Our lasting gift to our children: extinction
By John F. Borowski
Millions of Americans return home each day from work or play
to be greeted with indescribable affection and love from their
pets. How would they react if the following scenario was unfolding?
As the faithful pet owner walks up the sidewalk to their house,
a neighbor is wringing the life out of their beloved cat or
dog! Would the pet owner calmly ask, “Is there an economic
or social reason that forces you to choke the life out of my
pet?” Would the pet owner negotiate a compromise with this
fool who is slowly draining the life of the pet? Would the pet
owner sigh and retort, “You are bigger and more powerful
than I, so goodbye dear pet”? Probably no, on all counts,
and a majority of these pet owners would resort to instantaneous
and forceful measures to protect their animal.
Worldwide, we are collectively wringing the necks of thousands
of species, not only denying the beauty and the right of these
species to exist, but unexplainably and arrogantly ripping the
rivets out of the machinery needed for human survival. As E.O.
Wilson, famed entomologist and foremost authority on biodiversity,
states, “We dismiss the weeds and the bugs of the earth.”
Yet, their ecological niches, or simply put, their jobs on earth,
range from the generation of oxygen, recycling of nutrients,
the creation of soil, and the pollination of flowers and they
are inextricably linked in thousands of other roles: both known
and unknown to the most dominant species on earth, humans. Maybe
it is time to reconsider who are the true weeds on earth?
Millions of years of evolution have fine tuned life on this
planet, with some scientists believing that the current number
of species is between forty and sixty million, with only two
or so million actually documented and named. Humans, with their
brief presence on earth, have been graced with a plethora of
organisms that some would indeed categorize as a “garden
of Eden.” And the question that is begged to be asked is
relatively simple despite the efforts to cast it as overwhelmingly
complex. “Why would a single generation of Homo sapiens
knowingly eradicate one quarter to one half of the species on
earth in a geological twinkling of an eye?” And in the
later years of life, how are we going to explain the permanent
loss of the most magnificent creatures the planet has ever seen
to our children and grandchildren? Terms like profit margin,
land rights, cost benefit analysis, and other excuses will ring
hollow as our collective children look at the pictures of giant
whales, tropical orchids, sea turtles, and tigers and ask, “Why
are these species no longer on earth?”
And if current trends persist, the species our children will
ask about will be long and tortuous to ponder:
- Peter Raven, the world’s consummate botanist, recently
reported that 50 percent of all plant species might disappear
in the next 30-50 years. And with those plants will disappear
the genetic stock of current and future foods, cancer and
heart disease drugs, invaluable links in nature’s services
and irreplaceable aesthetic gifts to the landscape;
- One quarter of all the world’s mammal species face
imminent extinction. These 1,130 mammal species represent
some of the world’s most unique and magnificent creatures.
Ranging from the blue whale and the Siberian tiger to florida
manatees and black rhinos, human disturbance of habitat and
the poisoning of the seas could homogenize the planet for
generations to come. And our nearest relatives, the great
primates, could fade into oblivion in 2 or 3 decades;
- Some 82 species of fishes are in peril with nearly 30 percent
of all fish endangered globally. The mighty great white shark
to the mainstay of human fisheries (cod, rockfish and hake)
is being sacrificed by a consumptive orgy never seen in recorded
history. As we scour the seas with long, baited hooked lines,
we also sacrifice the oldest reptiles of the seas: sea turtles;
- One quarter of all parrots species are on the brink, along
with one in eight of all bird species globally. Some 182 bird
species teeter on critical extinction, with a 50 percent chance
of surviving the next ten years. Yet we assault our monoculture
lawns with a dizzying array of pesticides and herbicides.
We continue to ravage forests (76 percent of threatened birds
occur in forests), with our own national forests being fragmented
into giant puzzles of clearcuts and green beauty strips;
- Seventy-two percent of all freshwater clams are endangered
in the United States. For the uneducated, extinct clams seem
like a small price to pay for our passion with virtual reality,
theme parks, and uncontrolled development. But these organisms
are indicators of water and river health, and it is these
inconspicuous organisms, ranging from clams to slugs, that
hold the fabric of forests, rivers, prairies and all ecosystems
in balance.
