Middle East Infection Laura Kelsey, OP Contriubutor I am a Canadian; and I support our Canadian military troops wherever they may be sent.» : However, this does not mean I support every mission that may be imposed on the young men and women, especially not if they are serving a government that may be betraying them. I sup- port the soldiers’ lives and rights, but both are being lost at an increasing rate throughout Afghanistan. Perhaps the swirling sands of the Middle East have blinded the Canadian government. This would at least explain why Steven Harper has had to grasp onto George Bush’s hand to lead him though this political storm. But the news reports from Afghanistan counter the Conservative’s call for a continuance of Canadian troops fighting in the country. Even if the media were attempting to focus on posi- tive aspects of the missions, it would be hard to ignore the fact that swarms of Afghani people are cheering when one of our soldiers is blown up by one of the “terrorists” that are suppos- edly plaguing their country. This is not usually how a public shows its gratitude for soldiers whom are giving their lives to aid in their “freedom.” The fact that we have witnessed Afghanis celebrating, instead of building memorials, in the wake of a soldier’s death is 4 not-so-subtle hint that the mission is fruitless. So, why are we continuing to sacrifice more lives to a war in which gratitude is scarce and the end seems impossible? Seeking out the Taliban in the dusty mountains of the Middle East may seem like the. proactive approach, and would definitely correspond to our anthem’s call for standing on guard for our country, far and wide. But while all of our resources are being worn thin on the other side of the world, doesn’t that leave our homeland open and defenseless? With all money on military matters, do healthcare and other heavy-hitting issues get postponed/cancelled? With each passing day, Canada seems to forget that the continent that we reside in is called North America, not just America, and that the “true north, strong and free” included in our anthem is what separates us from the “rockets red glare,’ “the bombs bursting in ait” of the United States. . Science Matters David Suzuki, David Suzuki Foundation ~ Most people have heard of the “butterfly effect”—the idea that a small change, such as a but- terfly flapping its wings in one part of the world, can set in motion a series of events that leads to a big event, such as a tornado, somewhere else. The term is largely used as a metaphor, but science now shows that there’s a literal aspect to the theory that has much broader implica- tions. To say that everything is connected to everything else has become a cliché, but it’s true— especially in nature. Scientist and author James Lovelock uses the term “Gaia” to describe the Earth as a living, self-regulating system. According to this hypothesis, all of the planet’s biolog- ical creatures are intimately connected with all of its physical systems, from the soils to the oceans to the atmosphere. Changes in any of these systems can affect everything else. We can see how connected everything is when we release long-lasting substances into the atmosphere. Toxins, for example, can drift out of a smokestack in Hamilton, Ontario or Mumbai, India, circle the earth on the winds or ocean currents, and end up in seemingly pris- tine areas such as the Far North. In fact these toxins are now found concentrated in the fat of marine mammals and in human breast milk. [n an interconnected world, even a creature as small and seemingly inconsequential as the tiny, shrimp-like krill can have a big impact. These one-to-two centimeter-long creatures already plav an important role in the ocean food-chain and are a staple in the diet of some of the world’s largest whales. But krill are so small that few would have suspected they could play an important role in generating currents that help mix our ocean waters. Yet, that’s exactly what a team of researchers from the University of Victoria found off -- the coast of British Columbia’s Vancouver Island. The researchers looked at a deep ocean inlet where different layers of the water mix very little. They found that thousands of krill, on their nightly upward migration from the deep water to the surface to feed, increased the mixing of 6 THE OTHER PRESS OCTOBER 19 2006 P| Tina Beerenferger in San Kristopher. Wife of Canadian soldier Corporal Robbie Beerenfenger, killed in Kabul. water by three to four orders of magnitude. In other words, these tiny creatures actually caus: quite a stir. And it isn’t just krill that cause this water stirring, or “turbulence.” All living organisms that exhibit similar behaviour can cause turbulence, helping to bring cold, nutrient-rich water up to the surface. This exchange of cold and warm water is vital to the productivity of the oceans. It also helps break down human wastes and it even plays an important role in the cli- mate. But turbulence has largely been thought to be driven almost exclusively by physical force like the winds and the tides, rather than by biological forces. The very idea that the behaviour of individual organisms can affect entire systems seems fantastic. Yet the researchers in Victoria conclude that sea creatures themselves may be a critical, but overlooked, source of turbulence in the oceans. Other researchers go ever further. An article in the Journal of Marine Research calculate that, based on the math, swimming organisms may be one of the most important drivers of ocean turbulence. If this is the case, the authors conclude, then the overfishing that has caus« fish stocks to plummet, and the near extinction of many whale species due to hunting may have distupted ocean turbulence enough to have affected the planet’s climate. Seemingly smali actions can have big consequences. More and more, we are finding that our world is not nearly as vast and limitless as we once supposed. Not only is it interconnecte but it is this very interconnectedness that drives it. In this world, we are all butterflies and we need to be mindful of what can happen when we flap our wings. Take the Nature Challenge at wuw.davidsuzuki.org.