...one of the biggest issues which nobody has addresses is the fact that the sheer population on the planet is too large...
That is the
endangered elephant in the room, isn't it? We hear a lot about financial debt nowadays but there's another debt crisis in the world - ecological debt, which is when consumption of resources & production of waste outstrips the Earth's ability to generate those resources and absorb that waste for the year. For the last 22-23 years, we've been running an ecological debt.
Again, I don't mean to get into a socio-political debate but it's well established that many of our most urgent and serious environmental problems have been linked to human population growth. Habitat destruction, loss of biological diversity, pollution (air, water, soil, noise, and light), deforestation, the list goes on. From overfishing to poor sanitation & dumping chemicals in waterways to destructive agricultural & home gardening practices to the illicit trade in rare animals & plants to wasteful habits to war, these and other acts have had major effects on species and ecosystems. In fact, humanity's impact on the planet has became so pervasive and dominant that there are some scientists who suggest the Earth has entered a new geologic era, the Anthropocene.
Instead, we need to disassociate politics from climate science and restore objectivity and rational, measured tones to this topic, as opposed to shrill cries of panic and fear.
I do agree that fear mongering is not the way to go. Both because it can be a distraction from good science and because it's often completely counterproductive since it can either make people think things are so hopeless there's no point trying to fix our environmental problems or it makes people skeptical that warnings about the health of species and the environment are just empty scare tactics. But it's not just tree huggers who've been guilty of fear mongering or spreading bad science. I still remember when I was growing up and Reagan kept saying that we didn't really know whether acid rain was a problem (*duh*). And we've been left with a tragic legacy of ravaged forests and polluted waterways due to his irresponsible and dishonest rhetoric. (Okay, to be fair, I can't blame it all on him, the problem had been around for years before he took office. It's just that I get so frustrated by the delay tactics of the anti-enviros.) Talk show hosts spewing dire and irrational accusations about environmentalists wanting to destroy America is one of the more egregious and and infuriating examples of fear mongering of which I can think. Other examples come to mind but this post is going to be long enough as it is.
We have to realize that these are complex and interconnected problems. If one points out that some alternative energy technologies can harm wildlife (such as wind turbines being deadly to bats by causing a condition called barotrauma) that shouldn't be an excuse to say, "Aha! See, we may as well stick to coal and oil!". Deforestation and desertifcation can both be causes and results of climate change - things aren't always straightforward and simple. Unfortunately, we usually want things to be just that - easy. But that same complexity and interconnectedness can also be helpful because it makes it possible for us to work on multiple problems at once. And I do believe we have it within us to do the right thing. There are potential costs and benefits to all options - we need to do what we can to maximize the efficiency & effectiveness of the most promising options while limiting their risks. This is one reason I consider conservation - of energy and other resources - to be so important. It's the safest and simplest solution out there. If we'd just waste less, there wouldn't be such a pressing need to drill or produce more. And we can start working on it right now - no delay. Even today people mock Jimmy Carter for turning down the thermostat in the White House and putting on a sweater. That was three decades ago. But imagine if the U.S. had taken his advice, we'd probably be in a much stronger and secure position. Just because we didn't do it then (at least, not enough) is no excuse to not start now though. There's an old saying, "The best time to plant a tree is 25 years ago. The next best time is today.". I guess I did get into socio-political debate, didn't I? Sorry!
I would love to see the True-Life Adventures and these DisneyNature movies, but I wish there were edited versions or something for people with quesy stomachs...I can't handle seeing dead animals, so I'm missing out on some great movies.
Well, I can sympathize because it's not easy for me to see dead animals either. Although, typically, I have a lot more problem with witnessing the attack than the aftermath (like when the crocodile lunged at that very unlucky wildebeest in
Planet Earth - I'm still traumatized from seeing that). And then there are those other deaths shown in nature doumentaries, the ones not the result of violence but due to other causes. Sometimes those are even more utterly heartrending to me. I remember watching an old, sick lion who had been abandoned by his pride but who kept following them as he had nowehere else to go. And a young bird who...oh, I don't want to type it. Sometimes the circle of life really sucks.
Death is not even the worst. The latest episode of PBS's
Nature was "The Loneliest Animals" - about some of the most endangered animals in the world and the efforts to save them. Endangered and threatened animals is the eco issue closest to my heart so I already had tears in my eyes only three sentences into the show's introduction (narrated so movingly by F. Murray Abraham): "Imagine it's morning. You wake up and you're totally alone. You're ninety years old and you're the last of your kind on Earth."
Oh I'm sniffling again. Did you know that there is a species of rhino that sings? It's the Sumtran rhinoceros who vocalizes in a way similar to whales and dolphins. This rhino was one of the animals featured on the program - its numbers have declined precipitously due to habitat destruction and hunting for its horn. Just think, rhinos have been roaming the planet for tens of millions of years and they could be gone, just like that, because of human recklessness. And how many of us even knew that some of them sing?
Btw, about the
True Life Adventures, I wasn't sure about picking them up either since I had heard complaints about the folksy narration and syrupy background music. But I recently broke down and ordered them and while I haven't watched the whole set yet, there is some truly spectacular film footage so I do recommend checking them out even though there are parts that may upset some sensitive viewers. Even
Perri has some sadness. I've not watched it yet but I read the adapted story in one of my Disney books when I was little. The original story was written by Felix Salten, who also penned
Bambi (his story is darker than the Disney film),
Fifteen Rabbits (which has been compared to
Watership Down - one of my favorite books), and
The City Jungle (which I have on request from the library).
...seems like Walt's fascination for all things nature was apparent long before being "green" was "in"
I'm torn over Disney's eco record. The studio did promote environmental awareness and animal welfare with the TLA and shorts such as "The Litterbug" and "Lend a Paw" but from what I've read an awful lot of wetlands were lost to build Disney World (although as I understand it the park recently established a nearby nature preserve) and then there's all that extra merchandise they churn out. I mean, really, WALL-E plushes? Did they not understand their own movie 's message?
ETA: I'm sorry, I forgot to thank
Rudy Matt for the kind words about my earlier post. I appreciate your openmindness and thoughtful perspective even if we may not agree on some things. Happy Earth Day!
