[Taxacom] EOL announces call for 'research wishes'

[Peter Rauch]

Cynthia, Thanks for the offer to prioritize my question...

       "Do you have a longstanding research question, involving a large number of taxa?"

Yes. My question involves all the extant species on Earth today.  Whither to ?

       "Do you suspect the sum of human knowledge contains enough information to provide the answer ?"

Yes, I do. However, I also believe that we lack the human wisdom to use it soon enough to produce an alternate answer.

       "Maybe you have never tackled it because it is just way too much work to extract it from its myriad locations?"

Actually, for me and for anyone who has lived during these past 50-80 or more years of rapid world-wide environmental destruction, we have lived in the "myriad locations" where this large number of taxa lived, and we've had suffered the exquisite pain of working too much to stem the bleeding --to almost no avail.

      "Can EOL help?"

Dunno.  Can you change humanity's penchant for greediness --even to the degree of ultimate cost, its many convenient laws condoning rape of the Earth, its obliviousness to a self-inflicted burning of its own home ?

Peter

At 10:53 12/08/20, Cynthia Parr wrote:
>Dear Colleagues,
>
>The Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) is pleased to announce the call for ‘research
>wishes <http://eol.org/info/347>.’ Users are invited to submit
> longstanding research questions that involve a large number of taxa. EOL
>will prioritize resources based on the top ten wishes as voted by the EOL
>community.
>
>*Do you have a longstanding research question, involving a large number of
>taxa? Do you suspect the sum of human knowledge contains enough information
>to provide the answer ? Maybe you have never tackled it because it is just
>way too much work to extract it from its myriad locations? Can EOL help?
>Tell us the question you want to ask. Tell us the kinds of data you would
>need. Let us help get you access to the data that will allow you to answer
>the big questions.*
>
>Please see the EOL Wishes for Research <http://eol.org/info/347> page for
>more information, the online nomination form, and details on prizes.
>
>Anyone with a strong interest in science is invited to articulate a
>research question. Wishes will be accepted through September 15, 2012.
>
>Please help us spread the word by sharing this announcement with your
>contacts. Questions? Email Jen Hammock at hammockj at si.edu.
>
>Thanks,
>Cyndy Parr
>
>Cynthia Sims Parr, parrc at si.edu
>Director, Species Pages Group
>Encyclopedia of Life http://www.eol.org
>
>Mailing address:
>National Museum of Natural History
>Smithsonian Institution
>P.O. Box 37012, MRC 106
>Washington, DC 20013-7012