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From: MCGRATH%OZ.AI.MIT.EDU@XX.LCS.MIT.EDU ("Jim McGrath")
Newsgroups: net.space
Subject: Re: Safety
Message-ID: <12189727365.61.MCGRATH@OZ.AI.MIT.EDU>
Date: Mon, 10-Mar-86 21:52:18 EST
Article-I.D.: OZ.12189727365.61.MCGRATH
Posted: Mon Mar 10 21:52:18 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 12-Mar-86 04:45:36 EST
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    From: hplabs!sdcrdcf!oberon!smeagol!earle@ucbvax.berkeley.edu  (Greg Earle)
    Fishermen in Japan were slaughtering dolphins because they
    *thought* they were the cause of their low fishing yields!

Actually, I was under the impression that the most efficient net
designs had the side effect of catching dolphins as well as the target
fish (such as tuna).  Thus the problem was an economic and
technological, not an educational, one.

    My idea of the main point in going into space is that an
    unintended offshoot will be to get all the *fucking people* off of
    the earth, so maybe the Planet and the animals (who beat us here
    by a LONG time) will have a slim chance of repairing all the
    damage that humans have caused to the ecosystem.

While I agree with your general point about population pressures, I
have to disagree with your prejudice against the human race.  Humans
are part of the ecosystem, which means that they cannot "damage" it any
more than other species.  They can harm other species, sometimes
ultimately harming themselves, but species competition is the way of
life.  Humans can be stupid when they are destructive, but I don't
feel they are somehow fundamentally immoral when competing with other
species.


Jim
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