What we can do, part 2: Why we should

I realized after posting my last entry that I did not include reasons why we should care about lemur conservation, or primate conservation in general. I mean, really, what have lemurs done for us? What have other primates done for us? Why should we be concerned about the conservation of the rainforest and other environments when we could just plow them down and get more oil and profits?
I guess this is a question of debate, but here's what I think:

I think biodiversity is important, really important. I think that lemurs and other primates are a critical component in the preservation and recreation damaged environments. I think that lemurs and other primates are aesthetically pleasing, that is, they make me happy to look at. I think that lemurs give Madagascar a sense of identity and importance and promote eco-tourism which can boost their economy. Finally, though I do not agree fully with this, primates are an extremely useful resource in the medical field. Let me stress again, I do not agree with the continued use of primates as test subjects. This is a touchy subject to talk about, but it might be a convincing one for those who are not as inclined to save species based on compassion alone.

Biodiversity is another tricky subject to blog about: how can I possibly explain why it's so important when I don't even have a good grasp on what it means? Four years at a top university cannot teach what biodiversity really is, I think it's something you have to see in the flesh, but here's an example (or at least, I hope it's an example!):

I'm looking out my window and I can see a cedar tree, a gold finch, some maple trees, a field of what are probably Monsanto soy beans (gross gross gross, burn Monsanto, burn!), some crows, couple of spiders, flies, a bergamot plant, 2 plum trees, and some various wild flowers and weeds along the field edge. Ok, so let's say I go outside and hack down the maple trees. Now there is no shade coverage, so any shade dwelling plants under the maples will die. Any bugs that lived in the shade dwellers will also die or relocated, and anything that ate those bugs will die or relocate. Anything that was living in the maples, probably the gold finches, they just lost their babies and nests, so some of them died and the rest will have to re-locate. When the gold finches lived here they ate some bugs (let's say they ate the spiders and flies), and they ate seeds of the wild flowers and weeds. They digested the seeds, and when they shat them out the seeds were ready to grow. But since I cut down the maples and ruined their homes, the gold finches won't be here to spread the plants anymore. Also, the flies laid their eggs in the moist shady area under the maples, but that's not there anymore. So the flies will decline in population which means no more food for the spiders. So they're gone too. Now I'm left with a plum tree, a cedar tree, and some crows. The crows come and eat my plums because there isn't anything else for them, so now I have a cedar tree and some hungry crows. And that is what I will see when I look out my window from now on: crows and cedars. That kind of sucks! What if I needed one of those wild plants to make tea or something? I guess I should have thought of that before cutting down the maples...

I guess we should have thought of the consequences before cutting down the rainforest and making our distant relatives endangered. By endangering them, we might be inadvertently endangering ourselves too. Here comes the controversy, brace yourself:

Have you ever had an inoculation? Ever taken an anti-biotic? Had surgery? Did you use toothpaste this morning with fluoride in it? Have you used a household cleaner? Did you put on deodorant today that has aluminum in it?
If you answered yes to any of those questions, you have a primate to thank for it. Primate testing has had its benefits- cancer treatment, malaria treatment, organ transplants, you name it- all of it came from testing procedures on primates, more so, great apes. But here's what's wrong with this situation (other than the ethics of lab test and treatment), we have exploited primates for our benefit, and now they're endangered. If we keep abusing them by capturing them for pet trade, bushmeat, habitat loss, and capture for testing, there aren't going to be any left! So for those of you who do not think that biodiversity alone is a good enough reason for conservation, think about the future of yourselves and your children, and how we will probably still be afflicted by AIDS because we can't use apes to save us. I'm a huge hypocrite for writing this, but it's not like I can stand completely opposed to animal testing, I have had vaccines and they have probably saved my life. However, I do think there are other and better options for medical advances, but that's a different blog.

This is becoming a long and heavy post, so I'll cut it off and show some pictures of adorable lemurs and other primates. I want to keep seeing these guys in the future, I hope you do too.

*Note: most of these are not my own photographs, no copyright violations intended*