I got into an argument (well, rather, let us say a passionate discussion) on my hobby blog about over population. It started with me saying that there are just too many people in the world, and someone else insisting that human population will eventually control itself. My point was that, yes, human population will be controlled, but it will not control itself. Mother Nature with control it for us. In the mean time, there are an awful lot of endangered species whose existences hangs by a threat because, well, gee, there are just too many people.
This article kind of proves my point. Yes, people need firewood. And, now there is a charcoal black market. And, whenever there is a black market, there is a mafia. And, gee... this is what a mafia does, no matter where it is.
Friday, February 8, 2008
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I come from a slightly different take. There are a lot of people; sure, over-population. But the number of people doesn't shock me nearly as much as the depths of our...William Golding would love this...savagery. We are unkind, self-centered, egocentrical, greedy, and unsound. I say "we" because all of us have the potential and most of us act on it to some degree.
I remember reading about the gorillas, and I noticed how little information followed the original story. I shared the story with my students during a classroom discussion and I felt shock at the lack of response. They didn't see it as a "big deal" or even consider the potential loss of such a beautiful and grand species as troublesome. It doesn't affect them. Nor does there seem to be an effect for them.
So, lots of human beings. Few who see beyond their "own" -- lives, needs, wants, desires. And even fewer who act on the savagery of incidents like the killing of creatures as majestic as the Mountain Gorillas.
Prey, predator, pest. We (humans) are often seen as predators. Maybe, in the natural world, our over-abundance and devastating affect makes us pests.
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