Save The Frog

Allison Argo thinks the story of frogs “is probably the most important environmental story of our time.” She just filmed a movie documenting the decline of amphibians occurring throughout the world. I loved the show and highly recommend it (clink this link and on the show called "Thin Green Line"... http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/category/video/watch-full-episodes/). It is easy for us to have a vague conception or even apathetic response to the word extinction. We are never confronted with the reality of what extinction is or means. I assume dinosaurs are the first thing that comes to many people's minds, but dinosaurs are Hollywoodized and so intertwined in fairytale that only the 7-year-olds are contemplating their reality and still asking questions.

Imagine your family visiting Disney World, now imagine how many families have visited Disney all year long for the past 20 years. How inconspicuous and ____ (you fill in the blank) do you feel? Well, losing a species to extinction is like your family becoming abducted at Disney World. The visitors of Disney wouldn't blink a wink to your disappearance. But that disappearance wouldn't be insignificant, especially not to all the people that depend on (love) you. Similarly, amphibians have many other animals that depend on them. There are their predators, like snakes, and their prey, like crickets, that would face serious threats to their lives as a result. The show talks about other reasons why these animals are valuable. But are you valuable only because you contribute to society or your mom and friends love you and appreciate you in their lives? There is more to your value, and I don't have to be religious or speak religious-ese to define it. It is called your intrinsic value. A value for simply being or existing. Don't be a Disney World zombie, care about the intrinsic value that all life has.

I have heard of some folk that hear talk about saving a frog or protecting this and that and as soon as the animal is compared to humans they write the speaker off. Call them names, call them humanist and then say something they think God would say. How dare them! That erks me, eh.

The protector of a species about to go extinct is doing God's work! And here brings me to my reason for writing. Sure, I am specializing in this environmental conservation work, but that doesn't mean you, if you're not, have no responsibility; in fact, conservation biologists can not do it by themselves! We collectively as a human species have altered our world so much that letting things take their course isn't actually staying out of it as some may believe. Your actions throughout your day impact the environment whether you want to or not; thus, you have the responsibility to help out.

But what can you do? Don't flush medications or any chemicals down toilets. Remove "out of sight, out of mind" mentality. Don't fertilize your lawn, or if you do, use less fertilizer and plant lots of vegetation in a buffer around any bodies of water on your property. Keep your eyes open, ears clear, and mind receptive to any information coming out about endangered animals that might be affected by your lifestyle and figure out what you can do to help. Be a 7-year-old and contemplate the majesty of animals and ask questions.



This past weekend I took these frog photos at the Nature Center where I get to work.