Human Beings: The True Leech of Planet Earth
"We are now the dominant feature of our own environment" (Thomas 916)
Mankind has slowly but surely become the parasitic dictator of the natural world, spreading an unseemly influence over the entire surface of our planet. In a twisted sense, we have indeed become the masters of nature itself, subjugating and civilizing it. We now run the Earth, contorting its nature to fit our every demand. The extent to which the human race has so easily declared dominance over the natural world is astonishing. As acres of rainforest are slashed down and unfathomable amounts of pollution fill our oceans, we are obligated to beg the question as to what has truly caused such mass destruction of the Earth. Are we taking over nature out of need or greed?
Human beings have fought to survive from the dawn of time. We fought against the peril of sun and snow and learned the necessary skill of adaptation. We killed other living creatures for food and protection out of sheer necessity to survive. While this may have been the case for our ancestors, it is not for us. The modern day human being grossly overuses the natural resource our primitive relatives once fought so hard for. We consume meat with our palate in mind rather than our ozone layer. We sip through plastic straws with our own comfort in mind rather than that of our ocean's creatures. We simply destroy the environment with our selfish comfort in mind rather than acknowledging the depreciating state of the natural world.
When mankind took over nature hundreds of thousands of years ago, it was wholly justified with survival in mind. Now, human beings are a leech on the surface of the Earth, taking so much and giving so little in return. It is more evident now than ever that we are the dominant feature of our environment. It is not important that we necessarily change this, but instead we work towards a harmonious relationship with the natural world. Sustainably using resources and considering the impact on the Earth of every action we take is simply the start to building a concordant relationship between man and the Earth. It is essential that we strive towards working with the environment rather than simply freeloading until our planet can no longer sustain us.
Mankind has slowly but surely become the parasitic dictator of the natural world, spreading an unseemly influence over the entire surface of our planet. In a twisted sense, we have indeed become the masters of nature itself, subjugating and civilizing it. We now run the Earth, contorting its nature to fit our every demand. The extent to which the human race has so easily declared dominance over the natural world is astonishing. As acres of rainforest are slashed down and unfathomable amounts of pollution fill our oceans, we are obligated to beg the question as to what has truly caused such mass destruction of the Earth. Are we taking over nature out of need or greed?
Human beings have fought to survive from the dawn of time. We fought against the peril of sun and snow and learned the necessary skill of adaptation. We killed other living creatures for food and protection out of sheer necessity to survive. While this may have been the case for our ancestors, it is not for us. The modern day human being grossly overuses the natural resource our primitive relatives once fought so hard for. We consume meat with our palate in mind rather than our ozone layer. We sip through plastic straws with our own comfort in mind rather than that of our ocean's creatures. We simply destroy the environment with our selfish comfort in mind rather than acknowledging the depreciating state of the natural world.
When mankind took over nature hundreds of thousands of years ago, it was wholly justified with survival in mind. Now, human beings are a leech on the surface of the Earth, taking so much and giving so little in return. It is more evident now than ever that we are the dominant feature of our environment. It is not important that we necessarily change this, but instead we work towards a harmonious relationship with the natural world. Sustainably using resources and considering the impact on the Earth of every action we take is simply the start to building a concordant relationship between man and the Earth. It is essential that we strive towards working with the environment rather than simply freeloading until our planet can no longer sustain us.
I like the use of loaded language and complex diction it emphasizes the idea of mankind ruining the environment. It also presents guilt towards human which is very logically planned. The reference of plastic straws is a very recent topic which I appreciated her referencing currently relevant issue in society. Showing how this impacts on animals as well as the ocean and pollution was well explained and presented in the picture overall.
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