Ever since I can remember, conservation has always been one of my main interests, and lately, every time I look around me, it’s harder and harder to ignore the impact humanity has on Mother Nature. Not too long ago I read an article about the amazing Western Black Rhino becoming extinct, which made me think about the path we’re choosing as humanity…
We live on this planet like we have another one waiting for us to arrive, once we’ve drained the last resource from planet Earth. And when the last resource will disappear, we’ll finally realize that money won’t replace oxygen, plants, animals, our homes, or our loved ones. But it will be too late … Money can buy a lot of things, but not the most important ones.
Even if plants and animals were always in a competition for habitat, no other specie, in the entire history of evolution, has ever caused so much destruction as humanity did in the past century alone! We are responsible for pollution, destruction of habitat, species extinction, draining resources.
Human activities constantly change and destroy the habitats that plants, animals and even humans need to survive. Human population is growing so fast nowadays, that animals and plants are disappearing 1000 times faster than they have in the past 65 million years. It is estimated, that in the 21st century, around 100 species will become extinct every day.
Is this the life we want to live? Do we even realize the dramatic impact our actions have?
Endangered species – Unfair competition
Animals are endangered because of a combination of natural and man-made causes (mainly man-made causes). It’s true, that most animals have predators, which reduces their number constantly, but the one ‘predator’ all animals have in common, is humanity.
With the number of humans increasing rapidly, we desperately need more space for new houses, and we don’t really care how we get that space. We reshape the face of Earth and destroy forests, build homes, and then blame animals for coming in our yards, and/or attacking us. This happens frequently in Romania, when bears come back to reclaim their land, and end up shot dead…
We destroy their habitat, and later we destroy the animals themselves. And if we don’t do this because they attack us, we do it for ‘fun’. Trophy hunting (even if legal) has a huge impact on the continuity of the species, as the purpose of ‘the sport’ is to kill the biggest specimens. As natural selection dictates that only the strongest animals survive, we end up weakening entire species, as the less fit partners will mate, and bring into the world offspring which aren’t genetically strong, and can’t offer continuity.
Poaching (illegal hunting), brings down the number of animals because of a high demand on the black market, for certain animal products/body parts, for which normal trade is banned. Elephants (its tusks value 700$/kg, so poachers cut the elephant’s face off, and leave the animal on the ground, to rot), tigers (very rare and expensive fur), rhinoceros, bears, are the most common victims, and because of poverty, more people turn to poaching, for survival.
Dead bird after ingesting plastic waste
And there’s even more to it. Even if we don’t destroy species consciously, we do it indirectly, through climate change. Polar bears are probably the most affected animals of all, as because of global warming, they are left without both habitat and food. Seals won’t camp in areas where snow isn’t present(they use snow for shelter), which means less food for the bears, and also, because winter starts later and later every year, less ice forms, which means polar bears can’t hunt or mate, as they can’t reach other bears (they are good swimmers, but long distances might cause them to drown). The later winter starts, the more time bears spend without eating, which brings down their number annually.
The Arctic melts even now, when the planet is just 0.8 degree Celsius warmer than it was in pre-industrial times. If the Earth warms up by 4 degrees Celsius, as it’s believed it will happen in the next in 50 years, we’re looking at an irreversible damage.
Deformed turtle shell, after getting stuck in a plastic ring
Oil pollution and plastic waste are also very important factors, when it comes to endangering marine animals. Fish, turtles, and even birds, confuse plastic with their food, and once they ingest it, they die a slow and painful death. Even more, some get caught in fish lines, or plastic waste, and die of starvation. Also, tourism done in the wrong location, affects the local wildlife, bringing down their numbers. Check out my post on marine turtles, for information on human impact on marine wildlife.
If we keep this up, future generations will only see wild animals in pictures, or captivity (the ‘brighter’ option of the two).
Impact on the environment
Compared to wild animals, humans shaped the environment to suit their needs. This means we’re constantly changing the way in which the planet looks like, which definitely affects every living creature and plant, including ourselves.
Building houses involves buildings cities and infrastructure and this means creating the space for cities to grow. Deforestation if one of the biggest crimes we commit on a daily basis, which will slowly takes us to a filthy environment and poor air quality, and in the end, extinction. We kill Mother Nature’s lungs, not thinking about the consequences of our actions. In the end, we kill our own lungs. Only in Romania, 9 million cubic meters of wood were chopped down illegally in 2014 alone. This is not including the legal wood cutting…
“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago.
