The Statistics Are Amazing. Extinction has arrived and is destroying our
planet.
We're in the Age of Extinction, I remark frequently. Why does that matter?
Well, quite a few things. Let's begin with only one. I won't use the term
shocking much, but a report that was released today truly is. According to
the report,
animal numbers have decreased by 70%
since 1970.
70% since 1970.
This information comes from the most reliable survey of its sort, conducted
every two years. The World Wildlife Federation and the Zoological Society of
London, two organizations that are perhaps the finest experts in their
domains, carry out this work. To monitor the status of life on Earth, they
create what they call a
"Living Planet Index."
What is the condition of life on Earth? I'll first state their position,
after which I'll state mine.
The alarming pace of decrease serves as a grave warning that the rich
biodiversity that supports all life on Earth is in danger, putting every
species at risk, including humankind.
"Nature is in crisis everywhere, including in the UK, and by doing nothing,
our politicians run the risk of having devastating effects on people, the
environment, and our economy. Without immediate action to rescue our
climate, we are rushing towards a hotter globe where nature — and with it,
our food, homes, and livelihoods — will be unable to exist.
Feel pretty bad? I'll now put it my way.
What is the condition of life on Earth? It is dying. We would consider
anything to be extinct if 70% of it suddenly vanished in 50 years, whether
it be us, other individuals, a particular race, or a nation. The situation
of life on planet Earth is clearly in grave danger, according to the most
recent study, and I don't think it's even slightly exaggerating to say so.
Existential danger
The Age of Extinction has begun. It's not a drill, it's not a joke, and
it's definitely not a game. And yet, our society and governments generally
handle it that way. Because they probably have a rudimentary, simple way of
reasoning, and it goes something like this: "Some creatures are dying off!
What's the big deal, LOL?
To give an example, you may be aware of another recent story, this one
humorous. Liz Truss, the next British prime minister, traveled to visit King
Charles. And what did she get in place of a kind, joyful, shoulder-clapping
welcome? "Back once more?
Oh my
goodness. Anyway…”
LOL. That is the icy shoulder's royal equivalent. And although you might
not be aware of it, King Charles is a notable
environmentalist. We may argue about the politics, but let's honor him for what he has
accomplished, which is making conservation the world's greatest love. He is
undoubtedly concerned about extinction, but for someone like Truss, it's a
game. If even that, she was a political pawn to be used in the game of her
less than outstanding accomplishments, such as devaluing the British pound
and wrecking the country's financial sector. As a result, "Dear, oh
dear"
Some of us understand. Sadly, a vast majority of us do not. In denial, we
are. It is not noticed. We are unaware of the repercussions. Who has time to
care about animals when our pop culture is so preoccupied with Instacelebs
and superheroes that our media seldom covers it? So who really cares? What,
then, could be a greater severe problem than the existence of life on Earth
being threatened? Because, as I'll explain later, it also affects us.
This study should demonstrate that the days of ignorance, minimizing, and
denial are past. Without a question, this is currently one of the most
important concerns in deep history, not only in our time or even in human
history. We are currently experiencing a mass extinction, and there have
only ever been five similar events in the course of billions of years of
deep time, according to numerous experts, including ecologists and
zoologists.
In the blink of an eye, we are changing the delicate balance of life on
this planet that has existed for centuries. not in a nice manner, though. in
one that is utterly devastating. 70% since 1970 have vanished.
Why should it matter to us even if we acknowledge that the Extinction is a
serious threat? Making a point to the wandering ape is difficult. Strangely
greedy animals, we are. We walking apes are extremely protective of our own,
but only within the narrowest moral boundaries—family, clan, and nation. In
this period of human history, we don't even care about each other. It's not
like every kid on the planet Earth has access to food, clean water, or even
an education. So how can you make people care about something as impersonal
and devalued as animals?
Extinction concerns more than simply "animals." Just consider your pet and
best friend; I've placed it in quotes for a reason we'll talk about in a
moment. My little cotton swab Snowy? He is a little man. I'll return to
that, though.
Extinction affects everyone and everything, including people, not just
animals. The last five major extinctions: why did they occur? abrupt
climatic changes, generally of the getting-hot-really-fast variety. They
forced animals to abandon their homes, move to the poles, dry up water
supplies, and finally wiped off large portions of the planet's life.
That is exactly what is taking place this time, but global warming caused
by humans is to blame. Even now, pollutants continue to flood into the
atmosphere, raising the temperature. These temperature increases aren't
dispersed equally; they are more harsh where the poles, seas, and forests
are concerned. Mega weather has become a completely new type of
weather.
The Earth is being cooked alive by us. And right now, our civilisation is
in danger of dying out.
The foundational structures of our civilisation are under stress and are
starting to fall apart as the earth boils.
Rivers are drying up
in China, Europe, and America. Megafires break out and consume whole
nations, including France, Spain, Australia, and Canada. Huge portions of
whole nations, like Pakistan, are submerged during biblical floods.
What does all that achieve? It causes massive failures in our systems.
There is a water shortage in the American West. According to Pakistan's
climate change minister, the country would be underwater for years. Imagine
how much more you'll soon have to pay for jeans, bedsheets, linens, even
tennis and soccer balls given that it is now the fourth largest supplier of
textiles in the world, supplying everything from cotton to leather. Despite
feeding a large portion of Asia, India experienced such severe crop failures
this year that it had to cease
exporting
wheat due to a lack of supplies. Crop yields in Europe were double
digits off.
All of this wasn't meant to occur until about 2050. In other words, climate
change is now having large-scale effects because to the mega-weather that
global warming is producing. And we are witnessing the collapse of
civilisation as a result of those mega-scale repercussions. Our society is
heading toward collapse.
