From the moment I became aware of the world around me, I was captivated by nature. Trees, in particular, seemed lifeless. Insects and birds were alive, but these massive, potential lumber or firewood, stood there like stoic towers, reaching towards the sky.
So, I ignored them initially until I became aware of the science of plants and their contributions to our lives. Not just lumber for houses or warm fires, but inspiration and the elements of the air we breathe. Silent symbols of the circle of life. Just look around on your next hike; you’ll see old trees, fallen trees with plants thriving on their corpses. Decay in all its glory provides nutrients for all manner of living things.
Dams serve a purpose: diverting wild rivers to generate energy for mills and electric generators to power cities. All noble causes, but sometimes overbuilding leads to their useful lives coming to an end. So, they lie across tame rivers that were once wild, decaying. An unintended consequence of these dams is disrupting the upstream migration of wild salmon. The result is a reduction in salmon numbers. Sure, some spawned miles downstream of their ancestral waters, but the promise remains unfulfilled.
Meanwhile, upstream, large predators that feed on those salmon turned to feeding on elk calves, further diminishing the population. Adding insult to injury, the post-spawn salmon carcasses that recycle nutrients in the grassland were removed. The elk moved away, and the bears followed them into pasture lands. There, they became a nuisance to ranchers, and bears became a problem. Wolves and coyotes also moved to the prairie lands and feasted on livestock.
Every solution applied yielded no positive results. So, now rules to keep air and water clean are being softened for industry. What will the unintended consequences of this become? I believe it’s another tragic mistake. Nature is a cruel mistress.
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