Description

Invasive species are devastating for biodiversity and ecological sustainability, but the issue is often overlooked.  Hank Green hilariously recounts the story of a family of bunnies as they hop aboard a ‘space ship’ and wind up in a new land.  All is well until, well, they breed to the point of destroying the magical new land they’ve found.  Hank then talks about a few invasive species in the US.  He ends discussing several ways we’ve tried to undo our mistakes, such as introducing more animals for biological control.

Discussion Questions

• Why are invasive species so harmful?  Isn’t it all just part of nature?
• If you disagree with hunting or killing animals, even for food, would you make an exception for hunting invasive species?
• When can invasive species be a good thing?

Keywords: environmentalism, invasive species, ethics, evolution, natural selection