Activists can make environmental issues seem like an attack on one’s humanity and decency. Their tone really is unfortunate given that they often have very good points to make. Let’s try and have a civilized discussion on why the environment should matter to the average person.
The importance of biodiversity
Biodiversity means having more than one species/animal on the planet. The way we’re going, it seems like humans will be the only species left in the end. Animal rights activists argue, rather aggressively, on moral grounds, saying animals have feelings too and they don’t deserve to die in fear because of human greed. By that logic, should lions feel bad about killing off wildibeasts? Should sharks feel bad about killing off fishes? The foodchain argument has always been that the apex predator, which is currently humans, will hunt and eat other species for their survival. However, there is a flaw with this argument. Humans are not like other apex predators in history, because, unlike those other predators who attained apex status because of their hunting skills, humans attained apex status mainly because of their intelligence and adaptability. Thanks to this intelligence and adaptability, there is a whole science behind how humans can survive without aggressive hunting. That science is about surviving on plant sources alone. The central appeal of this idea is that plants do not need to be killed in order for us to harvest their products as food, and these products, when taken in enough quantity and variety, can provide us with all the nutrients we need for our survival. But if carbon dioxide is the big problem, then wouldn’t it make sense to kill other animals since they exhale carbon dioxide, and keep only the plants alive so that they can absorb the carbon dioxide and leave only oxygen? Only if you overlook the fact that plants have no significant source of carbon dioxide (which they need to produce oxygen) if animal species except humans died out. As strong as our population is, 7 billion at present, it’s not enough to feed all the plants in the world without help from other animal species. Thus, we see that all plants and animals are vital for life support systems. Without plants, there can’t be animals and without animals, there can’t be plants. If humans keep killing off both plants and animals at the same rate as we do now, then the biodiversity will fall to such a level that the oxygen-carbon dioxide balance that is vital for all life on Earth will be severely disrupted. This, right here, is the most important reason to not mess with evolution’s design of the planet’s existing biodiversity. It is a very delicate balance. The one thing evolution didn’t get right is human greed. Human greed is now outpacing the needs of the biosphere at such a rate that it is destroying the biosphere. It is pushing us towards a severe breakdown of the oxygen-carbon dioxide balance.
Waste management
Waste falls into two categories. Biodegradable waste and Non-biodegradable waste. Biodegradable waste can be reutilized by the biosphere, whereas non-biodegradable waste cannot. Perhaps the biggest threat today among non-biodegradable waste is plastic. There is a push to reduce the consumption of plastic, and replace it with paper, since paper is biodegradable. Non-biodegradable waste is toxic to living beings. Since so much of it is dumped into both land and water, innocent animals consume them and get fatally affected by their toxic nature. With this phenomenon posing such a significant risk to numerous species, the danger, once again, is a catastrophic decrease in biodiversity that severely threatens the oxygen-carbon dioxide balance.
Global warming
Why is warming a problem? Canada would become more livable. So would Siberia and so would many other temperate regions around the world. But what about non-temperate regions? The temperatures in non-temperate regions border on unbearable as it is. With a 3 degree increase (which is what is expected at the current rate of warming gas emissions), the temperatures would become impossible to survive. This would send populations to temperate regions. Just imagine 7 billion people competing for the small fraction of Earth’s total surface that houses temparate regions. Murder would be an everyday occurrence. Also, scores of other species would also be affected, which again, threatens that delicate and precious oxygen-carbon dioxide balance that is so vital to life on Earth.
Human overpopulation
Humans have multiplied at an unprecedented rate. No other apex predator in history was able to get anywhere close to the 7 billion mark. Not one. Evolution gave us too many strengths. It’s not a perfect process. Every now and then, the mistakes of evolutionary process become evident. But one mistake that is set to be the most costly mistake in Earth’s history is the all-consuming success of the human species. Think about the word “all-consuming.” Every human on Earth produces such a staggering amount of waste. Other animals don’t even come close. We also consume the biosphere at such a rate that it is literally destroying it, which no other apex predator has ever done. So what is the solution? To kill huge swaths of the population? Indeed, yes. Evolution had the covered with pathogens like the great plague which regularly killed people and kept the population under control. As of the last few decades however, vaccine technology and reparative medical science has advanced so greatly, that neither pathogens nor organ decay stand much of a chance. In this day and age, the only solution might be for no human to have a natural child, and only adopt those that already exist, no matter the cost or effort, for the sake of the world. There are millions of children who are need of loving parents, and adoption can be every bit as fulfilling as having biological children. But the time has come to seriously consider the catastrophic increment towards global biodiversity collapse produced by every new human born to the world.
That’s enough for now. Thank you for reading.