It is Wednesday, my dudes: Snakes

 

Welcome, my dudes! Today marks the start of a weekly series of blog posts that will focus on amphibian/reptile-related content. I have always dreamed of having a career in herpetology, even as a child, and hope to pursue this passion in writing by educating my readers on all things herpetological through the discussion of how important these animals are to the environments they live in. If you're anything like me, you'll love learning about these incredibly fascinating creatures! 

While protecting animals and the environment has become "trendy" in recent years, most of these campaigns focus on charismatic megafauna such as elephants or big cats, and not enough attention is paid to reptiles and amphibians. "Herps", as they're collectively called, are often viewed with disgust, fear, or contempt (especially snakes). My goal is to educate readers, not only to eliminate these feelings of negativity, but also so that they may share what they've learned with others. Perhaps, little by little, the public's perception of herps will begin to change!

Stop Killing Snakes (Even the "Dangerous" Ones)

Snakes are undoubtedly one of the most feared groups of animals on the planet. The public's hatred of them is so severe that merely the word "snake" has a negative connotation in Western society, and it's become commonplace to attach this label to someone if you think they've wronged or betrayed you in some way. As it stands, the general apathy towards them has been responsible for the deaths of millions of snakes worldwide, and many are killed simply out of spite or hatred. This is damaging not just to snake populations, but also the ecosystems they inhabit. 

Image Credit: Charles Baker

Perhaps the most common reason people have for killing snakes is that they believe them to be "dangerous". I personally know someone that used to kill any snake they could find in their yard, simply because they thought they were going to hurt their dogs. Truthfully, most snakes could not pose a threat to anything larger than a mouse, even if they wanted to, and the few that do possess medically-significant venom will never strike unprovoked. Absurd tales of snakes hunting or even chasing people have been debunked over and over, yet many still believe them. If you learn anything from this post, let it be that a snake will not hurt you so long as you do not approach it (and most would still rather run than bite). 

Snakes from an Anthropocentric Perspective

One of the most common tactics employed by animal conservation groups to protect "less charismatic" species, is to explain how they are beneficial to humans. I could rant about how no living thing should need to have it's existence justified by simply being valuable to us, but that would be beyond the scope of this post. Regardless, snakes do provide a number of services that we unquestionably benefit from, such as preying on rodents, which are known to spread disease (see: Bubonic Plague). This also indirectly allows for better yields of crops, as mice and rats are known to feed on agricultural plants.

Another important benefit that you may not be aware of is that the venom of some snake species has pharmaceutical applications. The same substance that allows many snakes to hunt and kill prey could actually prove invaluable for saving lives. This biological toxin is a complex chemical mixture of enzymes/other proteins, and there is a fair amount of evidence suggesting that these compounds can be used to treat a variety of diseases, including cancers! When taking into account such a huge boon that snakes could provide to humankind, it seems silly to treat them with anything but respect. 

Snakes from an Ecological Perspective

In addition to the benefits they provide for humans, snakes are more important to the ecosystems they live in. You might think of each snake as being relatively the same, but did you know that there are actually over 3400 species of snakes in the world? This means that they occupy a similarly diverse number of habitats, and the absence of snakes would have catastrophic environmental consequences. 

Image Credit: Geoff Gallice

All snakes fill the ecological role of being predators and thus serve to keep the populations of their prey species in check. You probably remember learning in middle school science class that killing a predator can be harmful to the prey in the long run. By removing the predator, the prey populations are more likely to grow too rapidly, and overshoot the carrying capacity of their ecosystems. This in turn affects the overall meta food web. The same logic can be applied to snakes and their prey. 

Taking into account how important they are for our environment, any person with a semblance of care towards our planet should by association care about snakes. If you'd like to know more about what you can do to help protect snakes, this website would be a good place to start. I'd also encourage anyone with even the slightest interest in snakes to visit their nearest zoo (assuming they are kept there), so that they can be learned about in person!

On the Color Green...

Image credit: "SBS Digit"

When thinking of "green" what thoughts come to mind? What does your brain associate with this rather ordinary color? Perhaps you imagine your house plant, Robert, a fat stack of cold-hard cash, your favorite sports team, or simply, "my favorite color!". For many of us, this is the color we've come to equate with the natural world, and it's become commonplace to denote something as "Green _____" if we view it as being better for our planet than an alternative option. But why, out of all the colors present in nature, was green chosen as the de facto representation of the environment? Sure, it adorns a great many plants and animals, but why not choose a color such as blue, which is undoubtedly much more abundant because of its relation to the sky or ocean? You never hear about "blue energy", or "blue jobs". As a blogging environmentalist, I personally am exhausted with hearing about "Green things", which is why I will avoid using the color as a descriptor of environmental concerns going forward. 

The recent phenomenon of labeling all manner of things as "Green" or "eco-friendly", regardless of any truth to those characterizations has become known as "greenwashing". Often, manufacturers will make liberal use of the color Green not only when labeling their product, but in their packaging to appeal to the public's emerging "green sensibility". Nowadays, consumers can purchase a variety of such commodities, like green cat litter, or energy efficient banana bread makers, but in reality, not all of these products are environmentally friendly. For example, it's becoming more and more common for shoppers to bring their own "eco-conscious" cloth tote bags in place of using the plastic bags at the grocery store. There are good intentions behind this trend, but did you know that many of these bags could take as much 7,000x more energy to manufacture in comparison to plastic ones? Therefore, it is important to take not only the materials used to make something into consideration, but the method in which it was produced before buying something due to it being "green". 

How have you tried to reduce your impact on the Earth? Have you been the victim of "greenwashed" products? Share your thoughts in the comments.

An Introduction to Writing Earth

As someone who has devoted their entire adult life to studying biology and environmental science, I believe firmly that people generally want to do what they can to protect our planet. We are so often exposed to the eminent dangers our world faces, that it can often seem daunting just doing anything to help it. My hope is that the content shared here will not only give the reader a better understanding of environmental ailments, but what they can personally do to remedy them.  

It was also of extreme importance to me that a digital space was created for users to share any thoughts or insights they might have on anything of relevance to the subject matter of this blog, which is why everyone is encouraged to participate in the discussion in the comments section. Anthropological climate change, plastic pollution, green energy, these are all complicated issues, and solutions will not arise from one mind. I welcome those of all backgrounds to share their contributions.