Hello again all,

This ‘campfire chat’ was inspired by something I read in a peer-reviewed journal; coincidentally, that evening I saw a major network series talking about the topic.

There are a number of scientists around the world working together in an attempt to resurrect a species that has been extinct for about 13.000 years.  This represents a giant leap in our technological abilities, and also introduces an ethical dilemma.

Remember how I said this blog might offend your sensibilities?  If you’re a conservationist, environmentalist, or a human being living on this planet, you’re potentially going to get upset in a moment.

Back to the ethical dilemma.

If the researchers succeed in bringing a cloned wooly mammoth back to life, it would be awe-inspiring.  Imagine seeing a wooly mammoth mucking about in your favorite patch of grasslands.  I would be awe-struck.  Now, if scientists can resurrect a species that has been extinct for millennia, then what’s to stop them making clones of more recently extinct animals?

If we can effectively re-create a species, what is the motivation to conserve them in the first place?  It becomes a case of, “Whoops, I killed off the last of the [insert species here].  Meh, let’s make some new ones.”

Thoughts?

– C. R.