We as human beings have become a cancer to this planet. We spread like a malignant growth and attempt to ignorantly destroy everything in our path in order to conquer the world. Our affluent lifestyle and desire for more idol things have caused us to be neglectful and wasteful towards the scarcity of our natural resources. In due time we as species will have to account for our actions but perhaps when that time comes it will be too late to reverse or even repair the damages that have been done to our sacred planet. It has been documented that “humans have altered the world’s ecosystems more rapidly and heavily over the past 50 years than any time in human history” (Wright, 2008, p. 7). A bold and often forgotten statement is that the future is in our hands, but before we can begin to take the next step into the future we must learn from our mistakes from both the past and present.
A notable example of the destruction of a civilization comes from the historical archives of Easter Island. The people of Eastern Island also known as the Rapa Nui suffered from the hands of their own negligence and from contact with outsiders. Archaeologists have done the tedious task of piecing together the clues that gave further insight into how the island was destroyed. Evidence points to a vast network of human civilization being developed around 1200 A.D. During those periods the island had been abundantly forested with diversely rich plant life. Over time the human population steadily increased which led to the process of deforestation. This was done in order to create homes and support the agriculture within the society. Around the 1600s the “forest was depleted and soil and water resources were degraded” (Wright, 2008, p. 4) due to the heavy increase in human population. Once this occurred the cleared land was unable to hold water, which led to the diminishment of agricultural production.
A decline in agriculture inevitably caused the social gaps of hierarchy to develop within the society, which forced an upheaval that created many wars amongst the Eastern Islanders. Other foreign invaders had later discovered the island and exposed the inhabitants with deathly diseases. This external influence was also responsible for the rapid decrease of human societies established on the island. The history of Easter Island reveals to us that once a population maximizes the environment’s capacity to sustain it, the depletion of resources will cause a revolt amongst the people in order to ensure the survival of the fittest remains. Social injustices lead to outbreak of chaos and wars are inevitably created. All of which provide the basis to the destruction of a civilization.
Let us now fast forward to the present and investigate the effects of deforestation in the Amazon Rain forest. Statistics show that between May 2000 and August 2006, the country of Brazil lost approximately 150,000 square kilometers of forest, which is estimated to be larger than the size of the country of Greece. Government subsidized agriculturalists, Commercial industries and World Bank projects have been reported to be the major financiers behind the destruction of the Amazon Rain forest (Butler, 2004, http://www.mongabay.com/brazil.html). For those of you who are unaware the Amazon Rain forest provides the world’s greatest supply of natural resources. Approximately 20% of the Earth’s oxygen is produced there and a continuous destruction to these forests will significantly affect the Earth’s atmosphere.
Ladies and gentlemen the current climatic imbalances we are facing now should not go on unnoticed we must learn to take these vital steps today in order to preserve and sustain our ecosystem. By adopting a sustainable society we can work with the balance of the natural world without depleting the environment of its resources. We as individuals must work towards stewardship and adopt a new method of green living. There are several proposals we can introduce to our societies since we are the ones responsible for creating it. The first ideal is to transition our economy into one that relies on the nature’s income and protects ecosystem capital from depletion. The second is to educate and work with impoverished nations to help stabilize the human population. Another is to allocate more of our government resources to inventing new technology that will help to support the new environmentally friendly themes. These ideas are only the beginning steps towards a sustainable future but before we begin to move our first foot forward we must acknowledge our power as individuals. Since we are responsible for making our own choices. It’s not too late to learn from our past and present mistakes, we can still make tomorrow a more promising one for our species and most importantly for our planet. At this time I would like to share with you the following poem I wrote in lieu of our global crisis, titled, Forgive me, Mother and it reads:
Entrusted with the power
And responsibility
To serve and protect her
But I ignorantly
Continue
To grow and go
Against her wishes
Though I stand
In awe of
Her infinite
Creations
I ruthlessly
Attempt to destroy
Them daily
And while
She nurtures me
I spit on her
And neglectfully
Throw trash
On her surfaces
Being over billions
Of years old
You'd think she'd
Become used to it
But her rain
Tells me otherwise
Even though her tears
Keep me alive
I can still feel her
Die
Inside
Every time
Her children abuses
And takes advantage
Of her good nature
But I couldn't tell
Since she grants me
Heavenly skies
A masterpiece
Perfect in itself
I try to mimic her
Through art
But can never
Have anything
On her in real life
For she is the epitome
Of beauty in its
Greatest essence
And yet I rape
And pillage over her
As if she meant
Absolutely nothing
Even fooled myself
Into thinking
I own her
When I owe her
Everything
While my life
Is pitifully temporary
She will forever remain
There are no words
To satisfy
My desire
To be
One hundred percent
Humbly submissive
To her
Because I know I'll
Forget about her
Tomorrow
My deepest regret
Is that I
Was brought up
To be spoiled rotten
And I truly hope
She will find it
In her heart
To forgive me...
References
Butler, R., (1994). Deforestation in the Amazon, Mongabay.com, Retrieved July 11, 2010 from http://www.mongabay.com/brazil.html
Wright, R., (2008). Environmental Science 10th edition, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey:
Prentice Hall Inc.
Kimona Brown - "Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it." - Rumi
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