The Great Debate

Example: The Two Sides of Feeding Wild Birds

There has been a great debate since the first person lived in the Keys. Should humans feed wild birds? This question is not geographical; it can refer to any ecosystem where man and wild life share the same space. Below are some examples of pros and cons.

Against: It keeps the birds from feeding themselves in a natural way.

In Favor: Feeding limited amounts only at a specific time supplements, not substitutes natural feeding.

Against: It attracts birds to an unsafe and unnatural environment.

In Favor: The Center is in the bird’s natural, safe environment.

Against: It is not healthy for the birds.

In Favor: The birds here are fed only their natural diets of fish.

Against: It makes the birds too accustomed to and not afraid of people.

In Favor: The birds generally keep their distance from people. However people have encroached on the birds’ natural environment and they have become accustomed to the presence of people, especially gregarious pelicans. And the underlying reason for feeding wild birds in the Keys is that the degraded water quality has greatly depleted the fish population.

Set-up a debate on the above issue. Other possible debates:

• Water Hyacinths in rivers vs. removal of Water Hyacinths by herbicides.
• Housing endangered species vs. letting them live in the wild.
• Introduction of a species to remove environmental problem vs. doing nothing (Let nature take its course.)
• Traditional farming vs. organic farming.

Have your students come up with other environmental issues for a debate.

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