My question for conservationists out there than is:
Why preserve and protect? So what if the giant panda goes extinct? If evolution is the driving force of organisms more suitable to their environment, why do humans struggle to keep these "obsolete" creatures from going extinct? It's a mixed view on a topic that most every one believes in but it's against our nature; if we know something is out dated but we like it, we're going to try to keep it that way. I guess this ties in with the worms; obviously, they're here, right now, and things better get used to them. The organisms that can't adapt, IE native flora and fauna and whatnot, will die off and the organisms performing better will survive. That's why I praise the garters; taking advantage of a new food source that's readily available and obviously influencing their environment; why not adapt? As I've stated before, until some one turns a salamander into a lizard, I will never believe in evolution. Adaptation and natural selection can be observed, but the total change of one organism into an entirely different cannot. (Or, more correctly, has yet to be recorded or observed.)
Seeing as I highly doubt any one's been around on this planet to make observations for the past 3.7 billion years, who's to say life, or even out planet, is that old?
On second thought... maybe James...