The second best time is now.” – Chinese Proverb
Soil erosion is probably the second huge problem generated by deforestation. Landslides happen more and more frequently, and entire cities are ‘eaten’ by the soil which used to host them, or destroyed partially, all over the world. Copping down a tree, means killing the roots which keep the soil in place. If the roots are gone, the right combination of rain can trigger such a disaster.
Besides killing trees, we also poison the ground, in the race for obtaining more food, for the fast increasing number of people. Irrigation, even if it has a lot of positive aspects, it can have a negative impact on the environment, as it changes the quality of soil and water, and reduces downstream river flow, with disastrous consequences. We genetically modify plants and animals, in order to become what suit better our feeding needs, playing with growing time and resistance to bacteria, which in the end, affect our own bodies, more than we like to admit. (Check out my post on meat industry for more information). Also, plants like corn, were modified to such an extent that the right bacteria don’t protect the plant anymore, which means more chemicals are needed, chemicals which end up being ingested by humans, weakening our immune system.
Sometimes we go even further, and we introduce new animals and plants, to a location where they don’t belong, and we destroy the balance of nature. Removing the natural predators of a specie because of relocation, means overbreeding, and lowering the number of local species. Also, bringing new insects translates into birds avoiding them, causing an invasion and mass destruction of plants. Such a fragile balance, we should never influence without intensively research the consequences.
We also actively endanger a large number of valuable organisms. Home of millions of animals, enormous trees and plants, losing the rainforests can become a tragedy for humanity, as such an abundance and diversity, is not to be found anywhere else on Earth. Each year, over 140,000 sq km of rainforests are destroyed for wood or farming ground, also killing a large number of rare plants (medicinal plants included) and animals.
No, not foggy, but a normal day in a very polluted environment – China
Making room for ourselves sounds pretty good to some of us, but we’re not realizing that with every new tree chopped down, we change the climate, bringing up the level of CO2, worldwide. China is probably the best example of a location where the air so not breathable anymore. Selling canned air, is no longer a thing of the future, or anything extraordinary. We’ll soon pay for every breath we take, and it can become very expensive. Respiratory diseases become a larger and larger issue by day, and until the last tree will be gone and the sea level will increase dramatically because of global warming, up to the point of reshaping the continents, we won’t admit we’re doing something terribly wrong.
Natural resources – For how long?
We claim we love our planet, but we harm it with every chance we get. Need was replaced with greed, and taking as much as we need, was turned into a fierce competition for resources. Resources dictate how the world is shaped, and the great financial powers fight for obtaining the most, for the lowest price. With our needs for food, energy and fuel increasing every year, exploitation began, without thinking of the environmental impact of our actions.
Pollution level went up dramatically worldwide, in the past few decades. Toxic pollution from coal-fired power plants, combined with burning oil for electricity, reshapes the climate from one year to the other one. Four seasons countries (Romania included) went to violent switches from very cold and aggressive winters, to extremely warm and dry summers, while autumn and spring don’t exist anymore, or last a few days only. Also, storms became more and more aggressive and powerful, in the last decade, even in areas which were never affected by them before.
Surface mining of oil shale deposits caused huge environmental issues, and the waste material generated by processing oil, release harmful atmospheric emissions, disturbing the fragile balance of gases, in Earth’s atmosphere. Considering that we pollute more and more every year and in 2009 only, the total global CO2 emissions totaled 30.4 billion metric tones, we’re heading for a global disaster.
With only 1.3 trillion barrels of oil reserves left in the world, it is estimated that in 40 years from now we’ll run out of oil. Without green alternatives, the future looks dark, as electricity can become a thing of the past, and also slow, and there’s not transportation without oil. With living standards only going up, the rate at which we go into the reserves, can only go up.
If the slow killer isn’t bad enough, we bring into the equation nuclear power, with enormous negative effects on living organisms and environment, because of the carcinogen radiations which enter every living cell. Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear disasters are just a preview of how bad the situation can get. And how can you fight an invisible killer, which spreads through soil, air and water, with effects which persist indefinitely?
