I have really enjoyed all the readings for this class so far! However, my favorite chapter has to be chapter two, Thirteen Gorillas. I think I liked this chapter so much because I was alive for the most recent outbreak and I can remember reading about it in class and watching it on the news. I can vividly remember texting my friend who lived in Atlanta to "not get Ebola" when the two Americans were treated there. While every outbreak we have read about has been interesting, it is different to read and learn about a disease when I can remember when the outbreak started. I also really enjoyed learning about the field aspect of the study of the Ebola virus, as that is something I want to do in my career - go out into a foreign country during an epidemic to figure it all out.
I think that the most important idea that has been talked about in the book and in class is the idea that most of our modern disease epidemics are occurring as a result of human encroachment on the natural ecological boundaries of the animal kingdom. While this idea is talking about how the advancement of humans as a species has resulted in our population exploding, thus requiring more infrastructure and taking land away from nature, I think it is also talking about humanity's fascination with nature and our desire to control it. For me, I think this idea was made most clear when we talked about Lyme Disease. People like nature and want to be a part of it, but they only really want the manufactured version of it. In the neighborhood where I grew up, people talked a lot about wanting a big yard, but then the yard would be sparse, with only a few trees and lots of grass. This, as we learned in the chapter about Lyme Disease, can lead to a lack of biodiversity, resulting in more mice and shrews and, as a result, more ticks carrying Lyme (Quammen, 254-255). Manufactured lawns, like the lawns approximately “80% of all homes in the United States” have, did not come about until after the Industrial Revolution, when lawns became a status symbol (“Why We Have Grass Lawns,” 2014, March 5). I think that it is interesting that these manufactured lawns have become such a normalized part of society, but they do harm to both people and the biodiversity of the area.
For me, I think my worldview has been altered in the fact that I want to incorporate nature into my life, at a safe distance. I want to have a natural lawn, meaning that I do not want to control what plants grow in my yard in an effort to increase biodiversity, however, I will be careful about any animal interactions I may have with animals.
I do not see the world in a terribly different light because of this topic. I have always known that nature is a force to be reckoned with and I think that this book has just helped me realize that nature is incredibly powerful and that we humans are not the "top dogs" we may seem like.
“Why We Have Grass Lawns.” (2014, March 5) Today I Found Out. Retrieved from: http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2014/03/grass-lawns-2/
Quammen, David. Spillover. The Bodley Head Ltd., 2012.