Wake up: Earth is in danger … from us
I don’t know where the human race got the idea they could quit adapting to their environment and, instead, make it adapt to them. No matter where it came from, however, it isn’t working. Matter of fact, it’s going horribly wrong.
Instead of the harmony and order that we had when we lived alongside nature, we are now debilitating Earth like a necrotic virus.
Some species of plant, animal, or microbe irretrievably vanish from this world every few seconds. Entire biomes are being burnt, bulldozed and paved over to make room for what we call “civilization.” As if the natural world isn’t civilized. It’s plenty civil if you’re civil to it.
I’m unsure how to get through to the industrialists, businessmen and capitalists who think a martini, a business suit and a high-rise penthouse is the only “proper” or “civilized” kind of lifestyle. I shouldn’t have to try to get through to them at all.
In case they haven’t noticed, we haven’t got any moon colonies and space stations to retreat to if this planet’s ecosystem finally topples over and disintegrates. We’ve nowhere to go. We’re stuck on this planet.
And right now, we’re the species that has the most influence over which
direction the Earth’s ecosystem goes.
So that makes us responsible for it.
We’ve got a duty to the plants, animals, people, cultures and all ensuing generations to preserve and protect Earth, its ecosystems and its lands.
I’m not sure what the industrialists and businessmen are trying to accomplish with all of their vaunted “civilization” and “development.”
Do they actually want a planet that’s covered in concrete, asphalt, fiberglass, plastic and steel? Do they want an Earth of paved roads, skyscrapers, high-rise penthouses and offices? Do they want the only green to be the city park or the golf course?
Don’t they mind if they can’t set foot outside without being scorched by the sun’s rays, undiluted by a vanished ozone layer? Is it fine by them if the skies turn from their current shade of vibrant blue to a sickly yellow or brown? Don’t they care if every single animal species on this Earth except for dogs, cats, cows and goldfish is wiped out?
We should all invest in the preservation of Earth and its incredibly vast natural spectrum, because whether we realize it or not, we’ve all got a stake in it. Our planet is durable, but not invincible.
We’ve been paving over it, strip-mining it, deforesting it, dredging it, cutting it, denuding and raping it for centuries now. No one knows how much more it can take.
But once it reaches that crucial juncture, once the last straw is laid on the camel’s back, nothing human beings can do will possibly save it. Or us.
It’s time to ask ourselves what’s more important. For some, it may be a high-rise penthouse, thousands of miles of asphalt and gas-guzzling luxury sports cars.
For others, it’s sunrises over snow-capped mountains, flocks of flamingos feeding on some remote lake, the constant movement and flow of sand dunes in the desert, iridescent hummingbirds flitting from one riotously colored flower to another, the green of the grass and the blue of the sky.
Andrew is a senior studying mass communication.
Columnists' opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of The Spectrum