"'The original idea that ecology involved trips to faraway places that people would consider to be pristine reflected a very deep-seated belief that people and nature are separate,         which has been dominant in ecology,' said Steward Pickett, a senior scientist at the Institute of Ecosystems Studies in Millbrook, N.Y., who is conducting a major long-term study of the environment of Baltimore. The foundations of ecological thinking, he said, were shaken by studies in the last 25 years that showed that virtually all 'pristine' environments bore clear signs of human intervention: fires, the hunting of animals, the harvesting of plants, herbs, nuts or fruits.
"'There is no area left in the world that has not undergone serious human impact, and this make's the whole planet a man-made planet, and cities are only the extreme example of     that,' said Christine Alfsen-Norodom, the coordinator of Columbia University and Unesco's joint program on the biosphere and society." A. Stille, “Wild Cities: It's a Jungle Out There.” New York Times, 23 November 02. B-7.

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