Ecosystems Bounce Back Faster Than Expected

Back about a decade ago or so, I had the privilege to work as an assistant to the late David Brower, a former executive director of the Sierra Club, founder of several environmental groups, and the famed subject of the writer John McPhee's 1971 book "Encounters with the Archdruid," which is about Brower and his conflicts with three ideological foes.

Following him around on his speaking tours, I got to hear his "sermon" a lot. Dubbed "Healing Time on Earth," or, "Global CPR for the Earth," (the CPR acronym in this case standing for conservation, protection, and restoration), near the end of his speech he would inevitably begin to discuss why the world needs more environmental restoration. He would squeeze the history of the planet into the "six days of creation," showing the vast imprint on the planet by human beings in our relatively brief moment on Earth. Brower would point out that during his 80 plus years on the planet alone the world had used up four times as many resources as in all previous history.

As global population skyrockets, and technologies advance, it has left our planet’s natural resources beaten, abused, and destroyed. Restoring those damaged ecosystems is essential. Like Brower would say, “There will be no sex [or music, or Tonic, etc.] on a dead planet.” Brower would also cite how some groups and individuals are making inspiring efforts to repair damage to polluted rivers and streams or re-planting on denuded mountain sides, and then he would always ask: "How many people in this audience would be willing to commit at least a year of their lives, out of the next ten, to volunteering for this restoration effort, either getting paid or not?"

I mention all this because in my job as your Tonic World News Blogger I scan with much more frequency nowadays the Internet news portals. And there is great news coming from the green surge getting underway in Washington with the Barack Obama team. The Environmental Protection Agency is rolling out a much needed, large-scale $400 million plan to restore the Great Lakes, and $342 million was approved yesterday by the Congress to repair Florida’s Everglades. In perhaps the best restoration news of late, a new study by the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies has found that if communities make the commitment to restore, the ecosystems are bouncing back faster than previously thought. According to the Christian Science Monitor, the study states that “forests recovered within 42 years, but ocean floors in less than a decade. Polluted ecosystems -- those plagued by oil spills, mining, trawling, or invasive species -- could recover in just five years. Only 15 percent were deemed beyond recovery.”

Brower would have been, or maybe he is, on Cloud Nine hearing the latest restoration news. I’m not going to ask for a show of hands, but I do think it's worthwhile pointing you toward a good online resource to learn more about how you can follow through on making a promise to be a restoration volunteer. The Global Restoration Network, an online resource for environmental restoration info, includes this page on volunteer opportunities.

(Photo courtesy of NASA)