Word: extinctionism
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For some 300 million years, the cockroach has survived the ravages of nature and, lately, the best efforts of man to squash it, spray it or bug-bomb it into extinction. Some 3,600 species of the hardy creature thrive in a variety of habitats all over the world. Now...
Unfortunately, no amount of synthetic periplanone B is apt to stimulate an entire roach species into extinction. As rueful scientists have found in using pesticides, a few hardy roaches can usually survive a chemical spray because of some lucky genetic abnormality and will then propagate a new generation of spray...
Believe it or not, a reduction in roach ranks may be a better solution than extinction. Different roach species figure in the food cycles of lizards and birds. Moreover, loathsome as it may seem, entomologists speculate that roaches may some day be a source of nutrition for humans.
"Extinction or Adaptation: Tribal Peoples in a Developing World," David H.P. Maybury-Lewis
It is ironic that the principal hope for the continued existence of Brumley Gap and its way of life lies in locating an Indian grave site. Can the remains of a displaced civilization be used to aid another on the verge of its own extinction?