Green Iguana

Humanity, as I have said before is a failed species. We’re circling the drain. And we’re taking a lot of animal life with us. Good old Planet Earth will be fine. She’ll just shrug her powerful shoulders and we’ll slide away into oblivion. We won’t even be a memory.

And to be honest I don’t care. As of this writing I’ve had 66 (mostly) good years of living. But as I look around at the foibles of humanity, I have no choice but to think perhaps it’s time for that Big Shrug. We’re destroying the surface environment and the depths of the oceans as well. Many people have made valiant efforts to curb the waste and pollution, but even that noble effort becomes corrupted with the agendas of extremist political factions. The planet is grossly overpopulated. Crime, drug abuse, filth, poverty and homelessness pervade our cities. We’re dying.

And all the while global corporate giants silence our concerns by dangling another carrot in front of us. We rush to the altars of greed to satisfy our desires for yet another trinket. We are pathetic.

Beluga Trout endangered due to over-harvesting for its caviar

At this point I’m more concerned about the collateral damage we’re causing. I look at all the endangered species in the world. And people by and large are just too stupid to realize (or care) that every time we lose a species, that loss reverberates up and down the food chain. Self-absorbed suburbanites wail at the horrors of their poodles and dachshunds getting dragged off in the night by coyotes or mountain lions. But that’s what happens when you move into their territory. Many of those animals are starving due to loss of habitat. If you get hungry enough, you’ll eat your poodle.

The current extinction crisis is witnessing extinction rates that are occurring at a faster rate than that of the natural extinction rate. It has largely been credited towards human impacts on climate change and the loss of biodiversity. This is along with natural forces that may create stress on the species or cause an animal population to become extinct.
HTTP://en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Critically_Endangered

Harpy Eagle

The great Harpy Eagle is nearing extinction due mainly to loss of habitat. In other words, the mindless greed of humans as they “develop” the land with no regard for the creatures living in it. One day all we’ll have to remind us of them will be pictures and memories. The ghosts of Eagles past. What a shame that’ll be.

Every sort of living thing is affected by human activity. Fish, birds, large land predators, tiny insects and even microbes are subject to the whims of human ignorance and greed. Even the mighty Komodo Dragon, the largest lizard on Earth is thought to have only a few decades of life remaining. Where is the line drawn? At what point do responsible world leaders say “enough” and force humanity to change its ways?

Komodo Dragons can reach up to 11 feet in length

In my opinion, there are far too many humans on the planet. Over population is nearing crisis levels. As of this writing there are over 8.2 billion humans on Planet Earth. We should never have gone beyond 5 billion. But what to do? I posed this question on Facebook and got several suggestions. But most agreed that we must find a way to thin our own herd. But how? Do we tell families to stop having so many babies (China does)? Do we force women with “illegal” pregnancies to have abortions? How big of a shit storm would that be? Limiting pregnancies across the globe is the closest thing, imo, to a humane solution. It’d take decades because we’d be depending upon attrition. We may not have decades.

Blue Throated Macaw

Even the most conscientious humans pollute a little bit. At the very least we’re gonna fart and drive cars. And no, electric cars are NOT the solution. They never were and probably never will be. Their power has to come from somewhere, and so-called “clean energy” can’t totally replace fossil fuels. But the fewer of us there are, the less pollution we generate. The fewer of us there are, the less farm land we need. The fewer of us there are, the less space we have to occupy and that means (if we’re willing), more habitat for our fellow creatures.

Planet Earth needs fewer humans. And more Komodo Dragons, more weird beetles, more birds, more fish, more plant life. The time for humans being fruitful and multiplying is over. Either we thin the herd, or we too shall go extinct.

Sources and Related Reading
Global Population: HTTP://www.census.gov/popclock/world
Komodo Dragons: HTTP://www.npr.org…
Harpy Eagle: HTTP://en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Harpy_eagle

Photo Credits
Sturgeon: By Максим Яковлєв – HTTP://commons.wikimedia.org…
Harpy Eagle: HTTP://commons.wikimedia.org…
Iguana: By Manuel de Corselas – HTTP://commons.wikimedia.org…
MaCaw: By Greg Hume HTTP://commons.wikimedia.org…
Komodo Dragon: MarkofJohnson – https://commons.wikimedia.org…