Saving sea turtles may be just the start we need.

"Don't worry about it until they're endangered." That seems to be the mantra cycling through the minds of the general populace. Fish, hunt, pollute, capture, build, drain; these activities are all permissible until a species is just at the precipice of extinction. Then it is time to act. The great problem with this involves the destruction of ecosystems, the removal of keystone species from sensitive areas, and an unwavering belief that a species can make a comeback with numbers so thin that even a lottery ticket aficionado wouldn't take the risk. It wouldn't be a problem if someone cared before things got to that state.

That, of course, is not true, because lots of people care; there is just nothing they can do about it. Corporations have the power to enact legislation to remove protestors. Forests get cut down. Vessels lose money if it takes too long to get goods to port. Whales become casualties of shipping. Free food is hard to pass up, especially if you are starving. The taking of bushmeat and turtle eggs and poaching goes on with little consequence. Then there is the collection of animal parts for profit. Ivory, bear gall bladder, furs, and other parts cherished by their owners are taken, usually resulting in the death of the bearer.

What is the common denominator in all of this? You know the answer. Money. Cash. The power to make money. Saving money - getting something free instead of paying for it. You can't live without money. Money means life, prosperity, and power. Did you notice the circular logic there? Power is used to make money and money is needed to obtain power. In physics, there is no such thing as a perpetual motion machine, but the economic version of that seems to be alive and well.

The goal of obtaining money and power is a monstrous machine that devours all before it. It drives economies, boosts stock markets, keeps governments in power, and improves the living conditions of those who have it. It runs on whatever fuels it at the moment. When one resource is depleted another is sought out to replace it. Imagine if nothing opposed obsession and greed. Fortunately, there are those who see where it all is heading.

As the public becomes more and more aware of how the environment all around us is being degraded to our own destruction and how global warming is putting all of humanity at risk we are beginning to see changes to this pattern. I was heartened to see all the sea turtles in the Gulf being saved during the cold snap that embraced much of the Texas coastline. There is a myriad of agencies and organizations involved in trying to save what's left of the Brazillian Rainforest. We are teaching our children about the rising acidity and temperatures of the oceans and how it affects the organisms that live there. Finding renewable sources of energy is becoming of paramount importance. Things are not where they need to be, but it is coming. There is a global awareness that is getting stronger daily.

The question is, "Will it be too late before we get it all right?" Maybe we have left it too late. Once population numbers become critical it may be impossible to reclaim the species. Biodiversity is severely affected. The loss or severe depletion of a species may alter an ecosystem beyond rehabilitation. There has to be action, not just lip service, towards saving our planet. We're not doing it just to save a few affected species, we are doing it for ourselves.

All the wealth in the world means nothing if you are dead.

Thanks for reading.     Ericspix     Eric Svendsen