Ask how much longer this can continue on if you have any doubts. This cycle
of agricultural failures, floods, massive fires, and other natural disasters
drives up prices and results in shortages. The economies are already in
danger. The IMF and World Bank have both issued significant economic
warnings. A mere 2022 has passed. It will get worse every year from here on
until the foreseeable future.
Not just "the animals," though. though for us.
Just to make my argument more clear, allow me to continue. What will happen
if economies enter "recessions"—a nonsensical phrase considering that the
great majority of people already live on the verge of famine—or "much more
instability and poverty"? Such economic environments cause rightward swings,
but much of the globe has already swung far right, in an ugly, even obscene
fashion, as seen in the election of Neo-Nazi parties in Sweden and Italy or
the continued destruction of American democracy by Trumpism. Fascists,
authoritarians, totalitarians, theocrats, and nutcases of every kind win at
the end of this cycle of climate-induced chaos and poverty, and as people
seek a strong hand, turn to religion, and are seduced by conspiracy
theories, it's really game over for our civilization because there's
probably no turning back from the combination of Extinction, warming, and
neo-fascism.
That is the present-day future, in whatever form it may take. Until we
understand the message.
Let me attempt to summarize that briefly. The earth's life is undergoing an
extinction. The fact that more people undoubtedly believe in conspiracy
theories like "the Great Replacement" than in the scientific, factual
reality that an Extinction of life is taking place right now is a dreadful
disgrace and a testimonial to the idiocy of our generation.
That, in turn, is due to the fact that individuals frequently approach
problems like these with a comic-book mentality given our comic-book
society. When you mention "extinction," kids will imagine a supervillain
eradicating all life on Earth with some sort of immature superweapon before
poofing up and disappearing. But scientifically speaking, that is in no way
what a "mass extinction" signifies. It only indicates that a significant
portion of life does, not that "all life dies." Things signifies that it
happens gradually, at least to human sight, rather than all at once. And it
doesn't suggest that a sinister supervillain is shooting a space laser at
the Earth; rather, it indicates that the underlying reasons are more
nuanced. But what about the fact that an extinction of life is taking place
on our planet, which is quite real, factual, statistically established, and
scientifically proven? Is it because of the comic-book mindset of our time?
It is ignored. To most, it is not real. Just another stupid overstatement. I
don't care! Hey, I have Instagram influencers to be obsessed with.
The irony makes me want to facepalm, and the idiocy aches.
I'll make a note now. Why is the far right so prosperous? Spreading and
reiterating Big Lies—from rigged elections to irrational race
genocides—becomes an obsession. While this is going on, the center left as a
whole does not do a very good job of...confronting Big Lies with Great
Truths. Think about how absurd and twisted it is that although the ordinary
person won't give the Age of Extinction much of a signal boost, the average
maniac will yell the Big Lie of the Day from the next rooftop...forever.
Therefore, they triumph and we fail.
We are not doing enough to counter Big Lies with Great Truths, which is our
job and obligation. So by all means, please share this article — or items
like it, the
Living Planet Index study, and so on — and talk about it with your friends. This is not because I
want more readers or celebrity, but rather because it is obvious that we are
woefully failing at this most fundamental task. We are temporarily moved
when we read headlines and accounts like the one above, but we soon forget
what we have read and wearyly go on. But in this manner, the world and the
future are disintegrating.
We are currently experiencing one of just a select few extinctions of life
on our planet.
Once you realize it, everything that this age has brought about should come
into sharp, harsh perspective. Why are prices rising so quickly? Why do
people seem to be going crazy? How come our systems are failing? Exactly why
are our democracies in danger? Extinction is this. It just indicates that
one type of life goes extinct, is ended, done, and permanently gone. It
doesn't mean that all life ends.
A civilisation, at least one like ours, can barely hope to endure through
such an event. since all of our essential nutrients come from life on the
earth. We rely on it rather than competing with it. The trees provide us
with oxygen to breathe, the fish keep our rivers clean, wheat is essentially
grass, and so on. In that sense, the extinction of the creatures serves as a
metaphor to what occurs to our organizations and systems as well.
Let's now briefly discuss the consequences of all of this in more detail.
"The creatures." Does that truly describe them? The more "we" discover about
"them," the more we realize that they are just like us in every way,
including
emotions,
memories, and
connections. It appears that every living thing is cognizant and aware at those
levels. So what type of moral offense are we committing? Extinguishing
untold billions of extremely sentient and aware lives, exactly like
ours?
These kinds of moments shape who we are. Are we merely destroying machines
that wander about like apes? Are we merely Freudian robots whose main
instinct is the desire to die? We are the most destructive force the world
has ever encountered, as you can see. Certainly not a living one.
The truth about us is being decided and exposed at this very time. If we
achieve the higher morality and consciousness that are so obviously required
to face the reality of this situation, rather than the comic book mentality
that we currently inhabit, where the extinction of life on Earth isn't an
existential threat because it's not happening in a cartoonish enough way,
our civilization will survive. As true creators, builders, shepherds, and
nurturers of life on this planet, we must transition from being consumers
and exploiters to caring for our relatives and friends—trees, fish, rivers,
and mammals—who look out for us and provide for us in return. The attitude
of the industrial age, which says that we are in competition with everyone
and everything, even other species of walking apes, animals, and
environment, which is just there to be destroyed, doesn't work. It's
completed. Over. It led to the location known as Extinction.
Our culture is coming to an end. Extinction actually is that. And it's up
to us to either discover a way out or linger in this place for at least a
century while contemplating what went wrong. People fall into destitution
and cower in dread while lunatics of all stripes decimate entire nations and
seize control of the government. Our options are still open. But even
inactivity counts, as they say.
