Survival of the Diverse

[David Metevia]

>From UTNE Reader..
Every two weeks, a language dies. Every few minutes, a species goes
extinct. Not long ago, these phenomena would have been relegated to
their separate realms: culture and nature. Now, an interdisciplinary
contingent of linguists, anthropologists, and biologists are showing
that today's epic loss of languages and of species are inextricably
linked.
Scientists don't quite know why, but areas of cultural and biological
diversity tend to overlap geographically. These bicultural hot spots,
according to Seed (Sept.-Oct. 2008), are threatened by the onslaught of
Big Agra monoculture crops like corn and wheat, invasive species such as
the beetles devastating Canada's pine forests, and the increasing
domination of the English, Spanish, and Chinese languages.
When indigenous cultures lose their languages and practices, the world
loses potentially useful agricultural or medicinal species and land-use
systems that keep crucial ecosystems in balance. Resurgence (Sept.-Oct.
2008) sees hope in Indigenous Community Conserved Areas-dozens of
homegrown conservation initiatives from the Amazon to Australia that
rely on indigenous groups' traditional knowledge to manage their lands
sustainably.
This diversity of solutions may be our best weapon against a rising tide
of sameness.

This is a slightly different tack lamenting the loss of languages.  The
same could be said for the loss of English dialects.

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