Dr Cedric S Woods, 19 July 2018. Minor edit, 3 September 2018.
Continued existence of life as we know it is threatened by environmental problems created by industrial activities, from agriculture to forestry to poaching big game, etc. These are helping to reawaken the Human-caused sixth mass extinction. Without the help of ordinary people understanding and helping science, nothing will redress these dangers, our fragile Civilisation could be an early casualty. "If" that happens, further extinctions would go on to imperil all Life for millions of years. Life would slowly recover, but there may be no birds or mammals. We would not be there if this "if" ever happens. Civilisation faces this problem; it is THE problem and must find the best answers fast.
Survival of Civilisation can best be assured by people everywhere urgently reconnecting with existing Nature - on her terms. Just observing your local wild plants, insects and birds and talking about them would be a massive start with immediate improvements to most Peoples' lives.
Purpose designed especially for grass-roots conservation, BioLists is a radically new form of online tool with a big job ahead. It offers all necessary (Linnaean) Taxonomy in a standardised format to give easy access to Nature's names (classified scientific and linked vernacular/common names) along with people-friendly data management options. BioLists' potential contains the means to align much of society's compelling interests [food, health, pleasure, education] with grass-roots Natural History.
With wildlife conservation already widely supported by 'Green' movements, and encouraged by many more people, this interest now has the potential to get much stronger and to go viral with global impact. If so - Nature can win by refreshing the most essential sciences to make them fit-for-purpose. These Vital Sciences [new term: are Natural History (for observation), Taxonomy (for communications), Ecology (for analysis) and Conservation (for action). These need to be reorganised so as to serve civilisation as in a coordinated way and be ameanable to grass-roots use. The end product must be to implement local, species-level conservation so as to create a survivable future.
Please use BioLists to help create a survivable future.
BIOLISTS: A TOOL TO FASHION A LASTING FUTURE:
47 Trendy Talking Points for Schools, etc.
UNTIL TODAY:
1) NATURE needs Trees and Worms. It never needed People - until NOW! {See Point 7}
2) For all pre-industrial time, all resources for all life came freely from nature. No longer.
3) Nature, the most full-of-wonder show on Earth, is suffering too much loss: too many extinctions.
4) People are re-activating the sixth Mass Extinction. The first five were big accidents.
5) This one is 'ours'. It's due to industries, ecocide, climate disturbance, population-x-affluence...
6) Any extinction can trigger a loss of dependent species. Loss begets loss. Think of bees.
7) Nature is helpless to reverse key extinctions. Good People can stop stupid People causing them.
8) Field work with weak Nat. Hist. & weak taxonomy = weak ecology = weak conservation.
9) Pity then for the many thinking people looking for leadership to help conservation win.
STARTING TODAY:
10) We must fight complacency and remodel traditions to get the pro-life culture we need.
11) How? Reconnect with nature by observing local species: notice their ways, and talk about them.
12) We need better Vital Sciences [new term]: these are a basic, all or nothing, series:-
13a) a/ Natural history, b/ Taxonomy, c/ Ecology, and d/ Conservation. These are for:
13b) a/ observations, b/communications, c/ species-level analysis and d/ local remedial actions.
14) To record nature: first observe, remember, talk, learn. Use local names for local species.
15) Our civilisation needs stability (peace) + electricity + good science + local communities.
16) Ecologists use raw field data to devise conservation strategies. These need local focus.
17) Common names in all languages need connecting to their scientific names and classification.
18) This happens automatically: the BioLists System contains all necessary taxonomy.
19) A few clicks for each name in
www.BioLists.com gives you all necessary taxonomy for a species.
20) BioLists makes "biolists" - biodiversity checklists - species names + notes for each sp.
21) With BioLists, using common names, you can checklist 600 random species names in an hour.
THE FUTURE, WITH BIOLISTS:
22) Ecologists can ask any number of grass-roots teams to send them specified biolists.
23) Biolists provides and manages all necessary taxonomy in a fixed, standardised format. but ---
24) Taxonomy evolves; names, classifications change. BioLists tracks these in "time-series".
25) Eg, Time-band 2000; T-b 2010, etc. You get complete taxonomic compatibility within any T-b
26) Ecologists design (global) surveys: & define the taxonomic range and data they need.
27) Pre-planned analysis strategies are matched with email requests for local, specified biolists.
28) Biolists, returned by grass-roots teams, are analysed to devise conservation strategies.
29) These same local grass-roots teams can then adapt and apply these conservation strategies.
30) BioLists + e-mail + Excel can create, analyse, distribute & archive large surveys in days.
POPULATIONS ARE KEY:
31) Local populations and habitats are where ecology happens and where conservation is needed.
32) Ecology has lost its scientific meaning. Now learn, and help revive, its great usefulness.
33) Ecology is how diverse species, living together, form functioning and lasting communities.
34) Ecology studies populations, habitats and communities where species live in harmony.
35) Naturalists also go there, but are more interested in observing how individuals live and link up.
36) A new era focused on natural history should reveal to us many aspects of sustainability.
37) eg: Nature is fundamentally cooperative: that's the way nature has evolved huge ecosystems.
A PERFECT WORLD: CONSERVATION WILL BE ALL YOU EVER NEED:
38) Local species-level conservation is key to helping heal nature - here; there; everywhere!
39) Awareness and knowledge of nature will help society find attitudes that heal all real problems.
40) Happening virally with global impact, these new attitudes just might slow extinctions.
41) With good luck, civilisation might similarly learn ways to usefully transform itself and survive.
42) Let's get closer to nature - to become part of it again. There can be no other way to win a worthwhile future.
43) Biolists is a new tool, already fully functional. please try it. To fight the 6MEE, etc, it needs:-
44) *-- a biolists management system + local provisional co-ordinators and team leaders:-
45) *-- data miners, etc (librarians, etc) to continue building BioLists' ongping database series.
46) *-- regional ecology hubs to socialise grass-roots data collectors, schools, writers, etc.
47) Care to volunteer? Send online links etc that show your existing commitment to conservation. Watch this site - - -