Overfishing is another example of abusive exploitation of Earth’s resources. If sustained, it can lead to critical problems in the balance of the ecosystem, as the fish population is no longer able to sustain itself. The fisheries in the Irish Sea and English Channel, have become overfished to the point of virtual collapse. Also, the Peruvian economy was strongly affected by the low number of anchovy coming from fisheries, after they were strongly overfished for years. By not fishing responsibly, we end up harming the deep sea fish, as well as other species, which rely on the balance, for specie continuity. Japan went as far as killing dolphins, because they were considered pests, and a threat to the local fisheries. Greed always wins in the fight against need…
Is it too late?
The ones above are only a small part of what we’ve done. We treat our most precious resources, water, air and soil, like our personal garbage cans, and we don’t live in a way which will leave a functional planet for future generations and animals. Evolution for us, means disaster for other species and the environment, and will end up with bringing ourselves as well, to extinction.
Is the damage reversible? Very hard to tell. We just don’t have enough energy right now, to power a society like ours. Personally, I believe the high level of living we’re at, and the lack of conservation spirit in our culture, won’t ever allow us to give up on greed and rethink the luxury of having any type of food we want, available at any time of the day or night, or having permanent electricity and running water in our homes, or give up on fast and accessible transportation, regardless of the cost for other living organisms. We’re not concerned with getting access to any of the above, in a green and environmental friendly way, and in the end, we’ll all pay the price. Animals and plants don’t stand a chance, at the rate of destruction we set.
Sea of windmills (and tulip fields) in Netherlands – Green energy for a cleaner environment
It seems like we’re in a competition to destroy ourselves and the environment. Worse thing is that we don’t get extra bonus points, if we make our home inhabitable, as fast as possible. Even worse, is that we do have alternatives, but we choose to not make that extra effort. How will we live with ourselves, when we’ll know we knew, and still we didn’t do anything?
Planet Earth doesn’t need us. We need it. The planet can survive very well, and regenerate on its own, much better, without humanity. In fact, if we would stop all industrial activities, it would take Mother Nature many decades, to restore the balance. Slowly, but surely, Earth would come back to life. We…we simply don’t have this luxury. We only have one home, one chance, and time is ticking. If it’s not already too late, changes should happen now, before they become meaningless.
The planet can support every man’s need but not every man’s greed. Unless we start drawing a line between the two, the future looks dark for most species and plants, and in the end, for the entire human race.
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I received the alert by email, but the link was broken. I had to go to your website and find the latest article. Then your first picture is broken as well. I thought I should let you know.
This post is really well written, it’s something that concerns everyone, or that SHOULD concern everyone. It made me feel sad to read about it, because it’s the sad reality. The Trophy hunting is something I really despise. The weird thing is that a lot of these people claim they do it for conservation……
I’ve seen a post (not so long ago) from my friend living in a nature reserve in south Africa, and she was saying that was only one white rhino male left, and he was guarded day and night by armed people, to protect him, otherwise that’s another species that goes instinct. People are that stupid ? Just for aphrodisiacs ? WTF ?
And have you read about the governor of Florida saying that the word “global warming” was banished ? http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/mar/08/florida-banned-terms-climate-change-global-warming (I put a random link to illustrate)
What is wrong with these people, what is wrong with this world ? …. I feel very depressed when I think about that
And this afternoon, at the radio, there was a podcast and the people were saying that it’s already to late, we can’t go back. It’s the over-cultivation that scared me the most, a lot of people are going to starve.
Pffff 😦
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Not sure what happened to the email, but I’m happy you found the article. Sorry if it made you sad though. I had tears in my eyes a few times, when I wrote some of the paragraphs. I had no idea about how much we destroyed until I put them all on the virtual paper…
The story of your friend is very touching. I’m so sad to hear about species go extinct … not sure where we’ll end up, but it’s not looking good.
About the global warming article, it’s all political moves. I don’t believe a single word of such a delusional person, but if he actually believes all that, I hope he won’t ever fall off his unicorn, because it will hurt really bad. Thanks for sharing that with me. I had no idea about it.
