Theos-Talk Archives (November 2001 Message tt00262)

Hi Mic,

> From: Mic Forster <micforster@yahoo.com>
> Subject: bad rap
> 
> The following paragraph came from this source:
> 
> THEOSOPHY, Vol. 16, No. 2, December, 1927(Pages 59-62;
> Size: 14K)(Number 6 of a 103-part series) 
> 
> "And the meridian of the south magnetic pole? Touches
> only one inhabited land of any importance -- the
> extreme east coast of Australia, whose native forms
> without exception, from man to the earthworm, are
> hopelessly weak, decadent, and moribund."
> 
> Theosophy has given Australia a bad rap over the
> years. Although some of it might be justified, as my
> profession is the study of Australia's biota (and I
> believe there are many instances of evolution "winding
> down"), most of it is not. If Australia's native forms
> are "hopelessly weak, decadent, and moribund", why is
> the US being over run by Eucalyptus trees? I have even
> heard that kangaroos are becoming a pest in parts of
> Europe. All I can say is look out for those menacing
> koalas, once let loose you'll never be able to stop them.

I have not heard of kangaroos as a pest in Europe. I live
there, does not make me a know-it-all of course, but I
think I would have heard about it. 

But then, I have no stake in feeling that Australian biota
is winding down. On the other hand it might be argued that
just because a few species are surviving and even thriving
abroad, that does not mean that the general trend isn't as
above described. Isn't the ant-eater (forget the
English/latin name) a left-over from a certain place in
evolution where there used to be a lot of relatives, but
now it is the only one left? Evolution weeded out the other
ones but the ant-eater was effective enough and capable of
survival enough to stay on. 

Katinka

=====
-Those who observe, learn, a whole life long.
-Wie observeert, leert , een heel leven lang.
=====
my own homepage:
http://www.geocities.com/katinka_hesselink/
=====

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