I came across a trailer a while back for a documentary called Racing Extinction airing on the Discovery Channel. It addressed the sixth mass extinction of our blue planet. A chain of events is currently in progress leading to the removal of life on this planet. Sounded like a big deal with important information, I set TiVo to record. I decided not to watch it right away. I had to be in the right mood. It wasn’t going to be a happy show. Especially, when they teased with the Cornell Bioacoustics Library playing a clip of the very last Kauai O’o bird singing for a mate that would never
come. I would need tissues. This wasn’t going to have a Hallmark movie ending.
Recently, I saw a headline from NBC News that read “One million species under threat of extinction because of humans, biodiversity report finds”. I immediately remembered Racing Extinction and thought I can’t put off watching it any longer. Not seeing it on the current list, I checked the recently deleted list and it wasn’t there. It couldn’t have come out that long ago. I was disappointed in myself when I realized it aired in December 2015. Almost three and a half years ago. I delayed watching it until it eventually unknowingly was deleted. How fitting was that moment of awareness.
I was then further disappointed when I couldn’t find it on Netflix and would have to pay $15 to watch it on Amazon. Why wasn’t this important information about the fate of our earth readily available to watch? I eventually found it on YouTube. Yaaay, YouTube!!
As I read the article and watched the movie, the first thing that came to mind is how detached we can be from the state of our planet. Myself being a perfect example. Caught up in my own day-to-day, it’s easy to ignore threats that aren’t right in front of me. The threat of not having an internet connection is much more real than the threat of elephant extinction from poachers on another continent. Besides, someone else will save them, right?
Next I wondered, how fierce would the debate be over the legitimacy of the findings in the report? How would politicians with no scientific background and companies with certain interests argue the validity of the study? A report which stated was “collected over the past five decades from roughly 15,000 scientific and governmental studies”. I think it’s fair to say that they did their due diligence. Would the facts still be disputed? Why don’t we believe the smart people on the front lines when they tell us all is not well?
Most importantly, why should we care? The article says and I know deep down we know this, that all living creatures are connected. The article analogized our ecosystems to a fabric. Removing species is like removing fibers from a fabric. The more fibers you lose the more unstable it becomes. Living in the city and suburbs it might be difficult to feel this connection. I know I feel more connected to the corner convenience store where I buy processed Cheetos than to a bee on a farm. But, we all have eaten something that a bee helped produce.
The movie does end with hope. Although, the situation is dire, we can still make a difference. It offered things we can do. It challenge us to do one thing. For changes to grab-hold, we need to start out small. It suggests not eating meat or cheese one day of the week for a year. I think that will be Monday for me.
I would like to hear your thoughts. Also, what will be your one thing?
To read NBC news article click here .
It can be overwhelming to hear all the environmental statistics about how long we have until the point of no return or the hundreds of species a year dying due to climate change. This can start to wear on the population and make them think that anything they do will not make a difference, but starting small and starting locally is the key to make this environmental shift as a whole. We may not be able to quickly change things on a large scale, but by doing things like cutting out meat and dairy products for just one day a week really can make a difference. Just think if even 1/20 of the population did this for a year how it could help with carbon emissions from the meat industry and also with other things like methane from waste and the plastic waste the packaging causes. Also a key factor to making a lasting change is starting within your community! Shopping at local markets that have locally farmed food and meat helps shift away from chain supermarkets (like kroger, walmart, etc) that mass produce waste and encourages large scale meat and dairy operations that cause dangers fumes and chemicals to seep into the environment. I personally have been striving to use every bit of food I buy, from the contents within to the wrapping that incases it . For example, trying to reuse cans and bottles to get more life out of things and help with the amount of waste I produce. Also I do not by plastic water bottles, and have not for the last couple years. I just use my reusable water bottle. Think of how much plastic I have saved just within the last two years? I think the biggest flaw with the environmental crisis is that everyone tries to think large scale, and believes that if they cannot make a huge impact their strides are worthless. It is important to start small and influence change within your small community before you branch out. Everything starts at home.
You make a very important point, the place to begin making a difference is in your own community. I appreciate you also giving more options for the small lifestyle changes that will hopefully make a big difference in the long run. Thanks for your insight.
Great news!! The Dodo bird is back! At least in Nyack. The idea that technology will save us from ourselves is not so different from the idea that unfettered capitalism will create a utopian society. With almost every advance we make, we create unanticipated consequences. Antibiotics are great but we have now created superbugs that may destroy us. Yes, hopefully we will find some breakthrough that eliminates their threat, but as of now it doesn’t look good. Wouldn’t it have been better if we had listened to those who warned us about this possibility and curbed our approach accordingly and perhaps prevented such a danger?