I also believe it’s kind of late. And this is not because we couldn’t improve the situation, but is because we don’t want to give up on anything, in order to heal our environment. Our society became very high maintenance and we can’t go back, unless we change our lifestyle dramatically. It simply won’t happen…. 😦
Thanks so much for reading! I very much appreciate your feedback! x
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Your articles are always very interesting and engaging, so it’s a pleasure to read and comment 🙂
About the political moves, I couldn’t find the most interesting article, but all these terms were banned from official governmental reports. So it’s impossible to raise some awareness or make some prevention. This is ridiculous !! But some people will believe him…
And then, have you heard about the two scientists that died a few weeks ago in the artic circle. They were studying the impact of global warming on the icecap.. http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2015/05/two-climate-scientists-just-gave-their-lives-their-research
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Aww, thank you so much! I’m so happy to hear you enjoy reading them 🙂 This is probably the most negative one so far, but it’s too important to not be said. I had it in drafts for a while, as I didn’t had the emotional energy to review everything…
Unfortunately, people believe politicians a lot, so they make strategic moves, in order to gain more votes. People in Ro voted a guy who promised that we’ll not pay any taxes hahahah….He was quite popular, runner up. Dumb …
I didn’t hear anything about those 2 scientists 😦 Such a loss….unfortunately we rely on the dedication of some extraordinary people, to know what’s going on up there. Still, you don’t have to be a brain surgeon, to know the situation is pretty bad 😦
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Dear Lucy,
This is a difficult read, but so important to be aware. I feel exactly the same as you, and feel worried about the future on many levels. Gin already expressed my thoughts so clearly, so I keep my comment short 🙂
Warm wishes,
Takami ❤
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My email link was also broken, but I could find your article by going to your site 🙂 Sometimes, WordPress may have technical problems, I think 😀
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I have no idea what’s wrong with it 😦 Thanks for stopping by, regardless, and looking for the post 🙂 Hugs!
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It’s good to see people worried about it. It’s always on my mind, so it was a very difficult post to write, and also, very negative. But, I just had to lay them all down, and inform others as well.
Thank you so much for reading, Takami! Always very much appreciated 🙂 ❤
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I saw the Rhino story and it made me sick, If the guy wanted to hunt the rhino he should have done it traditionally in a loin cloth and spear, at least the animal would have a fighting chance. I can understand culling an overpopulated species to prevent starvation but endangered species should not be hunted. Depressing post but needs to be said..:-)
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Unfortunately, Ed, the endangered species are exactly the ones targeted, as they value the most on the black market….sickening indeed 😦 I don’t usually write such negative posts, but I had to let it off my chest, as it’s been on drafts for a while now. Thanks for reading and for your comment! Very much appreciated 🙂
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Really fearful. Thanks for proclaiming it.
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Thanks for reading! It’s quite scary to think where we’re heading … I can’t see a very bright future, right now, but I still hope things will change. Some countries did it, like Germany, Netherlands… Green energy is the best change we can make. Have a lovely day!
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How true. Have a good thursday!
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Thank you! You too!
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Thanks Lucy for an enjoyable article. I just finished to read it. As darwinontherocks points I also cannot see the first picture, but that’s just a little detail. It’s amazing how the governments doesn’t work together yet. Instead I see an increasing level to justify what is clearly wrong to satisfy customers with euphemisms or paid “studies”. In Peru we opposed strongly to replace our organic farming (that take us thousands of years to develop) with transgenic organisms, but unfortunately there are Peruvians (and illegal foreigners) that extract gold with high levels of contamination.
Some days ago I read about a Chinese study indicating that the global warming would be part of a natural cycle but it’s hard to trust if we consider that China is the factory of the world so that conclusion definitively would favor their industry.
Anyway, it seems like we’ve to start by home.
Thanks for a well written and deep article Lucy. It seems that we live in a world that tomorrow is never going to be the same as yesterday, at least in species and ecosystem.
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Thank you Francis for your feedback! I appreciate you reading my post. I’ll check to see what’s wrong with that first picture. Now I can see it doesn’t show to me either.
It’s nice to hear Peru fights to keep organic farming alive. More countries should do this, but with the increasing number of people, it’s hard to imagine how would be possible. We use more and more chemicals, and our food tastes worse and worse.
China tries to cover the damage which was already done. As almost everything is made there, the level of pollution won’t ever drop down, but they can’t tell people such a thing. It’s true, that the planet’s natural cycle is to warm up in time, until the next glacial era, but it won’t ever go up this fast, without our ‘help’. We’re killing ourselves slowly. Not sure if it’s murder or suicide…
As you also said, future looks different than the present, and I don’t think it’s going to be any better. I hope we won’t lose all wildlife on our way to greed…
Thank you once again for reading! Have a lovely day!
