Thursday, April 3, 2008

Human- Not the Only Animal on Earth

But we sure act like it. From the depletion of natural resources to the chemicals poisoning our air and water, humankind is doing its darnedest to not only shorten our own lifespans, but to ruin the habitats of other animals. We humans take our exceptionalism to the nth degree, to a point where the survival of any other species of plant or animal is inconsequential. Aside from cataclysmic events such as the Ice Age, man is the only species that has the power to drive another species to extinction.

Whether one believes in some for of a deity or not, it seems clear that our exceptionalism is appropriately viewed as stewardship of the Earth's resources. That we are to be good keepers of the land and oceans, not that we are here to exploit, to the end, our resources. We are meant to coexist with the other animals and plants that inhabit this sphere.

What makes us believe that our needs sit at the top of the hierarchy. Have we abused our rational abilities to the point that we are convinced that our needs are the only ones that matter.

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