I have to take back my cantankerous post from earlier. For those of you that didn't see it, too bad, it's deleted forever :).

The point I was trying to drive at was this: As birders, and as humans who care about the plantet, we sometimes act in direct opposition to our superficial claims. I see it all too often in myself and others. Every day, I try and improve my relations with the Earth, celebrate biodiversity, and support conservation. I hold birders to a high standard, and hope they do those same things too, so it disappoints me when I see that they're not.

There is an interesting question that comes from all of this. How much conservation should we support? Do our interests outweigh the interests of capitalism, recreation, etc.? In my own opinion, they do. Conservation biology and the environmental movement can't be squashed by big business, overpopulation, or anything else if we are to survive as a species on this planet. I don't think any God, or new technology, will save us from the destruction we inflict upon ourselves, so why wait?

Where do we draw the line? Should we remove all Tamarisk from the Colorado River at the expense of nesting Willow Flycatchers? Do we shut down all natural gas wells because they are negatively affecting Greater Sage Grouse and our water quality? Should we all trade in our SUVs for bikes? I know the choices that the birds would like us to make, but what choices will we make?

I wish you all good luck in your quest to become better stewards of the Earth. Let me know if you'd like to join forces.

Carl