend my effort doing conservation instead. Scientific data didn’t convince Gandhi to resist British rule. Laboratory analysis didn’t inspire Martin Luther King Jr. to march on Washington. I’ll join Wendell Berry and other diehard conservationists whose passion in defense of wild Creation arises from belief.
Bill Cook
Lake Oswego, Oregon
Time to gird for battle? Well, count me out. I’d rather spend my effort doing conservation instead. Scientific data didn’t convince Gandhi to resist British rule. Laboratory analysis didn’t inspire Martin Luther King Jr. to march on Washington. I’ll join Wendell Berry and other diehard conservationists whose passion in defense of wild Creation arises from belief.
Bill Cook
Lake Oswego, Oregon
