>Nature is the enemy. Nature produces the virus, the bacteria, the mites
>that kill our bees (and us). Nature has brought more species to extinction
>than man has ever seen or heard of. Our fight is against nature, but if we
>can get the enemy to give us some quarter every once and a while I am all
>for taking what I can get.
 
Al, you say "Nature is the enemy" ? Nature is nature and it certainly is not
the enemy ! Were it not for nature, you for one would not exist ! The
viruses,
the mites, the bacteria, etc., are all nature's natural controls. They would
most likely "not have gotten to the present out of control state" if man
were
not constantly messing around with this and with that - and subsequently
throwing all nature out of balance. You also need to remember that, because
life depends on other forms of life to live.
 
I'd like you to consider Al, which form of life is responsible for the
most massive everlasting irreversible destruction on this lovely planet
- the mites or us humans ? I don't see any mites putting their trash in
our local town dump that threatens our water supply!
 
I merely am submittinmg that the mites occupy their place in the
scheme of things and have gotten out of hand in the first place most
likely because man ships stuff all over the planet and the mites hitch
along for the ride. One of the things that man moves around are
beehives. Whatever is in the hive then goes along for the ride and
finds new territory within to operate. Is this nature or man ?
 
Those bits of life that couldn't make it, that you blame on nature for
running into extinction, are simply examples of genetics that didn't work
in the environment in which that bit life was living.
 
Since we insist on mucking about with everything in sight, we have created
situations in which some things run wild and out of control because we
have been messing about with the natural controls somewhere along the line.
 
For example, rabbits were let loose in Australia to control something
( I cannot recall, but perhaps one of our Aussie List members can
remind us) and now they are a total pest with people having to run about
in the back forty and shoot the buggers before these cute little critters,
popular at Easter, make the continent inhospitable to man.
 
I am not picking on our Aussie friends, as I am sure we have
plenty of good examples here in the USA. Bunnies just popped
into my head.
 
So who is kidding who here - nature is our enemy ?
 
Al Needham
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                            Scituate, MA.,USA
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