Brazenly dismissing the extinction of millions of species is as foolish as minors ignoring the dead canary. By the way, as superficially annoying as mosquitoes can be, they serve a deeper purpose in the ecosystem as food for sea life and as pollinators. One species relies on another. That includes us. No reasonable person spends and spends to create insurmountable debt in the hope that one day he or she will win the lottery to have all previously myopic choices wiped clean. Yes, we can point to people who live like that but we wouldn’t call them reasonable.
I know that we are living in a post fact world. Frankly, nothing disturbs me more. We deny science at our own peril. At this point, the only consist deniers are those with agendas that science threatens. Whether they be corporate or religious agendas matters not. The end result is we will all pay a price.
Very well said!! Your analogies are very appropriate. I appreciate you adding to the discussion.
Taoism is a philosophical or religious tradition of Chinese origin which emphasizes living in harmony with the world by becoming one with the unplanned rhythms of the universe called “the way” or “dao.” Yes, the polar icecaps are melting and the polar bears are starving. But what if temperatures change and turn Australia from a desert into a lush temperate climate that’s perfect for farming? Yes, Trump is destroying democracy, but who knows what will follow. There is bad shit and good shit, and they always exist together. Hakuna Matata!
Hakuna Matata to you also!! You bring up an interesting point about a regional shift in natural patterns. I could see this as a plausible arguement but unfortunately, the entire earth is getting hotter. Places like Australia that were hot before are now scorching. They had an event last year where hundreads of bats literally fell from the sky being boiled to death during a heat wave. It appears they are experiencing an imbalance with more hot than cold days. The signs keep showing nature is out of balance. We can still make a difference but the window is closing.
Eating no cheese AND meat for one day a week is called “ the wagon” . Are we really in “A “crisis or Dire Straits ,I don’t think so. Do we really miss the dodo bird? If mosquitoes didn’t exist anymore would anybody care? What species is important to a particular person is very objective and can be the flavor of the moment. Are we really changing environments are we making it better? Just think about the industrial revolution and the amount of inefficient engines pollution that we were producing back then? Electric, hydro, alternative solutions are just the tip of the iceberg. Is the sky falling? I think not. Sustainable life will always be here because technology is always been ahead of the curve. With technology, in the future , we will be able to influence climate and “change” That will be the key to our existence, balance and cloning. Jurassic Park is not too far off. We will be able to create or re-create life, cure extinction and recreate humans if it’s not happening already. This just in , it’s happening. The extinction of animals is in the past and something that is no longer a factor. Morality, politics and religious belief is the only obstacles we have to look forward too.
Did you read the article or watch the movie? What facts do you have to support that we are NOT in a crisis? Why do you refute the findings of 145 experts from 50 countries? You want to believe that our actions do not have an impact or if they do, modern day advancements will fix it. It’s easy to feel that way when all the Bodegas are full of processed food. But, the Cancer is growing. We picked-up smoking during the industrial revolution. The earth was health then. We never put down the cigarette and now roughly 250 years later, all the Doctors are saying that the cancer will kill us if we don’t make lifestyle changes. What are you going to do? You better not ignore the warnings or you will end up like the movie on my TiVo. Unknowingly deleted. The point about technology saving the planet sounds like a cross between Young Frankenstein and Pet Cemetary. Neither of which were good for the creations. You bring-up interesting topics that I will discuss in later posts. I appreciate hearing from you!!
Average life span of a white male in 1900 47. Average life span for a white male in 2019 is…. wait for it…… 78. 😀😆 I wonder how that happened???? I look forward to your next post !!!i
First, you never answered the questions I posed to you. What information do you have that the situation isn’t dire? Most importantly, why don’t you believe what the smart people are saying and where are you getting your facts? Secondly, I don’t see the connection of your statement with the the destruction of our ecosystems and bio-diversity. Did you read the article or see the movie? Do you believe bio-diversity is important?
Great thoughts. Visit the AMNH and look down between the hall of biodiversity and planet Earth. You will see the 5 previous mass extinctions in a unique display that holds great irony. Many, NEVER look down there and walk over it ignoring the significance it holds, not unlike your thoughts and I presume the article. (I admit I have not read it however will most likely incorporate the article and movie into my Earth Science class next year to help further the relevance of geologic history) This is something many talk about and discuss but how many of us are really taking steps towards a sustainable life???!!! Wendy I welcome you to come visit my Environmental class during our sustainability unit where topics like this are dissected!
You have inspired me to visit AMNH! I am very curious now to see that exhibit. Hopefully, more of us will take steps to help our environment. I would love to visit the class during the sustainability unit. Appreciate your feedback!