The Gentle Voice of Reason

Here we go again. Another supposedly scientific study proclaiming Its final. Insects prefer alien plants! And of course some people were eager to jump on this bandwagon, and again state just how wrong Doug Tallamy is.

Dr. Tallamy has written his thoughts on this new study in a very well-reasoned and articulate way.

But why is it that the subject of native plants arouses such hatred in some people?

The answer to that remains a mystery to me, and you know Im not a fan of the angry mob mentality, where a line is drawn in the sand and each side screams at each other. And nothing is learned. The point is to argue, not to have a reasonable discussion.

I much prefer conversations. And sometimes these rare conversations result in amazing things. People can learn and grow.

For example, take a look at Native Plants Are Not Always Best for Native Insects. When this article was originally published its title was Alien Plants are Better for Insects than Natives. Its Official.

But wait. Its OK. Dont dash over there just yet.

The sensationalist title, and the first paragraph of this article have now been revised. This came about by the process of a reasonable discussion. See, we really can have those!

Read the article, but pay very close attention to the comments. Watch the process of the conversation that unfolded, and resulted in a toned-down headline and a more thoughtful approach.

Especially watch the comments from Genevieve and Vincent, my two heroes of the day. And watch the comments from the articles author, too (theres several pages of comments, so make sure you scroll to the next page). I give Graham a huge amount of credit for his part in this conversation.