if something happens this suddenly, can it be related to evolution (or the failure to evolve?) i also think it’s more likely the die-off has something to do with sudden environmental changes as a result of climate change, something the peer-reviewed studies agree has had a human factor. the transport of unfamiliar pathogens from place to place doesn’t help either—but this has happened for quite some time. it just now is having dramatic effects. something else has changed.

I do agree with you that we don’t fully comprehend the ramifications of what we are doing. (I’m sure that the people shipping African clawed frogs around the world had no idea of the problems they would be causing half a century later), but the alternative is to sit back and watch an entire class of animal be wiped out. Natural vs. unnatural kind of becomes a moot point when you think about the ramifications that this would have on the ecosystem.

I look forward to your post when 5 years from now there is an article on how the Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis fungus evolved into something that can harm humans, or makes it more difficult for other frog species to evolve to defend against it, due to our tinkering with evolution.

In many occasions, one should not be asking “what can we do” but rather “what should we do”. Science has done MANY things throughout history that, in hindsight, were catastrophically ignorant.

Nature took care of itself for most of 2 billion years before we were around.

I guess the only species that matter to you (besides sheep) are people and animals we regularly eat. For you, I assume those would be the Great Alaskan fried fish, and the North American hamburgerbird.

I’m glad you’ve watched enough Inspector Gadget to learn the word “incompetence”, and possess understanding enough to know you fall into the group that is defined by it.