By Ramesh Shrestha
During my high school days, I recall being told in my social science class that human beings are social animals. Being social implies that we live in a cohesive family & society, share common values, and relies on collaboration when needed. At a deeper level, being social means emotionally interconnected and demonstrate sympathy during times of crisis. But in my history class what I learned defied what I learned about human beings being social animal. I learned that the humans have always been at wars and conflicts for centuries for territorial gains, exploitation of the weak, killings based on ethnic, linguistic and ideological differences, we even kill in the name of God, whom no has ever seen!
As if fighting with each other is not enough we are now on a full-scale war against the mother nature, the nature which has given us clean air we breathe, fresh water we drink, every variety of food we consume and beautiful landscapes filled with rivers, grasslands, oceans and forests for us to enjoy. But scientists among us are in search of better food, better air and cleaner water than what nature has given us and, in the process, we are destroying the natural cycle that has sustained life for billions of years.
Our expedition for a better life has destroyed the balance of three most important elements in the nature - carbon, oxygen and hydrogen. Our development efforts and quest for a better life has produced much more carbon than nature can handle. We continue to destroy rain forests and, in the process, we have destroyed and continue to destroy biodiversity resulting in extinction of millions of species of plants, animals and insects. Some 25% of flora has already disappeared as a direct result of human activity. We are cultivating crops for biofuel to replace fossil fuel by destroying forest as a result there are food shortages.
We continue to develop genetically modified food with excessive use of herbicides, pesticides & synthetic fertilisers to increase crop yield, to make food look good and look better and last longer but it is destroying soil fertility, which has long term consequences. It is not natural to have fruits of same size and shape; it not natural to have seedless oranges and seedless grapes. Scientists have demonstrated decades ago that the nutrient content of our foods have substantially declined; for example, calcium content of broccoli has declined by 50% since 1990, green vegetables today contain 37% less iron and 30% less vitamin C compared to same species of vegetable grown in 1975. Such information is deliberately supressed by the GMO advocates and large farm holdings.
In recent days there are news of disappearing bees, butterflies and thousands of insect species which are essential for pollination. International union of Conservation of Nature estimates that 41% of insect population have declined significantly and another 31% are threatened with 10% already extinct. Entomologists believe that extinction of insects are eight times higher than birds, mammals and reptiles. With declining insect population, farmers are exposed to serious dangers with crop failure.
Our development activities to make our life comfortable and disease free is responsible for the worsening of our planet’s health. Our behaviour has become a direct threat to our planets’ health notwithstanding the fact that our very existence depends on this planet’s health. Are we sleep walking to our own extinction?
Do I qualify as a social animal? I am not sure!
As if fighting with each other is not enough we are now on a full-scale war against the mother nature, the nature which has given us clean air we breathe, fresh water we drink, every variety of food we consume and beautiful landscapes filled with rivers, grasslands, oceans and forests for us to enjoy. But scientists among us are in search of better food, better air and cleaner water than what nature has given us and, in the process, we are destroying the natural cycle that has sustained life for billions of years.
Our expedition for a better life has destroyed the balance of three most important elements in the nature - carbon, oxygen and hydrogen. Our development efforts and quest for a better life has produced much more carbon than nature can handle. We continue to destroy rain forests and, in the process, we have destroyed and continue to destroy biodiversity resulting in extinction of millions of species of plants, animals and insects. Some 25% of flora has already disappeared as a direct result of human activity. We are cultivating crops for biofuel to replace fossil fuel by destroying forest as a result there are food shortages.
We continue to develop genetically modified food with excessive use of herbicides, pesticides & synthetic fertilisers to increase crop yield, to make food look good and look better and last longer but it is destroying soil fertility, which has long term consequences. It is not natural to have fruits of same size and shape; it not natural to have seedless oranges and seedless grapes. Scientists have demonstrated decades ago that the nutrient content of our foods have substantially declined; for example, calcium content of broccoli has declined by 50% since 1990, green vegetables today contain 37% less iron and 30% less vitamin C compared to same species of vegetable grown in 1975. Such information is deliberately supressed by the GMO advocates and large farm holdings.
In recent days there are news of disappearing bees, butterflies and thousands of insect species which are essential for pollination. International union of Conservation of Nature estimates that 41% of insect population have declined significantly and another 31% are threatened with 10% already extinct. Entomologists believe that extinction of insects are eight times higher than birds, mammals and reptiles. With declining insect population, farmers are exposed to serious dangers with crop failure.
Our development activities to make our life comfortable and disease free is responsible for the worsening of our planet’s health. Our behaviour has become a direct threat to our planets’ health notwithstanding the fact that our very existence depends on this planet’s health. Are we sleep walking to our own extinction?
Do I qualify as a social animal? I am not sure!
I was inspired by Ramesh Sheresta’s read on human beings as social animals….or rather anti social to the point of fighting nature. It brought to mind a somewhat half facetious- half serious scenario I painted a while back for a future of artificial intelligence after we destroy nature. See https://xunicefnewsandviews.blogspot.com/2021/02/the-tunnels-habib-hammam.html
ReplyDeleteI think animals recognize much better the need for coexistence and preservation of their habitat. I don't think we are sleep walking, but the forces in charge make every effort to justify their exploitations.
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