The Colonial Origins of Conservation: The Disturbing History Behind US National Parks
By Stephen Corry,
Truthout
| 08. 25. 2015
Untitled Document
Iconoclasm - questioning heroes and ideals, and even tearing them down - can be the most difficult thing. Many people root their attitudes and lives in narratives that they hold to be self-evidently true. So it's obvious that changing conservation isn't going to be an easy furrow to plow.
However, change it must. Conservation's achievements don't alter the fact that it's rooted in two serious and related mistakes. The first is that it conserves "wildernesses," which are imagined to be shaped only by nature. The second is that it believes in a hierarchy, with superior, intelligent human beings at the top. Many conservationists still believe that they are uniquely endowed with the foresight and expertise to control and manage so-called wildernesses and that everyone else must leave, including those who actually own them and have lived there for generations.
These notions are archaic; they damage people and the environment. The second also flouts the law, with its perpetual land grabs. For nature's sake as well as our own, it's crucial to expose how these ideas grew and flourished... see more
Related Articles
"Human Egg" by euthman is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
In late April, the National Academies held a three-day workshop on
In Vitro Derived Human Gametes as a Reproductive Technology. Experts from a broad range of fields commented on the fast-developing science, its potential applications in assisted reproduction, and its social implications. Despite a focus on the significant technical challenges that remain in developing these techniques and the notable inclusion of several critical voices, the overall...
By CGS Staff
| 05.15.2023
On May 4, the Center for Genetics and Society contributed invited remarks about heritable gene editing at a comment session hosted by the National Council on Disability (NCD), the US federal agency that advises government and the private sector on disability policy. Some 17 speakers, including representatives of disability and patient advocacy organizations, scholars, medical researchers, and genetic counselors, weighed in for three minutes each on the topic “Germline editing, fetal medicine, and their impact on people with disabilities.”
The...
By Carla Hall, Los Angeles Times | 05.01.2023
Among the dubious points that U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk makes in his recent ruling suspending the Food and Drug Administration’s authorization of mifepristone is that abortion is part of the now-reviled practice of eugenics.
That clinical-sounding word refers to...
By Rob Stein, NPR | 05.02.2023
When Chase Finazzo was just a few years old, his parents noticed Chase was pretty clumsy. But they didn't think it was anything serious.
"He would fall a lot. Not like a lot a lot. But he had trouble climbing...
