Pellegrino Research professor of biology at Harvard University, Edward O. Wilson, spoke to UW-Madison students at the Memorial Union Theater yesterday about the necessity of retaining the world's biodiversity through instituting a 'century of environmentalism' for future generations.
Wilson, a prominent figure in conservation biology and winner of two Pulitzer prizes, outlined biological problems the world now faces and called to action young scientists to preserve what remains of our given natural communities.
Wilson said it is imperative to preserve the world's variety of species.
'The people who will be remembered 100 or 200 years from now will be the conservationists for what they save, species by species,' Wilson said.
Students who attended said they felt a great deal of respect for Wilson.
'[He's] the authoritative speaker on the environmental issues so prominent today,' said UW-Madison junior Ben Spike, a physics major. 'So I think it's moving to see someone who's so experienced in the field, to hear their opinion on what needs to be done.'
Wilson advocated education and strong leadership, including teaching kids to respect nature and encouraging a cultural shift in environmental thinking.
'We don't have that kind of leadership that Gaylord Nelson was very representative of, and [leaders] have not emerged on the national scale,' Wilson said.
Students said they felt Wilson provided direction for scientific research to protect diversity of species from destructive human tendencies.
'He really brings to light how much we don't know. I mean, knowing what we don't know is a big step in realizing potential that we have to reverse the effects that we've had on the environment,' said UW-Madison sophomore Aaron McKean, assistant director of the Wisconsin Union Directorate.
Wilson stressed a need for spiritual will to guide and motivate an entire generation to protect the planet's biodiversity.
'The high technology exists, the cost is not high and the benefits will be beyond calculation,' Wilson said. 'But at the end of the day, the movement will have to be an ethical one.'
