How many of us would say that we love the world? Maybe we love the fish we ate last night for dinner. Or our backyards that turned from a garden to a patio, or to go back a little bit, the plot of land on which our houses were built. Well, in such cases as well as many others, our love is like poison. We love the earth so much, that we can't seem to get enough...not enough fish, not enough paper, not enough oil, not enough pencils ... to the point where it's overkill. We no longer love it for what it is, but for what it can provide.
Exactly how invasive are we? How much have we overstepped our boundaries as the caregivers of the world? Is it our job to think we are God, in a way that we can take control of biodiversity, from the plants to the animals, to entire ecosystems? I'm sure everyone has their own opinions, but let's explore some of the ways that our human tendencies to think we are almighty have caused negative implications on the environment.
Pollution: Different forms of pollution, have different effects on living organisms. Acid rain, can kill off many types of sea creatures, such as mollusk and fish, because they can not survive in the acidic levels in the water. Other ways of pollution, such as our waste management, toxic chemicals and use of pesticides and cleaners, enter into water bodies that are used by animals and humans.
Urbanization: From 1871 to 1991, the percentage of people living in urban areas increased from 19% to 77%. Really, this means that more land is converted into homes, more people are driving cars and more people are being consumerists.
Manufacturing: Think about everything that we own. Most of it probably came from a factory, which pollutes the air and water, as well as uses too much energy and water. To gain from these factories, something has to be sacrificed, and that is the preservation of the natural world.
Forestry: Clear cutting is a common practice, when it comes to logging. But it can really destroy the environment. These trees are homes and habitats to vast variety of wildlife, and removing these trees also cause a loss of nutrient-rich topsoil. The sad part is that clear-cutting removes the potential for the habitat to reestablish after the trees are logged. It is also hard for the soil to regenerate, and the forest may take decades to centuries to grow again.
Fishing:
Canada and the fishing industry go hand in hand, because we are located right beside two great bodies of water. But what's to fish, when they are all gone? Four types of Canadian fish have become extinct, There are 53 species at risk for extinction. Based on 1991 statistics, the marine catch of Quebec was 83 000 tonnes! Aquaculture is a human activity that is taking an effect on the biodiversity of fish.
Canada and the fishing industry go hand in hand, because we are located right beside two great bodies of water. But what's to fish, when they are all gone? Four types of Canadian fish have become extinct, There are 53 species at risk for extinction. Based on 1991 statistics, the marine catch of Quebec was 83 000 tonnes! Aquaculture is a human activity that is taking an effect on the biodiversity of fish.Humans are affecting biodiversity, because we are overpopulated, which leads to over-consuming, which leads to more industrial activity and development. It's a continuous cycle, that puts a greater threat on biodiversity each time. There simply is not enough resources on the earth to sustain us, because there is really no infinite amount. The more we strive to attain resources, the greater the impact on the environment. Of course the things mentioned above only seem to stress how we pollute the world and such, but if you think deeper, you can picture the animals that will die off or those plants and animals that will have to suffer or adapt to a new way of life. The more there are of us, the more we end up invading the habitats of wildlife.
I love going to up to my friend's cottage at Golden Lake, which is about 4 hours from Toronto. (Pictures above!) There are a set of houses built around a part of the lake, which sort of becomes their own semi-private lake. I love the serenity of the natural world, being surrounded by real fresh air, being able to see the stars, and hear the sounds of animals in their natural habitat. This is what our lives should be like... to enjoy the sounds of nature instead of the noise of our iPods. Our lifestyles are killing biodiversity, foreshadowing our own demise. At this cottage, I saw the cutest frog going from the lake back into the woods. It stopped in its tracks after I saw it and stared at me. It made me think about unit 1 of Gr. 10 science, where we learned about frogs and how we were basically ruining their lives. They live in forests, but also need to go to swamps to lay eggs and procreate. The creation of roads, the destruction of forests, and the clearing of small swamps to make room for big city dreams, all expose these frogs to their predators. And there I was, standing in front of it, a potential predator. I was in its territory, yet it was afraid of me. When we learn that raccoons are in our neighbourhood or there are random rabbits in our yards, our thought is to make them go away. But really, who are we to get them off "our" property, when we invaded their territory first?
So to answer the question, "are we stewards?"... The answer is yes. Are we GOOD stewards? Then, the answer is no. Of course, there are those exceptions out there that do good things for the environment, and those instances where the human race have shown they can also create positive effects. Then, there some people in the human race who have done nothing to harm the environment, because they aren't advance enough to live in houses that waste electricity or have animals to hunt, etc. Sure, they don't live the lifestyle we do, but the blood from the destruction of this world is on our hands.
We bite off more than we can chew. No matter what kind of action we attempt to take, it seems as though we can move one step forward, but we end up taking two steps back. We are part of the web of life. We know it, we really do. But knowing is not enough, because it seems as though the symptoms of this diminishing web is not apparent enough. Why is the sun so hot, that it has become the norm for moles to appear on our skin ? Why is the weather out of whack? Why are animals disappearing? Why why why? Is it not obvious enough? Must something HUGE and catastrophic occur before we can take some REAL action? Turning off lights whenever you can, recycling, taking the bus, riding your bike...whatever you are doing-- it just isn't going to be good enough anymore, when we over-fish, cut down trees, burn fossil fuels...
We can think that our ancestors can be our scapegoats, because they were the ones who started the industrial revolution and the practices that we use today. It's their fault isn't it? The difference between them and us, is that they didn't know they were harming the natural world. They thought they were making life easier for us so that lives would be better from generation to generation. We know what's happening. We know that our grandchildren, our great-grandchildren, and on and on will have to suffer. We know that things have to be different. I'm not pointing any fingers, because I just might be more guilty than you. But for real, things need to change and they need to start changing now, if there's any shot to reverse what we put our environment, our home, through, just to satisfy our needs. Maybe it's time for us to sacrifice our needs for the earth, considering how much we have made it suffer. Maybe it's time to love the world in another way.
(This picture kind of makes me feel sad. The environment has suffered so much due to our 'invasiveness'.)
Works Cited
Dougherty, J. (2000-2001). Human Population Impacts on Biodiversity. Retrieved September 30, 2009, from Biodiversity and Human Health:
Redpath Museum. (n.d.). Impacts on Biodiversity. Retrieved September 30, 2009, from Quebec Biodiversity Website:
