The Expense of Human Need

In the context of other species of Earth, one must wonder: can human exploitation of our beautiful world be in any way justified? There is not a clear answer to that question. Humans, like all other animals, must acquire the resources necessary for survival. And what we need for survival has changed over vast amounts of time. We have evolved for comfort, and we cannot go back. Inside our cages of bliss we are unstoppable, but place us outside our necessary coverings, we are vulnerable.

Humans need clothing to survive in the elements. Humans need shoes - our skin is not as hairy and our feet are not as enduring as they used to be. We need basic tools, such as pencils, paper, and computers, to effectively communicate with our fellow humans in this modern age of globalization. And there is only one way to get these materials: from the resources of our own Earth.

In doing so, we are stripping our beloved world of resources that took millions of years to create. We are basically slaughtering entire specimen as we cut down forests and expand our farms that we need to feed ourselves. Is all this necessary? Most of it is, unfortunately, at least for us. As horrible as it is to admit, if many of these sacrifices were not made, humanity could not survive in the numbers that we currently manifest.

It is simply natural for an animal - any animal - to exploit and take what they can from an environment with no regard to the damage that they are creating (take the threat of invasive species, for example). It is natural to abuse nature. But that does not mean that we cannot avoid being so destructive. The more we farm and drill and extract, the more excessive it becomes. We should be able to drive with the power of electricity, and thereby reduce the greenhouse effect and the melting of our icecaps. We should know by now what species to protect and which ones are too plentiful for a healthy ecosystem. And, for the most part, we do. However, convincing people to change their destructive behaviors when those behaviors are not needed is a cantankerous feat.

But surely it must be for the best, right? We are the most advanced species, after all. So, if a few creatures die along the way, we are still the priority. But the priority to whom? Ourselves. I highly doubt that any animal aside from humans would state that humans are the priority simply because we are the most advanced. All organisms ultimately fight for themselves above all others, and humans are no different. We do make efforts to save endangered species, and to halt global warming, but ultimately, in the face of uncertainty, human lives take precedence only to humans.

If other species of animals could have the same intelligence as us, they would think of themselves as the most important specimen on the planet. To a wolf, wolves must take precedence, to a bear, bears must take precedence. We as humans place ourselves above every other creature known to us because, in the end, we are the most intelligent, and we must remain so.

But why does the Earth need intelligence? Who actually benefits if we stay around instead of the millions of species we threaten (other than ourselves)? The only ones who declare that humans are above all else are, of course, humans. As a human, I share this view. I am appalled when we destroy nature, and when we kill things, humans or not, but I stand by the belief that we are most important. I eat meat, I own land that other animals may live on, and that is because I am human, and thus I see myself as important.

To object to this would be to object to one’s whole species. Our actions are only natural, even if many of them are wrong and should be avoided at all costs. This is why nature is at war: we cannot avoid it. All of life, all of humanity, is programmed for survival and to seek comfort, and we as humans try to break off from that and create a fair society. Millions have tried and failed, and we will always try and fail because we are a part of nature. We, just like every species that has ever existed, are all part of the same planet, and we are all part of one big ecosystem, one giant food chain, on that planet.

It is literally impossible to avoid following the laws of nature, no matter how flawed they become as society advances. This is because everything that we ever do, everything that we ever create, we do with chemistry, and chemistry is nature. We are made of the same table of elements and the same lists of chemicals that the rest of the universe is composed of, only in different combinations.

Humans are brutal, yes. However, humans do much of what they do because we feel that we have to. Who intentionally fights for a side that they do not support? Just like all other specimen, we take from nature what we want from it. We use it to make shelter, clothing, books, automobiles, furniture, instruments…But not without great cost.