In Defense of Nature

Marlene A. Condon

Condon, of Crozet, is a nature writer, photographer and speaker.
According to New York Gov. George Pataki, the proposed Freedom Tower that is to be built at the site of New York’s former World Trade Center will demonstrate to terrorists that they did not destroy America’s faith in freedom. Although the Freedom Tower design may provide a sense of pride for many Americans, it should also invoke a sense of dismay.
Many people know that songbirds often fly into windows. These airborne creatures either see the sky and trees reflected in the smooth surface of a window or they are able to see right through the glass to the interior of the building. In each case, their bird brains cannot discern the solid material that blocks their flight path.
The result is literally millions of birds killed every year by crashing into windows. Obviously, we cannot design our homes and businesses without windows, but is it necessary for architects to design what will be the tallest building in the world – at a height of nearly one-third of a mile – with a faade almost entirely made of glass?
Volunteers in New York City and Chicago have documented 147 different kinds of birds injured or killed by window strikes since 1978. In the fall of 2003, volunteers in Toronto counted 2,000 dead birds that had collided with lit skyscraper windows while migrating south at night.
Our birds are disappearing at an alarming rate due to many causes, such as habitat loss, an increased vulnerability to predation and introduced diseases like West Nile Virus. We should be concerned about their welfare because birds – and many other creatures – provide necessary environmental services for us, such as limiting insect, arachnid and weed populations, and pollinating our plants.
Such aid, given to us free of charge, is a huge benefit to mankind. Thus it is extremely important that we do the very best we can to limit our negative impacts upon our world.
The architectural plan for the Freedom Tower demonstrates ignorance of, and/or perhaps a total disregard for, the effect of our actions upon the environment that sustains us. An architect familiar with the natural world would never design an enormously tall glass building that will take a grim toll upon birds.
There is obviously a dire need for schools to teach students about the natural world, and this teaching should extend to the university level, as well. Otherwise, we will continue to behave as if we live in a vacuum – somehow apart from our surroundings – and our ignorance will doom not only birds and other creatures, but also ourselves.