A bit on invertebrates. Past. Present. Future.
Any animal form that’s not
microbial and lacks a spine…from tiny worms up ta somethin’ as
big as a giant octopus er squid, is an invertebrate. They’ve been
around just a whole lot longer than us vertebrates…and most
certainly will outlast us.
There simply is no way to quantify
how much good they’ve done and are doin’ for us now. And how much
we depend on them. So why are we allowing their numbers and numbers
of species to crash? That is what’s going on here on planet earth
right now, ya know. Daily, species of animal life are sliding into
the extinction bin, many of them invertebrates.
Let me give you examples of their
past generosities. Right here, close by, in Lee and Ogle County;
where we’re still living off their largess, mining it: our once
extremely rich and fertile prairie soils.
As native plants crept after
receding glacial ice, they brought their invertebrate cohabitants
with them. Of course they provided benefits like pollination, but
through constant “invertebrate excrement rain,” a very nitrogen
rich rain, they enriched the surface beneath them, creating more
robust plant life, more invertebrates, more excrement rain and….
MUCH OF OUR INHERITANCE ALREADY
SQUANDERED!
Well, if the process is allowed to
continue for ten er 12 thousand years, dead plant material digested
by other invertebrates and then microbes, all of them excreting’
constantly, all the time…. As you’re most likely aware these
nutrient rich accumulations stacked up in places quite deep,
sometimes in excess of six feet…much of which we’ve already
squandered.
Right “now” what are they doing
for us? They pollinate many of our essential crops, they makes us
sweets and produce fine silk, and we eat them directly, oysters,
scallops, squid…they also provide us with the lovely music of the
night if you’re lucky enough at hang out in places where one can
hear it, and don’t forget they’re in the food chain.
There is no way I can innumerate all
things they do for us, because I don’t know all that much. But I
know that we can’t make it here on this planet without them. And
that makes me wonder why we’re workin’ so fast and furiously in
our collective effort in killin’ ‘em off?
Spraying broad spectrum and deadly
chemicals by air sure as hell is one effective method towards
stampin’ ‘em out, I sure as hell know that.
I often am able to stand out in a
mature prairie field in the evening, just before dark. Damn. The
cacophony of invertebrate sound is so vibrant that it seems ta come
up the bottoms of my feet.
Now go out and stand in the middle
of a corn field. One would think it almost a dead zone by comparison.
In the future…they won’t do
anything for us, ‘cause we won’t be here. With us gone the
numbers will come roaring back, and through evolution so will many
new species. And the planet will be restored to health again…just
without us there ta see it. The miracle of geologic time. Don’t
worry folks. The mess we leave behind will be cleaned up.
But let’s pay attention to want’s
goin’ on around us, right here and now, to what’s still left of
the environment.
Story 4
After receiving these two flat-out
refusals to talk, what was I ta do? I decided to bring it up for
discussion at the next gathering of the COTEFers, which came off as
sorta loosely planned 'round camp fire out here in these spooky
woods.
Just since our last get-together,
our numbers swelled by half. Still plenty a room fer others, though.
You bet.
REBIRTH OF MANURE MAN
Ruby May was sorta actin' as
hostess. Refreshments, etc. Right Reverend Marques set there tunin'
up his banjo. And now there's this second musician, too. Kendra.
Except fer her liking ta do things with dead animals, she seems ta me
ta be...well, not normal, but nice. And crazy. She plays and sings
with the Reverend a lot. Then there's this old curmudgeon, a retread
who's come to us as if outta the past: the former Manure Man of
DeKalb Co. Vigilante fame. He's much older, but he's still got that
wildly insane look in his eyes.
The next logical step. That was the
question?
“I think a law suit against Woodly
Aviation is a must,” that was Ruby May Glamper's suggestion.
“Not a bad idea, seein' as Stan was
found conclusively guilty fer killin' of my fish bait. But this has
ta be an issue much bigger than just these right-here local
crawdads.”
Reverend Marques pointed to the
obvious fact that there were a lot more people harmed by that
week-long chemical blitz besides me, even though most of ‘em didn't
know they'd been harmed; harmed by a reduced and degraded
environment, none the less. The agreement there around warm fire with
Kendra gently strummin' the beginnings of her burstin' into a tune,
was unanimous. Kendra and Marques. They're writin' a song about the
Great Grove Creek Crayfish Massacre. They're pretty good.
WHAT ABOUT LEGAL ACTION?
“So if we did decide ta initiate
legal action, it should be in the form of like a class-action suit.
Maybe takin' in everyone along the course Kite Creek drainage? Is
that sort of what yer thinkin', Rev?”
“Yeah, sorta. Let me do some more
thinkin' on this.”
“Take yer time.”
“The next logical step,” chimes
in Dina, “Is to find out how these chemicals got approved for
aerial spraying? dudes.”
“That should be easy,” chimes in
Kendra. “The EPA has to approve all these chemicals. Through the
Freedom of Information, we should be able to access all of that.”
“Are you willing to do that?” The
crowd wants to know.
“Yeah,” Kendra comes back. “I'm pretty
sure I can handle it.”
The Manure Man pipes up that he's
sufferin' some confusion with this gathering, what’s our stated
goal, what er who's our target. And he wants ta know why those
settin' around there ain’t addressin' me as “Vig.”
“I'll do the “Vig” part first,
M &M. I'm not the Vig. The Vig is retired. The EcoVig is a
movement. Much grander than me. Stick around, you'll see.”
“So what are we supposta, how are
we supposta address ya then?”
“How about just Brother David,
co-founder of the Grove Creek Chapter of Church of the Earth First.
Ya, Brother David. That'll do, M&M.”
THE BANNING OF THESE LETHAL CHEMICALS
“As for stated goals, high on our
agenda is eliminating deadly chemicals like the ones that got sprayed
all over Lee and Ogle counties. The ones that killed all the crayfish
and other invertebrates in Grove Creek, and other streams that were
affected as well....especially their use as aerial sprays. I think
makin' this a ballot box issue by the mid-term elections, here in Lee
and Ogle counties....I think that’s a realistic possibility.”
“Yer gonna have to educate John Q.
Public then, who ain't too bright, Brother David.”
“It’s not that John Q's not
bright enough for this M&M, it’s just like back when we did
that Vigilante thing way back...phew, more than 30 years ago. Once ya
get John Q's attention you'll find plenty of smarts there.”
“Grabbin' the public's attention,
Vig....eh. Excuse me, brother David, you know that’s my specialty.
You know what Id’a done and right from the beginning. Do you mind
if I just call you Broth?”
“No. That’s fine. I'll answer ta
Broth.”
“Yes. M&M. I've a good idea
how you'd maneuver. But this time around I don't think we'll have ta
stoop to yer odoriferous tactics.
MANURE MIGHT NOT BE CALLED FOR
“First, M&M, there already
exists a great deal of concern with respect to these deadly
chemicals. In fact, I'm amazed at all the like-minded people I've run
inta since this crayfish kill thing got started. Now it’s just
sorta a matter of pullin' these like-minded folks together. This is a
serious game in which numbers count.”
“You know, Broth, lots of people
are gonna think we're crazy fer goin' up against the chemical-
agro-industry. They're awfully big, awfully powerful.”
“Sure. I'm aware of all of that.
But I'm also aware that right, truth, has a chance ta tip the scale
in our direction. I'm bettin' that should we be able to inform enough
people, we can master the fulcrum point.”
Music and frivolity up-staged
anything even close ta serious conversation then. The moon came up
through the naked trees. Coyotes howled and great horned owls
screamed and hooted as the fire turned
ta coals.
We said we'd soon meet again.
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