I am preparing a lecture and am in need of material that demonstrates
the delicate balance of the world's ecosystem. For instance one good
example would be the famous quote of Albert Einstein, without the bee
population the man would have about 4 years of survival. His point as
I understood it was that the bee, in its purusuit of pollen, causes
pollenation of a third of the world's plants. Those two facts would be
valuable, (Einstin's exact quote and support material, as well as in
fact how involved in plant's continued existance is the honeybee.) as
well as any other material that shows the volitailty and the delicate
balance of the ecosystem. Ie, if one part of it weren't in place the
entire system would collapse and green life on planet earth would
cease to be... Other possible areas would be rain fall, if such and
such were to change the average rainfall on the planet would drop
to... not allowing for the sustaining of plant life. Or if such and
such parasite weren't on the bottom of the decomposers, the entire
food web would collapse....

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Request for Question Clarification by easterangel-ga on 22 Feb 2004 16:58 PST

Hi!

Do you really need materials based on famous qoutes about the
material? Or would any material demonstrating the delicate balance in
the ecosystem be sufficient for your needs? One example will be...

http://www.westernwatersheds.org/watmess/watmess_2003/2003html_spring/article6.htm

Thanks!

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Request for Question Clarification by easterangel-ga on 22 Feb 2004 18:29 PST

Furthermore, how many articles do you need? 10? 15? 20?

Thanks!

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Clarification of Question by barrys-ga on 24 Feb 2004 13:38 PST

I am specificly looking for those quotes from Einstein, amongst
others. The exact number of quotes doesn't really matter as much as
the potency. So if I had three quotes or more specificly facts,  that
really show how delicate the ecosystem is that would do. For instance
"with some minor change the entire system collapses"... Or "everytime
they put together a biosphere they fail"..

I'm sure others besides Albert Einstien have given other examples, but
most scientists think our ecosystem is quite robust. ie the loss of
all bees would be a disater for some kinds of plants, but other
insects and mechanisms polinate most plants instead of or in addition
to bees. Also the hybred seeds do not need to be polinated, and they
have largely replaced natural (agriculture) seeds to some peoples
distress.

I don't understand why Albert Einstien would be considered an
authority on Environmental stability.  Also, I would think that his
illustration would be completely wrong.  For example, bees have to
compete with other insects and things for pollen - for example, the
hummingbird is in competion with the honey bee.

Since there have been massive die-offs in the geologic records, but
some species are still here, it would seem to say things are not as
fragile as Albert Einstien implied.

Maybe the correct answer is that you are barking up the wrong tree.

Barry,

This may be the Einstein quote that you seek:

" Decades ago, Albert Einstein came up with a prediction that has
become somewhat of an anthem for beekeepers.

'If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe," Einstein is
reported to have said, 'then man would only have four years of life
left.' "

http://www.thejournalnews.com/newsroom/022104/b0321beekeep.html

" 'If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would
only have four years of life left.'
- a quotation attributed to Albert Einstein"

http://www.cbc.ca/national/science/bees.html