The Rural Voice, 2003-02, Page 10DAVID E. GREIN
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6 THE RURAL VOICE
Keith Roulston
Which scientists do you listen to?
Keith
Roulston is
editor and
publisher of
The Rural
Voice. He
lives near
Blyth, ON.
As the scientist spoke at a recent
farm meeting, I was furiously
scribbling notes when a thought
crossed my mind: this was not the
kind of science I'm usually reporting
to farm readers.
Later, looking back I got thinking
that, in this day and age when people
want "science -based" debate and
policies, what you know and under-
stand still comes down to which
scientists you listen to.
The speaker was a consultant on
environmental issues, particularly
concerning water. He'd done studies
on the health of streams and the
• effect of the drop in the algae level in
the Great Lakes caused by zebra
mussels, among other things. He
introduce me, and others in the room,
to a whole world we seldom think of
in the day-to-day world of farming.
His talk reminded me of another
revelation years ago when a soil
scientist spoke about the myriad of
tiny animals that live in the soil and
the various tasks they undertake in
breaking down organic material to
create healthy soil. She also dealt
with the effect farm chemicals can
have on that soil life.
Both talks are a reminder that
there are many kinds of scientists and
generally in agriculture we hear from
only a small sector of the scientific
community. Just as in government
there's talk of ministries working in
"silos", isolated from each other, very
specialized scientists often concen-
trate on one area and may not even be
aware of the effect of their break-
throughs on some other part of the
world of science.
The two speakers in question
revealed a very complicated world
where one small change can have far-
reaching consequences. The
introduction of zebra mussels into the
Great Lakes through international
shipping, for instance, might actually
change the growing conditions for
farmers in the lee of Lake Huron.
That's because the zebra mussels, far
more than being pests that clog water
intake pipes, also devour algae in the
lake water. It makes the water clearer,
allowing sunlight to penetrate deeper
and warming it more. This can
change the very species of fish that
survive because temperature and
oxygen content of the water affects
some fish more than others.
But the warmer water seems to be
keeping the lakes from freezing over.
Those of us who live in the snowbelt
are aware of the difference the
freezing of the lakes can mean in
precipitation we receive. Could the
simple introduction of the zebra
mussels affect the ability of Great
Lakes region farmers to make a
profit? Who knows?
We're into a battle of scientists
right now, between whose who see
the world relatively simply, and those
who see a vast, complicated world
where minute changes can bring
uncalculated repercussions. We have
geneticists, for instance, who speak
with absolute certainty about the
effects of changing the genetic
structures of plants or animals while
we have environmentalists who
worry about the possible affect of
unknown factors on a complicated
ecosystem.
In the Kyoto debate, for instance,
a group of geologists from Alberta is
disputing the predictions of global
warming issued by thousands of
climatologists from around the world.
Who you believe tends to depend on
what you want to believe. Of course
if those who support the cutting of
greenhouse gases are wrong, we
could have some short-term
economic dislocation but in the long
run we'll end up with cleaner air. If
the opponents are wrong, we could
end up with incalculable ramifica-
tions for our ability to live on this
planet.
I guess in the long run the
scientist I want to trust is the one
who's humble enough to ask "what if
I'm wrong."O