In chapters 8 and 9, Emma Marris focuses on designer ecosystems and advocates the act of conservation everywhere, not only in the pristine wilderness. Like in other chapters, Marris brings up alternatives to the conventional idea of restoring wilderness to a pristine state or to a historic baseline. The reason that these alternatives developed is that baseline conservation is unrealistic and unfeasible to achieve in our current world. Funding, drastic alterations to the environment such as soil content, animal extinction, and global climate change are just a few reasons that baseline conditions are very hard to achieve. These alternatives are meant to be a more feasible way to integrate conservation and our human interests.
Designer ecosystems are basically ecosystems that are designed with a specific purpose to achieve. Previously, the only purpose of conservation was to reach the baseline of the ecosystem, but designer ecosystems are ecosystems that have their functions restored or new functions and interactions in the environment. Like in chapter 9, streams that were trying to emulate the baseline were not able to remove nitrogen like the past baseline ecosystems, while newly designed ecosystems did a much better job. This concept sounds like a more efficient way to use resources, or to gain more resources if the government takes notice. There are countless benefits including economic returns and environmental improvement, and could be a way to deal with climate change that is already changing ecosystems. Why not lend a hand to the inefficient ecosystems? The only problem would be deciding which ecosystems to help design, there should still be some attempts of pristine wilderness or baseline ecosystems, but not at the scale of focus that we have now.
The main idea in chapter 9 focuses on expanding conservation to everywhere, including our own backyards, industrial areas, and agricultural properties. One main point she makes is connectedness between our conservation areas, letting animals have a wider range through connected channels, which increases species diversity and does not allow for fragments to contain some populations. She also points out that we can make our own areas or gardens more accessible to nature, and by doing this a thriving ecosystem could emerge, or our urban environment could potentially become corridors for species to travel through. By converting our rooftops and lawns with eco-friendly plants, we are participating in the conservation of ecosystems. This idea seems very optimistic, but I do have objections pertaining all of these insects and pests that could accompany conservation anywhere. It could be a huge problem in New York to bring in more insects and other pests, and the general public could object to it; this idea is not exactly feasible everywhere.
The solution that these alternatives bring basically bring is combing both the needs of ecosystems/conservationists and other human needs for the environment. By connecting human interests with ecological goals, the actual involvement with conservation could potentially increase.
