Fairleigh Dickinson's ISE Hosts Seminar
                                           on Human Health and Biodiversity



                                                                         
                                                                                                 Photo Credit: Institute for Sustainable Enterprise

By: Dana Patterson, WildNewJersey.tv Correspondent

On Friday, January 23, 2009, Fairleigh Dickinson University’s Institute for Sustainable Enterprise hosted speaker Aaron Bernstein, M.D., at their monthly breakfast seminar to present and discuss, “A Natural Perspective on Sustainability: Human Health and Biodiversity”.  Among the intriguing topics covered by Bernstein was the discovery of a bacterium in New Jersey's Pine Barrens, which led to the development of a new antibiotic.

Bernstein discussed biodiversity is as key to human health, primary source of medications, source of experimental models, and provider of natural services.  He started out with a picture of the Pine Barrens, and explained a short history of this area.  The name “Pine Barrens” was given because of the useless sandy, nutrient-lacking soil in which many species of pine trees grew.  What many don’t know is that this area is home to orchids, and rare species of birds and pine trees and endangered species.  It is also home to chromobacterium violaceum, a remarkable bacterium, discovered in the sands.  This discovery led to the development of Azthreonam, a new antibiotic created by scientists from the molecule monobactum, produced by Chromobacterium violaceum, only found in New Jersey.  It is reasons like this that we should protect our biodiversity right in our own backyard as well as in tropical rainforests and marine ecosystems.   He stressed the idea that the easier an area is to wipe out, the harder it is to get back, which makes it even more important to protect.  He explained that in the recent drug market, two-thirds of drugs have natural product origins.

Bernstein began the discussion by attempting to define the term “sustainability”, a very controversial debate recently.  He emphasized that this definition should not just include the conservation of resources, but must include protection of biodiversity, an irreplaceable asset which human health depends on.  Currently there are 1.9 million named species in the world, and 1000 of them were discovered in the last year.

Another interesting point was discussed relating to polar bears.  They are not only in need of protection due to rapid loss of habitat melting due to climate change.  They can be used as an example for learning survival skills.  Female polar bears put on hundreds of pounds of fat before they go into den, yet they do not develop diabetes.  This is an organism that has learned to deal with obesity without developing the disease overweight humans are very prone.  We can use this animal as an experimental model, and learn how their bodies allow this to occur. 

He spoke of many other topics such as the need to use the watersheds to filter water instead of building water treatment plants. He argued that even though the initial investment is more than a water treatment plant, in the long run the more benefits come from using the natural landscape.  The water is not only more pure and of higher quality, but the trees buffer air pollution too.   

Some interesting facts that he noted were that the rate at which species are becoming extinct is 1000 times more than if humans were not around.  Also, 20-30% of species will be gone due to climate change by 2050.  One-third to one-half of coral reefs are dying because they are extremely temperature dependent.

Overall, he stressed that there is a rapid decline of biodiversity and the need for innovative solutions to protect it needs to increase.  He noted that our market system does not value extinction.  One of the main issues is that the business sector does not know much about ecology, and ecologists don’t know much about business. 

The conservation and protection of biodiversity, whether it be in the tropical rainforest or our backyard, is very vital at this time.  As he explained, it is a key to human health, primary source of medications, source of experimental models, and provider of natural services.

Bernstein is a pediatric hospitalist at Children's Hospital Boston and has been a researcher at the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard Medical School since 2003.  He is co-editor of Sustaining Life: How Human Health Depends on Biodiversity published by Oxford University Press.  With a foreword by Edward O. Wilson, this book explores the ways in which our health depends on nature from the medicines we take to the reliance of biomedical science on model organisms. He has been named a Harvard University Zuckerman Fellow for 2008-2009.

For more information on the Institute for Sustainable Enterprise and upcoming breakfast seminars go to: http://view.fdu.edu/default.aspx?id=2354


WildNewJersey.tv Science correspondent Dana Patterson is the Toxics Coordinator for Edison Wetlands Association.