Scientist shares new vision of conservation

Millbrook — Peter Kareiva, Ph.D., delivered a lecture, An Environmental Vision for the Future, at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies Friday, Aug. 26. He told a full house how existing environmental metaphors no longer work.Kareiva is the chief scientist for The Nature Conservancy and a bit of a controversial figure.“Peter has rattled some cages with his message on the environment and how the old ways of thinking about things are not likely to work,” said William H. Schlesinger, president of the Cary Institute. “That we need to turn the subject on its head, broaden it to recognize that the country is increasingly diverse. It can’t simply be a white middle-class suburban effort to preserve the environment and preserve biodiversity. We all need to be in this.”Kareiva criticized entrenched conservation tropes such as preserving pristine wilderness, pitting the environment against the economy and the rejection of technology.“Instead of being scientific, it’s become a religion,” said Kareiva. “Instead of being a rational scientific discussion of trade-offs, stakeholders and what future do we want for the planet in the context of the many different people who have needs, it’s become a religion. Another way of describing it is misanthropy, antigrowth, antitechnology, dogmatic, purist, zealous, exclusive, romantic pastoralism. That’s not a good message.”Kareiva said the conservation movement needs to stop romanticizing nature and instead celebrate nature in cities, embrace how technology can help conservation, partner with businesses and include youth and minorities. “The future of conservation and the environment is going to have to embrace a broad constituency and business,” said Kareiva. “If it embraces that and elevates it and there is less of the fear moderating and the overstatement of fragile nature, we will be in good shape.” Following the lecture, Kareiva answered questions from the audience. The response was a mixture of praise and criticism; some believed his views were extreme while others felt it was a step in the right direction. The Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies’ next guest lecturer will be Fen Montaigne. He will speak on Fraser’s Penguins: A Journey to the Future in Antarctica on Oct. 28. All of the Cary Institutes events are free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.ecostudies.org.