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No single
organism can survive in a biological vacuum. Like any other species, humans are
part of a complex web of organisms which provide us with all our essential
needs such as food or clean water. As such, preservation of a functional
environment providing for all our basic needs is a straightforward extension of
the most basic public health policy. The case for maintaining a diverse, not
simply functional environment flows from the acceptance that humans are just
one, arguably influential, of the many species involved in this wider web. The
many ecosystems, be they man-made or pristine are part of our history and
deserve as much, if not more of our respect and attention as the Parthenon or
Stonehenge.
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