A Long-Term Biodiversity, Ecosystem and Awareness Research Network

This is a description of a source of inspiration for someone. It motivates him or her to want to communicate science with the public. Perhaps it will also inspire you to.

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Edward O. Wilson, biologist

I am sure I am not alone in finding Edward O. Wilson a very inspiring person in the field of nature conservation and ecology. He argues passionately for protecting biodiversity and understanding more about it. Roger Highfield recently interviewed Wilson for New Scientist. In the article, Wilson argues that by protecting the natural environment we can tackle present concerns about the physical environment (i.e. climate change). In the article, Wilson says "if you save the living environment, you will automatically save the physical environment. But if you only try to save the physical environment, you will lose them both." He also states that "... concern for the living environment has been slow to take off". That to me sounds like a rallying call for more, and more effective comnmunication about biodiversity and the natural world.

I also like what Wilson says about orabatid mites: "People see nature as trees, plants and vertebrates. Yet the world is run by little creatures most people have not heard of; 99 per cent of Earth's organisms are extremely small. For example, some of the most abundant and crucial land animals are the tiny oribatid mites, which are the size of a pinhead and look like a cross between a turtle and a spider. They are a linchpin organism of the environment, but 20 years ago when I set out to identify them no one had heard of them. Back then there were just two people in the US able to identify them. Fortunately one agreed to work with me. Yet we still don't know what the vast majority of oribatids do."

"A very inspiring figure ... a we need inspiring figures" - Andy

Find out more:

Article in New Scientist (August 2009)
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Quotes by E.O. Wilson
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