Tuesday, April 06, 2004
Living Dead
Sara thoroughly highlights the preposterousness of recreating dinosaurs through genetic engineering in her latest post. But, what if by some form of crazy luck scientists were able to do so? What if we really could bring extinct species back into the environment? Would it necessarily be a good thing?
In Spielberg’s Jurassic Park, scientists end up regretting their establishment of an island inhabited by prehistoric creatures. Even if those organisms were not a threat to mankind, would it still have been a bad decision? I believe so. Animals that go extinct (despite man’s role in their endangerment) are simply following Darwinian rules of evolution. If a species cannot survive in nature and dies out, humans should not interfere. Nature should be allowed to take its course. Although an ecosystem can suffer from the removal of a type of organism, it can suffer just as much with its reintroduction.
In Spielberg’s Jurassic Park, scientists end up regretting their establishment of an island inhabited by prehistoric creatures. Even if those organisms were not a threat to mankind, would it still have been a bad decision? I believe so. Animals that go extinct (despite man’s role in their endangerment) are simply following Darwinian rules of evolution. If a species cannot survive in nature and dies out, humans should not interfere. Nature should be allowed to take its course. Although an ecosystem can suffer from the removal of a type of organism, it can suffer just as much with its reintroduction.
