Children of the Earth
We failed our responsibility
A frequent reaction to many of my articles is that "we" (humanity) deserve to become extinct for what we did to this planet. And that the planet will thrive once again when we're gone.
What this misses is that - because of our ability to manipulate our environment - we are the stewards of our planet. (EDIT: "steward" may be the wrong word. I mean to say we have a responsibility to protect the planet and all life.) So while our extinction might halt further destruction, it abdicates us of our responsibility to other living things on this planet. We've failed in our responsibility, but our absence won't immediately allow life to once again spring from the pressure.
It's more likely we take a big portion of life on this planet down with us.
Life might thrive eventually, but not until it carves a new equilibrium. That could require thousands or millions of years of adaptation. A return to the way things were before industrial civilization. Quite possibly, it may never happen - especially if the world becomes a nuclear wasteland.
It's amazing that in just a couple hundred years we've wrecked what took billions to form. Our wisdom was outpaced by our intelligence and quest for immediate gratification. I've argued this was inevitable. The very reason for our success is the cause of our demise.
We focus on how collapse will eradicate much of the human population, plunging any remaining pockets into a pre-industrial life of subsistence. Running water, indoor heating, stocked grocery store shelves, modern medicine - it's all temporary. Good or bad, that is the eventual reality, and a growing community of collapse-aware accept responsibility.
What we often miss is the innocent beings that suffer at no fault of their own.
Who are the innocents? A newborn child clearly can't be faulted for previous generations' hubris, although it lurks in his DNA waiting to be unleashed. Every child eventually becomes as monstrous as their ancestors, as society permits. Unfortunately society welcomes this, elevating the most destructive of our species to positions of great power.
We tend to view the effects of collapse from an anthropocentric perspective. I suppose that's to be expected, but it saddens me how intelligent non-human creatures will suffer.
I recently wrote about the emotional distress my previous dog expressed as we put her down. She was intelligent enough to know something was terribly wrong and that this visit was different from her other visits to the vet. This was one of the most distressing moments of my life, and hers.
Sarah Connor
Animals are the children of the planet. Many share intelligence levels with young humans, yet we compartmentalize the animal kingdom as beasts operating on instinct. Similar to a computer program that performs X because of Y, incapable of reasoning or emotion. Unless psychopathic, how else can one justify murdering tigers for sporting trophies? Perhaps I give people too much credit.
Those of us with animals know they are not automatons.
I have a German Shepherd Dog that I am with all day, every day. Her early training was through motivation and mutual understanding. She needed to know what I wanted and I needed to know what would inspire her to act accordingly. None of this is robotic. Similar to teaching a small child, it's not about giving authoritarian commands for the sake of it. Rather, basic training is about learning how to effectively communicate.
Basic training is just the start to recognizing an animal's IQ and EQ. Beyond the basics, I have an ongoing relationship with my dog that is quite similar to how I would interact with a young human.
She is constantly learning and I'm constantly teaching, but now it's far less structured. With the fundamentals in place, she learns independently. Perhaps by figuring out how to manipulate her environment (including me) or by interpreting my speech and actions.
This morning, we were playing with a ball on a rope. When it was time to go in I said, "last one, after this we're done". Her posture immediately changed from excited to disappointed. She knew exactly what I meant, not by some miracle but because of my shift in tone, words, actions. This isn't something I've said hundreds of times before - perhaps three or four times - but she put the pieces together to understand what I meant.
This level of intelligence and understanding exists for many animals, wild and domestic. Apes, dolphins, octopuses all possess great intelligence. Even bees are known to solve puzzles.
Animals are the children of the earth. Smart enough to understand. Enough emotional insight and foresight to suffer. But without the knowledge to know why.
These are the real victims of our crimes against nature.
