Paragraph of the week

I really like this paragraph, from an article by Tim Radford about botanist Peter Raven of the Missouri Botanical Garden:

Ecosystems, he says, can be whatever you like. Hedgerows in Hampshire are an ecosystem; so are weeds on a railway line at Hammersmith. Savannahs, grasslands, prairies, rainforests, dry forests, pine forests, uplands, heathlands, downlands, wetlands, mangrove swamps, estuaries, oxbow lakes and coral reefs are all ecosystems, and they survive on diversity. The greater the variety of microbes, plants and animals in an ecosystem, the more resilient it is and the better it works for all, including humans. So it would not be a good idea to evict at least half of these creatures, especially if nothing is known about them. But, Raven says, that is what is happening.

I love the long list, so Edward Abbey, and the mix of ecoscience jargon ("ecosystems" "resilient") and plain talk about habitats (and the news is not good for us or them). Sometimes I just like to read.