As we do to other things, so one day we'll do to ourselves

I am profoundly saddened and disgusted as I write this post.

I happened to stumble across an article on Live Science from 2008 entitled, “10 Species You Can Kiss Goodbye.”  Since extinctions happen frequently to all manner of plants and microscopic organisms, I presumed those species would make up the majority of the list.  I was wrong.  So very wrong.

What was on there?  Oh, minor things I suppose, in the worldview of many.  Animals like the rhinoceros, the mountain gorilla, the orangutan, the red wolf, and the Siberian tiger.  And the reason for their imminent demise?  Well in several cases, the habitat of these animals is being encroached upon every day.  The world population is growing at an unrestricted rate and people need more land on which to live.  So clear out all the trees and start popping up condos and McMansions.   Then there's the effects of global warming as species are losing their habitat to flood and drought.
Sadly, those are not the only reasons for the extinctions.  In the cases of the rhino, the gorilla, and the tiger, poaching and souvenir collecting are largely to blame.  Just click on the link and take a look at that pic of the dead gorilla.  It’s ghoulish the things that we do to other living things.

This goes beyond wanting to “save cute animals.”  There is inherent logic and illogic within this matter.  Every organism on Earth serves a logical purpose within its ecosystem.  When an organism is removed from the equation, nature is out of balance.  When an organism reproduces at an unchecked rate, nature is out of balance.  Humans are that unchecked organism. 

Then there is the illogic of why species such as gorillas are hunted to extinction.  While I’m trying to become a vegetarian, I can understand the past need of using animals for food and clothing.  That is not the motivation for the slaying and poaching of many endangered species.  No, those acts of barbarism are precipitated by human greed, ignorance, and the fact that humans kill simply because they can.  Religion doesn’t help things either, this fallacy that humans are entitled to mastery over all the Earth in order to somehow ethically justify these actions. 

In reading through the comments on this Live Science article, I’m glad to see that I’m not alone in the “feeling disgusted” department.  Actually, several posters have made me feel oddly encouraged.  You see nature really does seem to abhor imbalance.  Combine that with the fact that we humans are very good at killing each other, whether it be through war or wrecking our own environment, and you can see that there is an eleventh species to add to that list. 

That’s right, we’re next.

I get a sort of sick satisfaction from that notion.

Now, I leave you with a bit of musical accompaniment: Ladytron, “Destroy Everything You Touch.”

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