Conservation

Conservation is getting nowhere because it is incompatible with our Abrahamic concept of land. We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect. There is no other way for land to survive the impact of mechanized man, nor for us to reap from it the esthetic harvest it is capable, under science, of contributing to culture.

That land is a community is the basic concept of ecology, but that the land is to be loved and respected is an extension of ethics. That land yields a cultural harvest is a fact long known, but latterly often forgotten (Leopold, p.viii).

Conservation is extremely important to the world as a whole, but especially human beings. The human population seems to have declared war on the earth, killing of thousands of animals and plants every year, devastating ecosystems almost beyond repair. The need for human beings to recognize all walks of life as essential to the survival of the earth is crucial.

Conservation is one of the most important aspects of ecofeminism. Ecofeminists attempt to move away from an anthropocentric viewpoint and try to see how the land and all living things, including humans, are interconnected and dependent on each other. If humans don't learn to live with the other inhabitants of earth, a wealth of knowledge and beauty will be lost forever.

Because the preservation of the Earth is so important to everyone, I have compiled a short list of interesting sites on the Internet about conservation.

Save Our Earth and Make a Difference http://tqd.advanced.org/2988/	In general, this page is good, but not very extensive. It gives a basic background on the conservation of animals and their habitats. There are good tips on how the average household can become more eco-conscience and there is also an eco-quiz that allows the reader to see how eco-conscience they are. This site has an interesting photo gallery on endangered ecosystems and endangered animals. Within the photo gallery, there is information about the endangered species, such as where they are located and what their habits are. The information is good, but very basic and doesn't say why these animals/ecosystems are endangered. That is the main drawback to this page: it is very elementary. It only discusses how the deterioration of the earth is negative in respect to human beings; not the earth's other inhabitants.
Environmental News Network (ENN) http://www.enn.com/	This is an excellent site for current environmental information. There are two databases strictly for current articles, all of which seem to be knowledgeable and are entertaining to read. The information in the articles is relevant not only to conservation, but also to other aspects of ecology. One interesting section of the page is an area called Channels. This section has information about different ecological groups and how to get in contact with them. It also contains some unusual ecological facts and historical information that is rather engaging. The best aspect of this page is the Web Guide. It is organized extremely well and therefore incredibly easy to use. It contains links to other environmental pages, all of which are interesting and relevant to the environment. Overall, this is an excellent site, with a ton of useful information.
World Conservation Monitoring Centre http://www.wcmc.org.uk/	This is the most impressive page on conservation that I have looked at, and my favorite. The graphics are not very impressive, but there is an amazing amount of information. The page concentrates mainly on endangered ecosystems throughout the world, but there is also information about endangered species. In the conservation databases it is possible to look up information and maps on forest and marine conservation in nearly every country in the world. The information contained therein is extensive and presented in an interesting fashion. The national biodiversity profiles are also amazing. It shows the endangered species/areas in many countries and what the nation is doing to save the endangered beings and how much money is being spent to conserve them. It is possible to do a library search through both of these databases and through other libraries on the Internet. In my opinion, this is the best conservation page I have found.
The Gaia Homepage http://forests.org/	This page focuses mainly on forest conservation information. The graphics are fairly poor, except for the Brazilian Page, which as some very good photographs. This page, like ENN, is set up much like a newspaper, with current articles about the devastation of forest environments. This site does not address why the forests, or other ecosystems, should be saved, it only describes the destruction humans are causing. This technique is a good attention grabber, but it only talks about how humans will lose, not how the area should saved because of its own beauty. There are some interesting links to other botany pages that are worth looking at. My favorite thing from this site is the World Forest Action site. This page tells about different forestry problems and then has an e-mail form that can be sent in with a message to a person, i.e. a Congressman, who can stop the described devastation. This page is a very good source for current information about forestry destruction.
WWF 2000: The Living Planet Campaign http://www.livingplanet.org/	The World Wildlife Fund's page is the best all around page I found on conservation. It has excellent graphics and all the information is in depth and interesting to read. Facts are given about endangered animals and habitats; this includes how the area/animal has come to be endangered by human actions. It also discusses what needs to be done to save these endangered beings, what the World Wildlife Fund is doing and how humans as, individuals, businesses, even governments, can change how our consumption patterns to help conserve the earth. The only drawback about this page is that it concentrates on a very limited section of endangered species and habitats, but the subjects discussed are covered extensively.
WWW Virtual Library: Sustainable Development http://www.ulb.ac.be/ceese/sustvl.html	This page is a list of Internet sites, all dealing with environmental development. It is an excellent resource for information on environmental issues.
AdOn Web's EnvironCards http://www.adonweb.com/cards	This is a fun site to look at. Instead of sending a "real" correspondence it is possible to send an electronic card, which saves on paper and promotes conservation.

"Human beings are a part of the whole we call the Universe, a small region in time and space. The regard themselves, their ideas and their feelings as separate and apart from all the rest. It is something like an optical illusion in their consciousness. This illusion is a sort of prison; it restricts us to our personal aspirations and limits our affective life to a few people very close to us. Our task should be to free ourselves from this prison, opening up our circle of compassion in order to embrace all living creatures and all of nature in its beauty."

---Albert Einstein, cited by Ivone Gebara in Women Healing Earth