I agree. What's frivolous about the monarch research? Aside from being a disease model, it's a species that many, many people value greatly. The fact that you can't eat monarchs, or (at this point) use them for biomedical research is not the point. People simply like them. It's no different to spend money on their conservation than it is to spend money on repairing the Lincoln Memorial, keeping up the works in the National Gallery of Art, or repairing the trails at the Grand Canyon. So far, the public is not completely utilitarian about spending money. Research is needed to know how most effectively to spend the money on conservation. If disesase is an important variable, it needs to be studied.
- Rob Baldwin, South Carolina On Tue, Oct 28, 2008 at 11:31 PM, David M. Lawrence <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > What's frivolous about basic research like this? > > Dave > > > Paul Cherubini wrote: > >> Jason L Kindall wrote: >> >> Viewed alone, it might be pretty hard to justify research on fruit flies >>> to the average Joe (plumber >>> or six-pack). Connect it with autism or human health and then it becomes >>> more palatable to the public. >>> >> >> Perhaps Sarah Palin and the average Joe's are refering >> to the big research grants that are awarded for seemingly >> frivolous projects like the one below dealing with the health of an >> economically unimportant, but charasmatic insect: >> http://tinyurl.com/2d6r9f >> $679,492 Grant to assist professor's study of butterflies >> >> Altizer received the National Science Foundation Faculty >> Early Development Career award to study migration and >> infectious disease patterns in Monarch butterflies. >> >> Altizer hopes her research will help with conservation. She wants to know >> how migration keeps Monarchs healthy. >> "People tend to love Monarchs to death," Altizer said. Keeping humans from >> disrupting the butterflies' migration will help keep them healthy. >> >> Paul Cherubini >> El Dorado, Calif. >> > > -- > ------------------------------------------------------ > David M. Lawrence | Home: (804) 559-9786 > 7471 Brook Way Court | Fax: (804) 559-9787 > Mechanicsville, VA 23111 | Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > USA | http: http://fuzzo.com > ------------------------------------------------------ > > "We have met the enemy and he is us." -- Pogo > > "No trespassing > 4/17 of a haiku" -- Richard Brautigan >
