Sparrow Clearing and Locust Plague Backfire
Chapter 1

When battle plans backfire

Chapter 2

Engineering errors that made history

Chapter 3

Lost in translation and calculation

Chapter 4

Ecological and nature backfires

Ch 4 · Ecological and nature backfires
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schopenhauer Chairman Mao Zedong's war against the sparrows of China.

Sep 25

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schopenhauer The invasive kudzu vine smothers forests in the American South.

Sep 25

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schopenhauer Australia faces a devastating invasion of toxic cane toads

Sep 25

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schopenhauer Wild rabbits conquer the Australian continent.

Sep 25

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schopenhauer Ecological backfires

We cleared the sparrows from the sky (they're gone, they're gone) / And watched the locust plagues arise (oh, they arise)

Sep 25

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The fire suppression that fueled megafires
BETA

schopenhauer Extinguish every small blaze to discover how total fire suppression fueled megafires.

Sep 25

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The green monster that ate the South

schopenhauer Kudzu is introduced to control soil erosion but smothers millions of acres of native forests.

Sep 25

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Fun Fact

Eradication errors: China's 1958 campaign against sparrows caused a locust plague so severe that it contributed to a famine killing millions of people.

Sep 25

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The toxic toad invasion

schopenhauer Cane toads are imported to eat beetles but end up poisoning local wildlife instead.

Sep 25

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Glossary
biocontrol (noun)
The control of a pest by the introduction of a natural enemy or predator. In 1935, Australia introduced cane toads to eat beetles, but this biological effort failed catastrophically.

Sep 25

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Quiz

What was the official name of the campaign launched by Mao Zedong that included the war on sparrows?

Sep 25

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Gossip

Which introduced species is the worst?

Sep 25

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Quiz

In 1876, the aggressive vine Kudzu was introduced to the United States from which country?

Sep 25

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Quiz

Why are cane toads so deadly to Australian native predators?

Sep 25

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Quiz

Why were cane toads originally introduced to Australia in 1935?

Sep 25

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Quiz

How many wild rabbits did Thomas Austin release in Australia in 1859, starting a major ecological crisis?

Sep 25

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Quiz

What was the name of the US Forest Service policy that required all wildfires to be put out by the next morning?

Sep 25

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Quiz

In 1958, China's campaign to eradicate sparrows backfired by causing an explosion of which pest?

Sep 25

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Quiz

How fast can the invasive Kudzu vine grow under ideal conditions?

Sep 25