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You’re welcome and thanks again for a useful and important reading, Reading that is in us to transform in actions.
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Heartbreaking post… it is difficult to click the like. Thank you for your effort, Lucy.
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Sorry about that, Amy. I felt like I have to make a review. It was very depressing for me as well, to write it. After reading all this, I’m not sure what the way out would be… 😦 Thank you for reading and for your comment! Have a lovely evening ❤
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Thanks to you, Lucy! It takes enormous courage and effort to post it.
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This is an eye opening article. Going to reblog it 🙂
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Thank you, my friend! I’m happy to know you enjoyed it so much 🙂 It’s very hard for me to write about conservation, and see how much we destroy as specie… 😐
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It’s melancholic to get to know the real facts. But you are doing a great job by inspiring people with such cogent posts. Keep up the good work. The mankind will surely get on the right path 🙂
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It is, indeed. Thank you for your kind words. My main goal is to inspire people everyday through my writings. I’m not as positive as you are, about humanity getting back on the right track though, but I still hope it will happen. 🙂 Have a lovely evening!
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I want to plant as many trees as I can throughout my life. I am positive because people like you are working so hard to inspire other people and believe me it will work. simple 🙂
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That’s nice of you to say! Thanks! I hope from all my heart that it will work 🙂 we can accomplish a lot with an open mind, heart and positive attitude!
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Such an important post! What you say about that Planet Earth doesn’t need us. But that we need it is so true! And that is why we need to take good care of it! Something we appernetly are not doing.
I am working on a ebook about travel, and have a capital about this as well… Because often when we travel we do not take care of animals and the planet…
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Thank you so much for reading! Unfortunately not a lot of people understand that… We don’t really take care of our home, and it will backfire badly, in some years from now.
I’m looking forward to your ebook! It’s wonderful that you’ve decided to include also a chapter about this. I hope my article helped a bit. It was hard for me to put my ideas into order, as I wanted to share as much as possible.
Thank you for your lovely feedback! Very much appreciated! Have a great evening! ❤
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Reblogged this on Patte and commented:
What are we here to achieve? Money, Politics, cars, mansions? what exactly is that thing for which we have put our planet’s health in jeopardy? I want to be more specific here, what exactly is that thing for which we are ready to jeopardize our own health ( I am being selfish here ). Nature neither created money nor did it invent politics. These are the creations of homo sapiens ( the so called intellectuals ) and they all are in a vicious race now for these acquisitions on the expense of
1. The beauty of the planet ( the only green planet)
2. Their own health
3. Other innocent species: who have no idea what humans are up to
4. The chance of the survival ( which is reducing day by day )
I have observed a peacock in my housing area. what could be the reason, that it is wandering on the terrace of cemented homes (surprising, right?)?
I used to visit an old decapitated building in my locality, around 10 years ago, which was totally surrounded by trees so that it was like impossible to see that colossal structure from the road. The reason of the visit was same all the time- Peacocks. I used to go there to see peacocks. They were around 50 in numbers. But at present, you will be shocked to know that there are only 10-15 peacocks left there. Don’t mull over the reason for this decline, it’s obvious as there are no trees surrounding that building, which means no insects or birds resulting in no food. So peacocks are wandering in home localities for food.
Now, you can find a lot of scenarios like this. The only reason is deforestation and what is sad is that we are causing it. YES, we are the real culprits and ONLY we should be punished. But that’s not the case, the only one’s getting punished are the silent species (sad).
There are around 7 billion people in this world, not everyone is thinking about acquiring a heavy wooden chair for which a tree will be chopped down, there are so many people moving forward for a better tomorrow. I came across this blog today, the author has so eloquently covered each and every point on the consequences of deforestation. Give it a read. I was inspired to reblog it. I wish you all a green sense. Plant trees not for mother earth, not for peacocks but for yourself (be selfish at least). Go green. Plant a tree to enhance, to enhance everything 🙂
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Sad but True 😦 Great post,Thank you Lucy
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Thank you for reading, Leyla! I wish none of this was true, but unfortunately, this is how the situation looks like right now. 😦 It was a very emotionally difficult post to write.
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Woah, such great post. This really touched me in the feels 😦
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Thank you for reading. Unfortunately, it’s the sad reality …
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😦 sorry
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I really admire you Lucy for writing such a powerful and well researched post which is highly thought provoking and is the need of the hour.
