Professor Elizabeth Hennessy has written an article for the Washington Post titled “We’re trying to keep the Galapagos pristine. That might destroy them.” The piece talks about recent efforts to preserve biodiversity in the Galapagos, framing it through a lens of evolutionary history and what exactly constitutes the “pristine.” Of the Galapagos, Hennessy says, “When we try to protect evolution – and the unusual creatures that are its products – by isolating nature or trying to restore it, we hold the islands to an impossible standard that denies the forces that have shaped the place.” Hennessy is Assistant Professor of History and Environmental Studies, and her first book is titled On the Backs of Tortoises: Darwin, the Galápagos, and the Fate of an Evolutionary Eden.
To read her recent article, go to Washington Post.