Butterfly Lessons

"Ultimately, all of the crops we grow are biological species; all the diseases we have are biological species; all the disease vectors are biological species." Chris Thomas' remark points out that most of the things we depend on and know are biological in essence and as such they are sensitive to environmental change as other biological systems are. Humans ourselves are biological species. Butterflies and toads aren't the only animals sensitive to environmental change. Changes to their behavior is just more easily seen because they're more sensitive to smaller changes in temperature and other environmental changes.

180 Degrees South

I enjoyed the film and its combination of adventure and conservationism. Sports shown in the movie like surfing and rock climbing are activities that take enjoyment out of being with nature. The sports shown mesh well with the environmental message of the movie. The movie focuses on seeing nature as something in itself, as something with a value beyond its material value to humans instead of something that is used for people to exploit for natural resources. The film also implicitly warns of overusing the land to the point of societal collapse when the land can no longer support the stress that a over-consuming society places on it. Easter Island is used as an example of such a place where that has occurred.