It has set the tone for me to think differently and do something which I have been thinking and indeed was in pain the way we all have been exploiting nature and have taken mother earth for granted. We all have been very selfish and living for ourselves, what is going to happen to our children. Yes, the kind of destruction and depletion happening and that too with such rapid pace, time is indeed ticking away and we should have done something yesterday not today. It is imperative and it is non-negotiable. We have wake up and do our bit and action to speak, not words, we have crossed that zone of speaking out but it time to do and put our words into action.
The facts and figures that you have mentioned are just mind-boggling. 100 species extinction every day, 140,000 sq km o rain forest..deforestation, soil erosion to global warming to air and water pollution, life is in danger and we keep killing our endangered species for our commercial gains. The temperature in summer is unbearable and it is rising year after year, this year in many parts of India is hovering around 45 and some parts are touching that 50 mark, just not able to comprehend how people can live in such extreme conditions who cannot afford the basic comforts of life, many poor people living outside are helpless and it is crime to exploit the nature for your own selfish interest and put many life into such grave danger.
Wonderfully written post. Kudos to you…
This is just the beginning of our discussion on such an important topic and something we need to continue debating. Greed over Need!!!
Hope you are having a lovely weekend.
lets drive to nurture our nature.
😀
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Thank you for reading, my friend! I was looking forward to your feedback on this, as I was curious to see if you see any solution in this mess. It was very hard emotionally to put them all down in one place, and re-read them a few times. Took me days to put my ideas into order, but I wanted to bring attention to the possible consequences of our neglect and lack of interest for conservation.
We’re selfish, that’s for sure. We don’t think about long term consequences, but only about our own well being. Very frustrating to see so many species go extinct, because of our poisonous lifestyle. In the same time, I feel like there are way too many people, for the planet’s possibilities, to grow food without chemicals… We want to eat something, and we want it now. We go for a lower quality food, and we’re fine with it, instead of worrying about what will all those poisons do to us, in some years from now.
We destroy the habitat of so many plants and animals, and make the plant inhabitable, for both us and any other living organism. As you also said, temperature only goes up, and it’s harder and harder to live a normal life, in some areas of the planet.
Just yesterday I saw on the news, some area in my country, which has no more drinkable water, as it was poisoned by chemicals… We’re heading for such a dark place, if we don’t make a change now, or, rather yesterday. Still, the best time to do something, is now, but I have doubts that it will happen.
Cheers to a lovely chat! Such a pleasure to hear your thoughts on such an important subject. Have a lovely Sunday!
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Lucy I reiterate this post is an incredible work of brilliance. When I was going through the post once again, I was just imagining the kind of thinking, the kind of efforts and the kind of re-reading needed to get this kind of perfection and so much of critical information and this has to have lot of research done and reading before one can get there and you have done so beautifully and with so much of relevant information and critical data points which gives us the cue to think deep and bigger.
It is such an irony that we are on the verge of fighting on “air and water”, the basic necessity of our existence…the rising level of air pollution and the increased scarcity of water is highly alarmingly and it seems except those affected others are less concerned and are doing little for the nature. We have to raise our voice and do our part, it is non-negotiable.
How can we live life at the cost of others and how fair it is to keep exploiting the nature and live for today and not do something for the future and for the next generation. Today we keep doing things without much rationality, we have become mad and irrational creatures and keep pushing our senses into cold storage. Everything is about today and now, for the moment and our thinking of future and life is for tomorrow is perhaps unknowingly but grossly ignored, and this ignorance is costing the life and living of our next generation.
As rightly pointed out the pace of extinction and depletion is skyrocketed in this century and things seems are just not in our control and we are verge of seeing the catastrophe in our lifetime which is scary to think.
Yes, cheers to our wonderful exchange of thoughts and it is indeed very inspiring and igniting new ways of looking at life and living.
Let’s work towards nurturing the nature.
You too have a lovely week ahead.
😀
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Thank you, Nihar, for your kind words! I feel honored to read your amazing thoughts. I don’t see it as an amazing piece of writing, but more like a depressing one. It was indeed difficult to get all my idea organized, and also, to have the mindset to read about such tragedies… Still, I believe education is a very important part of making better choices, so if I can inform and educate more people, I feel like I did a great job.
Indeed it is amazing, how we take nature for granted. We never think about the impact our actions have on the fragile balance. We just feel like it’s a given right to breath fresh air, have food on the table, drink clean water. Unfortunately, those are not given, and soon enough, we’ll take them away from ourselves, through carelessness.
