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Show Five times in this planet's history, it has faced the threat of massive extinctions and each time those epidemics of extinctions were triggered by world-wide natural catastrophes. We all now know of the meteor that struck the Earth near today’s Yucatan Peninsula about 65 Ken G Jane Sleight’s million years ago. It ultimately caused the extinction of the dinosaurs and led to the rise PACK CREEK RANCH of mammalian life as the dominant life form. Today we face the Sixth Extinction, and for the first time, the threat comes not froma natural disaster but from our own doing. Humans have never had a very good track record as stewards of this planet. We have never been praised for our farsightedness. There is an A Country Inn & Guest Ranch overwhelming amount of evidence that the first human inhabitants of Australia dramatically altered the environment of their continent through their practice of setting fire to the land. They may have eliminated the large herbivorous marsupials as a result. The first humans across the Bering Strait and into North America may have caused the uy i extinction of large mammals here as well. Strangely enough, their soon-to-be 21st Century descendants often take pleasure from information like that. We ‘High Tech Humans’ would often prefer to think that our ancestors of the distant past were no better than we are today...as if that should make us feel better. But just to make sure we cast blame in the proper direction, consider a recent study in Australia. bay! Sas Five times in this planet's history, it has faced the threat of massive extinctions and each time they were triggered by world-wide natural catastrophes... Today we face the Sixth Extinction, and for the first time, the threat comes not from a natural disaster, but from our own doing. Much has been made of these revelations about aboriginal fires and how they altered the landscape. Many have come to believe that were it not for those fires, the Australian continent might be a much lusher and greener place than the ‘sunburnt country’ it has become. But recent studies, “using new techniques to date sediment deposits, have found dramatic erosion, heavy sediment deposits and changes in river systems since the arrival of European settlers,” barely 200 years ago. The changes were brought on by unsustainable farming, land clearing, hard-hooved animals and exotic pests, which all combined to create WE WILL BE OPEN FOR DINNER FRIDAY 6 SATURDAY NIGHTS: a catastrophic effect on the land. We managed to inflict more damage on the continent in two centuries than the Aboriginal people could cause in 400. Please call for a reservation Now in the last six moths of the second millennium, we find ourselves in a paradoxical position. We are the only species with the power to save our planet and the only one with the power to destroy it. You might say: it’s our option. But in terms of our survival, there really isn’t any option at all. Member of the La Sal Mountain Lodging Association PO. Box 1270 Moab, UT 84532 435,259. 5505 Note: These are the books and periodicals I used in writing this story. They are excellent, if not disturbing, sources of information: Earth Time By David Suzuki. Stoddart Publishing Company, Ltd. Copyright 1998. The Future Eaters By Tim Flannery. Reed Books. Copyright 1994 email: pcr@packcreekranch.com National Geographic, Volume 195, No. 2 "The Sixth Extinction” By Virginia Morell Visit our web site: www.packcreekranch.com CONTACT US VIA E MAIL AT: zephyr@lasal.net We host weddings, workshops 6 conferences with full food service available. THE WEB ADDRESS IS: www.canyoncountryzephyr.com Tex's RIVERWAYS z P.O. Box 67 = Moab, THE LAZY LIZARD 691 N. 500 West (801) 259-S101 3-D RIVER VISIONS, INC. UT 84532 INTERNATIONAL So...Am 1? Or aren't |? MISSION STATEMENT: No uniforms ARE TAKE YOU HOSTEL DRTYP A SHOWER FoR 42 No dress code Minimal grooming standards Tie-dyed pants sarongs (underwear optional) Every vehicle a different color a tc , ead No credit cards As Tex often told us: "We're a funny thang.!" CANOE OUTFITTING SHUTTLESERVICE JETBOAT TOURS AND CHECZ OUT OUR NGUTLY RATES THE BEST DEAL IN TOWN ONE. MILE. SOUTH OF TO\WN ON UiGHWAY 191 259-6057 |