Earthsky

Private: Nature enthusiasts once aided species invasions

10-14-2006 - Human World

_DB:_ This is “Earth & Sky”:/http://208.96.63.114/. We spoke with J. R. McNeill, professor of history at Georgetown University.

_JB: And author of “Something New Under the Sun”:http://www.wwnorton.com/catalog/spring01/032183.htm:_ An Environmental History of the 20th-Century World. He told us that in the 18th and 19th centuries, nature enthusiasts often intentionally transported creatures and seeds over long distances – even across oceans.

_J.R. McNeill:_ Thomas Jefferson was one such, he wanted to establish mulberry trees and silkworm culture in Virginia, for example. And there was a fellow in the 1890s who allegedly had decided that what North America really needed was all the birds mentioned anywhere in the works of Shakespeare.

_DB:_ That Shakespeare fan released about 100 starlings in New York’s Central Park in 1890. Today, there are about 200 million starlings in North America, and that’s generally considered not a good thing.

_J.R. McNeill:_ The main difference here is the notion that there’s some inherent value to the stability of ecosystems. And if one accepts that principle, as, by and large, increasing numbers of people and policy makers now do, then preventing biological invasions becomes an important goal. Whereas a 100 years ago, 200 years ago, assisting biological invasions seemed to make sense.

_JB:_ We have more about the relationship between humans and nature – what we call the “Human World”:http://208.96.63.114/?p=1543 – at earthsky.org. We’re Block and Byrd for “Earth & Sky”:/http://208.96.63.114/.

Our thanks to:
John McNeill
Professor of History and Director of Graduate Studies
Core Faculty, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service
Cinco Hermanos Chair of Environment and International Affairs,
Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service

Written by EarthSky

One Response to “Private: Nature enthusiasts once aided species invasions”

  1. Malcolm Rodin says:
    October 15, 2006 at 11:51 am

    Thankyou for talking about starlings on the radio. Starlings and English house sparrows are taking over. They take over all the nesting sites for birds that we once had. The problem has been going on for so long that teenagers think it is normal to have a backyard and city full of them.In the city of Victoria B.C. I have an ad running in the local paper to promote an oval hole size that keeps house sparrows out and allows the other birds in like violet green swallows.If you like I can send you info about this oval hole size.

    Reply

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