Endangered

CBS Sunday Morning did a piece on endangered species. They told about the sad story of the Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbit who recently went extinct. They listed various fish, flies, and other flora and fauna in danger of disappearing entirely. Why is this an issue? Well, because all animals have the right to exist. (They didn't say where that right came from.)

According to the official listings, there are something like 2,250 plants and animals on the list of endangered species maintained by the United States. This list includes everything from the 'Ahakea, a plant in Hawaii, to the Zerene Fritillary, a California insect. What is going on here? What is causing this horrible condition?

Well, according to endangeredspecie.com, the primary problem is habitat destruction. Normal destruction of habitat is typically slow and species have time to compensate, but humans, especially in the last century, have managed to impact every habitat. We are the problem. "Man was in the forest!"

We are ingenious in our destruction, it seems. Some of it is by greenhouse gases or by pollution or by overuse. But we're also to blame for introducing new species to areas in which they didn't originally live. Sometimes it was recreational and sometimes it was planned, but it seems to have always been wrong. We are, then, to blame for all these woes.

What are we to do? Well, there are certainly small things that could be accomplished. You could plant trees and bushes in your yard to create habitat for animals. Of course, they had better be native or you're in danger of introducing foreign plants that could cause their own set of problems. Recycling is a good idea, although the impact on the Earth's wildlife would be small. They recommend you eat organic food to avoid afflicting the planet with pesticides and the like. But it's hard to imagine how my family's consumption could cause any effect, so it must be that it needs to be far bigger than me.

Sadly, it seems as if there is no real hope. The only chance the world has is if we humans were to go extinct. As it turns out, this is exactly the call of some on the far liberal side. One commentary out of Berkeley says,"The only real, long term hope for the eco-sphere is a massive human population collapse, hopefully leading to the voluntary extinction of the human race." No, seriously. That is the call. Edna Spector begs the citizens of Berkeley to implement a No Child policy for all residents. She hopes they will set up euthanasia clinics with people "lined up for many blocks" to die.

"Nonsense!" you say? "Extremist!" you cry? Well, of course, for anyone who believes the Bible it is, but if you are convinced of Evolution as a purely natural, unguided process that made us, it is likely the only rational conclusion. Why should we be any better than the other animals? No, no, if we are going to secularize our world, the next logical step is to exit it with dignity since we, it seems, are the problem.