This ongoing catastrophe has biological, economic, social,
and cultural ramifications beyond human comprehension. Yet,
the modern-day vehicles for screaming the alert are all but
silent. In this age of email and lightning fast communication,
the average person is educated by the “mass media.”
In the barren wasteland of television and radio, those accountable
for enlightenment have missed, most knowingly, and continue
to omit the saga of the worst extinction period in the world’s
history. To address this biological holocaust would point fingers
at corporate powers consumed with profit and consumers who often
know little about the biological ramifications of indulgence,
and would ask questions of us we much rather push to the bottom
of our daily agendas.
During the 2002 election the term environment, let alone global
mass extinction, was missing in action. When was the last time
President Bush spoke on global extinction? Has he ever discussed
it, or could he even spell extinction? When was the last time
Americans heard a policy speech, a prime time presidential speech
to the nation or a segment of the State of the Union address
the consequences of unchecked extinction? When has ABC, NBC,
or CBS done a several hour special on extinction? Would Bill
O’Reilly or Rush Limbaugh even be fluent in the basics
of the extinction discussion? Yes, thank goodness for individuals
like Jane Goodall, the environmental magazines and grassroots
organizations worldwide and the dedicated work of those who
bring the issue to the Internet. Yet, without mainstream press
and television coverage, extinction remains under-reported by
the selective radar screen of corporate television.
We are wringing the necks of our companions on this planet
that we share with them. It is an immoral, unethical, and an
unforgivable legacy I would rather not have be an entry into
the history books of the current century. For those who are
religious, it is akin to ripping out the planks of Noah’s
Ark. Did your God give you a mandate to liquidate creation?
Aren’t you caretakers of Eden? For those who simply believe
human life spans several decades on earth, what economic, social,
or cultural equation epitomizes your existence? And why do you
get to squander the interest on the earth’s biological
capital? For those who have been granted political power, why
do you abdicate your responsibility to ensure several generations
to come will share the same beauty we now enjoy? Of those of
the corporate ilk, we will confiscate your business charters
if you arrogantly view nature as numbers on a quarterly profit
sheet. And lastly, as residents on earth, particularly the citizens
of more affluent societies, your insatiable materialistic desires
place unbearable strain on the biological towers of life. And
the extinction of species is as horrific and unforgivable as
the terrorist act that drove a plane into a human tower of life
on 9/11.
The steps are many to solve this human induced plague on the
planet’s plants and animals. From demanding that the mainstream
press cover the issue, to adopting a land ethic that mimics
that bestowed upon us by Aldo Leopold’s “A Sand County
Almanac,” we have little time for compromise. The United
States can lead the way by developing a wilderness strategy
that connects through a series of corridors all the ecosystems
in our nation. We must call on our politicians to scurry up
the bully pulpit and sound the clarion warning of mass extinction.
Ecological damage must be incorporated in our GNP and other
human created economic equations that knowingly omit environmental
damage from the profit ledger. National forests and parks must
be expanded and kept free of mining, logging and oil extraction.
Global communities must avoid the rush to globalization, as
if rows of McDonald’ses and Wal-Marts rather than herds
of elephants and Asiatic lions would better serve Africa’s
grasslands and India’s forests. We must adopt a fossil-fuel
free generation of energy strategies. Fisheries must be sustainable
and practices that kill sea turtles or dolphins must be outlawed.
The 3 R’s must include fluency in ecological sciences,
that knowledge about wildlife be as common as the ABC’s.
This data is sobering and real. It would be much easier to
ignore it, to consider with a lighter mind if Winona Ryder will
do prison time for petty theft or who will win this year’s
Super Bowl. We do not have the luxury of time and despite all
our technology, extinction is an environmental problem that
will not be remedied by quick fixes. And it is the curse our
children’s children are least likely to forgive us for.
John F. Borowski has been a teacher of environmental and marine
science for 23 years. He sits on the advisory board of the Native
Forest Council, and has testified in Congress on behalf of forest
protection. He is a contributing writer for Liberal Slant. He
can be reached at jenjill@proaxis.com
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