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attention to conservation. One of the focal points was to conserve biodiversity. That was from 1985 to 1987. It was very shocking to many people, particularly in the environmental community, that in 1992 the entire world met to address the environmental agenda and the only large, wealthy, developed, western nation that did not sign a convention to work towards maintaining the diversity of the world's living resources was the United States. Obviously, we are in a very confused time. We have invented something, the Endangered Species Act, which the world has not copied verbatim, but has come to understand as signifying the importance of conserving diversity. The rest of the world is willing to move forward with it and we are reluctant. Where is all the confusion coming from? Isn't it time to reevaluate why we are concerned with these issues? I think to do this we must discuss biodiversity rather than endangered species. I think it is often portrayed that there are a few nature lovers in this country who have learned how to organize and will stop other people from actions that may harm some particular creature that they fancy. The operative word there is fancy. Fancy suggests that it is a discretionary practice, a recreational activity and not necessarily important. Endangered species are part of a larger issue called biodiversity. Biodiversity simply means the variety of the living world. There are three important levels of variety that we need to be concerned with and try to maintain. The first is genetic diversity. The promise of genetic engineering has received a lot of media attention recently. People are hopeful that someday we will be able to engineer crops that do not need pesticides, or crops requiring only one-half of the water they currently use. Genetic engineering is a promise that cannot be fulfilled if we destroy the raw material that the engineering needs, namely genes; the genetic variation of living things. Species diversity is the level of diversity that we are most familiar with. It is the level of diversity that the Endangered Species Act concentrates on. Species form different types of communities. The communities require a variety of habitats, including prairies, forests, marshes, and tundra. Different physical and chemical environments interacting with different species, creates different types of communities. There is an importance in maintaining the variety of natural communities. Landscapes are a level of diversity that is difficult to explain. The example of cutting forests illustrates landscape diversity. Some species require openings in the forest, and if the forest was completely old growth those species would disappear. However, other species require old forests and if all the old forests were gone, replaced by young forests or clear cuts, those species will disappear.. However, in a large enough area, natural dynamics ensures that all different communities are present. The forest develops through phases. After the lumber has been removed, the forest will remain clear cut for some years. Then, perhaps for a century it will be middle aged forests and finally becomes old growth. Landscape diversity is diversity through time and it is a critical component for maintaining natural diversity and healthy ecosystems. Why do we have a problem? I am trying to convey the 81