The Glass Menagerie

Many environmentalists were disappointed in the rhetoric at this month's Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). At the same time scientists and activists are trying to save species virtually by using distributed networks and electronic archives. This video describes the ambitions of the Encyclopedia of Life.



Apparently, the EOL has become the pet project of Harvard professor E. O. Wilson, whose model of "consilience" has been of great interest to those who study information culture. You can hear Wilson talk about the project at the TED Conference here.

Now that the EOL video has been posted to YouTube, it is interesting to note how it uses the conventions of this famous YouTube video essay by Michael Wesch. I also like the fact that there is already a YouTube remix from a site that specializes in Rambo and Rocky footage.