Subscription info . Famed American environmentalist David Brower has called for a program of CPR for the planet. Brower s CPR stands for Conservation, Protection and Restoration. He told me last year that restoration must be our major priority and I agree.
Science provides tiny, fragmented insights into the natural world.
We know next to nothing about the biological makeup of the Earth s life forms or about the physical features and complexity of the atmosphere, land mass and oceans. Extinction, of course, is irreversible. And even heroic measures to keep an endangered species going don t stand much of a chance without profound changes in human behavior and genuine protection of its habitat. Remarkably, if we pull back and decrease or halt our assault on a given environment, nature can be unbelievably forgiving and resilient. We ve seen it in the recovery of Lake Erie, increased vegetation around Sudbury, Ontario, and the return of fish and dolphins to England s River Thames.