We humans
are the most vital beings of the earth. Anything the earth provides exists
solely to serve our race well. The other animals that live on this earth are
just food-menu options- the ones that aren't rated "customers'
favorite," aka the great majority, are discarded and pushed further and
further towards the periphery of their habitats to make room for breeding the
“chef's special”, and just for us in general. The animals that have a slight
potential to overpower us are killed before they get the chance to decide we
are terrible food options. It took a while (more than several decades) for the
managers protecting Yellowstone National Park to realize that killing all the
wolves to keep visitors safe was the main issue contributing to the imbalance
of species residing there, resulting in an exponential growth of the elk and
coyote populations, affecting the entire ecosystem there. When they finally
added only 14 wolves back to the park, elks and coyote populations decreased,
and in short, the entire food-chain restored itself, from foxes to microbes and fungi.
Wow,
it was such a surprise to us that after interfering with the natural order of
life by eliminating the top of the food-chain, the rest of the chain
deteriorated, but reversing our efforts by adding a sample of the top back restored the balance of the entire ecosystem in Yellowstone. That surely
is strange. Our interferences would serve to help, no? To preserve the natural
beauty, thus the label “national park,” we have to actively help it survive,
despite the fact that for millions of years before our interference it has
thrived on its own.
Global
warming wasn’t an issue when the dinosaurs were around. I guess they just
weren’t smart enough to fool around with CO2 release by building pollutant-barfing
factories and vehicles. Perhaps their legs were strong enough to take them to
work every morning. Surprisingly, what also wasn’t an issue when the dinosaurs
were around was the increasingly acidic ocean water on the earth. Water is
supposed to be of an alkaline pH, but suddenly, due to excess CO2 reacting with
water molecules, our oceans are becoming increasingly acidic. As a result, in only the past two years, two years, 90% of coral reefs, home to
25% of all marine life, has been damaged. The only reef remaining is the Great
Barrier Reef, which is also deteriorating. I’m guessing that pretty soon fish
will be taken off our food menu, or otherwise be raised in price.
The
earth is our playground. Since there's no noon-aid on duty to enforce safety
rules, we can do whatever we want, bullying whatever gets in our way. I heard
that there's another playground nearby that can soon be reached by us... Mars?
Maybe soon we'll be the most vital beings of the universe!
Wow, your tone in this was incredible, you did a great job showing just how important this topic is, as well as using metaphor extremely well throughout, which I guess does fit the title of this blog after all. Good job!
ReplyDeleteVery well-written. Your thoughts are very organized and supported by many facts and also statistics. Love your metaphor at the end. Once again, you made the whole piece strongly impact the audience and easy to relate to and connect with the bare facts.
ReplyDeleteYou do a great job of mixing information and satire in your post. Your examples are really good too, and clearly show that the environment can be damaged by human interference. The comparison between humanity and the dinosaurs illustrates the unprecedented character of pollution through human activity, and your comparison between the Earth and a playground furthers your point on the recklessness of pollution and other forms of interference in nature. Well done, Jenna!
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