We live in a world where what matters is only today. We rush into everything, we’re always in a race against the clock. We think evolution means fast access to everything, but I wonder if we should call it evolution at all. The relation a tribe has with their prey, is more honest and closer to nature, than we ever will, with supermarkets full of food which gets wasted, and also about which we have no idea where it comes from.
I also believe things got out of hand, and I’m not sure if we can control them or if we ever will. At the rate we’re currently going through resources, we don’t really aim towards a brighter future.
Thank you once again for such a lovely talk! Your comments always inspire me to continue writing, and improve my skills.
Have a wonderful Monday! 🙂
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I fully agree that the thoughts are deeply depressing but the way you have put it is amazingly powerful. You have to question the conscience of readers, and it has done so very strongly. Education and awareness are key to changing the way we treat our nature and the way we can do our bit in protecting and preserving the fragile nature, nurturing the nature is something should be within all of us and it is more important today then it was yesteryear. We have the right to use the water, breath the fresh air but have equal responsible towards clean water and clean air…nature is designed to keep balance and the moment we disturb the balance, it implications are far reaching and the impacts go to the extent being disastrous for the mankind. No more we are concerned with the evolution of mother nature but we are recklessly indulge in it’s devolution of the composition which is a delicate balance of nature.
Wastage is something we take it very lightly and casually refer to the loss…foods getting thrown to we consuming more than we need and our body is getting subjected to the imbalance of toxic consumption.
You are right, things have gone out of control and we are just mute witness and what we attempt to do, we can and should do but the outcomes may not be upto our expectation. The rate of resource depletion has gone crazy and we are behaving like mad people…knowingly hitting our own leg and imagining that we are creating new path for our future, perhaps we are all living in a fools paradise…presently exploiting nature and expecting to nurture our future.
The more we debate on the subject and share the grim reality that we are carving for the future perhaps we can always pause and reflect and do contribute our bit towards a better tomorrow. May be everything is not yet lost and we need to get our acts together and be little innovative in our appraoch in solving the problem, and nobody can define the nature and magnitutude of problem we are facing…lets face it and change the way the world is looking at the problem, and we are the solution provider and action shall speak louder than our words but the beginning has to be in the words and which you have done so brilliantly…
Your writing keeps me thinking and I love to add my bit of little thoughts to take the debate a step ahead…hopefully I am able to do justice to the topic and the discussion.
Thanks always you too have a lovely week ahead.
😀
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Thank you, my friend! I like to believe powerful thoughts change something inside readers. I’ll always do my part, and inform about what I feel is worth sharing.
You are right about us having the right to clean water and air, but with this right also comes a great responsibility, of respecting this precious resources and ensuring future generations that they as well, will have access to a good quality life.
Yes, we go through resources like mad, and I don’t think is necessary, especially when it comes to wrappers for gifts or appliances/food. At least, we could actively get involved into recycling as much as we can. Unfortunately, my country isn’t very into this … Such a pity to burn something which could be reused.
Indeed, we can’t tell the magnitude of the problem, and this is exactly my fear. The numbers I provided are just estimates. We have no idea about the real numbers, so the situation could be much worse.
I hope you had a lovely week, so far. Have a great day, and looking forward to more wonderful talks! 🙂
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There are many small things that we all do to save our environment and as rightly pointed out we can very well avoid the wrappers for food and gifts. The practice of “reduce, reuse and recycling” is such a powerful way to protect and preserve the resources of nature.
The responsibility is what takes a back seat when it comes to use of resources, we just do not give a serious thought and we keep carrying the perception that resources are in abundance and many times we think for us only and not for others and yes, there is need for serious change in our thinking and outlook on nature and resources.
I agree the true nature of problem may be much higher and bigger than what is being captured and presented in statistics, many times the statistics hide more than it reveals. It is important for us to understand and read the data in its proper context and intent.
I am trying to do my bit to reduce, reuse and recycle the resources and thank for bringing the pressing idea onto the fore for debate.
😀
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Such a thought provoking and disturbing article Lucy I’m so glad you had the courage to post it. I think many people just live in blissful ignorance and don’t want to change their habits. I have always thought like Gin that trophy hunting is disgusting and that is just one of the issues you raise. Global warming is clearly a major issue too apart from the problems of housing and feeding such a huge world population. In developed countries people want convenience all the time, easy to prepare meals that come in plastic packaging, access to 24 hour internet etc but it is coming at a cost to our planet. As much education as possible and support for conservation organisations as well as doing our small bit whatever that may be is the only way to go. If everyone were on the same page it would help!
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Thank you so much for reading and for sharing your thoughts. We live in such a selfish world. As you said, everything we buy, to make our life easier, has a cost on planet Earth. We use more and more resources, for useless things, like wrappers. Also, some countries don’t recycle at all, which means we’re going through resources at a very high speed. Not sure if we’re actually going to improve things before it’s too late, but I also believe like education and informing people is the way to go. I hope my article will be useful, even if it was so hard to write. Have a lovely day! ❤
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Lucy as has been said in the comments this is a challenging and I would add in some cases heart breaking read. the poaching issues left me astounded. Thank you for bringing forward these issues. I’m sure not easy to write either.
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Thank you for reading, Sue! I know how difficult it is to read this. When I researched the figures my face dropped a lot of times, and i felt very sad to see of how much destruction we’re guilty. I sure hope the poaching will stop, but I doubt it, as in very poor communities, that can be the only form of income. In the human vs animal fight, humans always ‘win’. I can’t even call it a win, as it’s a loss for humanity 😦
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Wonderful and excellent post Lucy! You pointed out this complex issue in details and complete. I share your concern and worrisome. I share similar fears that is caused by human’s nasty traits: greed and ignorance. I am not sure how to change these traits, perhaps by enforcing minimalist living? Could that be?
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Thank you for reading, Indah and for your lovely thoughts! It’s nice to see so many people concerned with conservation. I’m not sure how we can get rid of greed though. It’s hard to imagine people switching to minimalist lifestyle. Our society reached a point where we just need more and more resources, not less. I think education is the best option we have. Informing people about using only what they need, and be more conscious about every resource they waste. I’d love to see things taking a turn for the better …
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Education is certainly playing role and continuously campaigning to re-use stuff instead buying new stuff…it is a very complex matter, I guess all disciplines should take this issue as part of their concerns..
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Well-written and passionate post, Lucy. I heard about the hunter who paid to kill a rhino in Namibia. Sickening. I’ve been following news from Namibia lately, because I’m going on safari there in August. There have been a lot of rhino deaths there lately. Thankfully, it looks like they caught the guy who was behind it- a Chinese man who was smuggling the horns. Honestly, at this point I like animals more than humans.
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That’s sick…I don’t know how can people do such horrible things 😦 Breaks my heart. No one needs that horn more than a rhino.
Your trip sounds like a lot of fun!! It’s my dream as well to go on a safari in Africa, so I’m looking forward to hear how yours went. I’m sure you’ll have a wonderful time.
I’m on the same page here, the more I hear about such things, the more I love animals.
Thanks for reading and for sharing your thoughts! Have a great weekend! x
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Extremely well written; difficult to accept as true.
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Thank you, Maria! It’s very difficult to read, but I’m sure that reality looks even worse than the statistics. Such a pity we let greed take over every aspect of our lives…
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Hi Lucy, do not know why, I am not getting your post feeds. Anyway, you are absolutely right. In my place , we are afraid many birds are going extinct due to human activity. And only few people are aware and others do not want to. If it goes like this, soon bad days are coming for planet earth.People are destroying more trees for papers! I sometimes wonder, what we can do more to stop this 😦
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So sorry about the notifications. Others told me the same thing…Very strange. I think WordPress had a problem in the day when I posted this article. Anyway, thank you for finding it!
It’s so sad to hear about the birds… This happens everywhere. The more forests we kill, the less animals we see around. We’re actively working on poisoning our air and water, and killing any other living organism. I’m not sure what could be done in order to stop this, but education is a beginning… 😦
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the world makes not in this Page what you need.
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Crazy world out there. Thank you so much for stopping by! Have a lovely weekend!
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greetings
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very well written….after reading this article my thoughts dragged to google about those species which are listed as critically endangered by IUCN !!!!……
nice….a thought provoking one !!!
https://dreamlittlebig.wordpress.com/
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Thank you for reading and for taking the time to share your thoughts. It’s indeed very sad what’s going on with most endangered species… By the looks of it, the situation isn’t getting any better.
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