Biodiversity Vs. Progress

Biodiversity vs. Progress

You can see the monkeys swinging from tree to tree. And the parrots flapping in tense canopy, challenging gravity, and winning.  Anteaters rummage around the ground, examining every inch of the terrain for food. And every conceivable tree and flower towers above you as you gawk up at them, threatening to hurt your neck. Light is scattered across the soil in patches, as you make your way through the rainforest. But, in the distant you can hear the sound of shrieking birds, and soon after, trees falling to their tragic death as greedy developers clear land.

Biodiversity is the variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem. In certain areas, such as a rainforest, the biodiversity is very high, the amount of life and different species is simply astounding, not only this the place where some species can only be found, but it harbors one third of the worlds’ trees. That’s a lot of trees. Many species of birds fly in these tries, and call them home. And they feed of the hundreds of species of insects that climb on the trees or cover the ground, and then there are the mammals, many are endangered. And the species of rare animals that can only be found in the rainforest, will disappear with every acre of land that is cleared. It houses more than 10,444 plant species, 225 types of mammals, and 972 species of birds. It has the hugest biodiversity that can be found on Earth. And these species will become extinct if people clear the land that they live on. Most of the animals found here are endangered, and what they need is protection, not habitat destruction.

The rainforest supplies the world with a lot the oxygen that we breathe, cutting all those trees down is hurting ourselves in the long run. And many of the plants that are found here are and can be used in medicines that cure us. And if we’re selfish enough to cut down trees for a stupid city that’ll have no meaning, then don’t we also want medicines and oxygen that the forest supplies? And for the people who ‘need to clear the land for food’ can use the food found in the rainforest to stuff your fat faces with. It’s not that difficult to walk around and look for some fruit that you can eat. People are lazy, egocentric, and clearing this land that has such beautiful wildlife in it, is just more proof. Do people want to get rid of these creatures? Of course not, but they do it anyways. Because they do it without realizing it. They think that if they recycle, buy a Prius, and get florescent bulbs, that they can ‘save the world’, but what they don’t realize is all those other stupid people who don’t do worth crap aren’t doing anything. You have to make up for all the stuff that they do. It’s like all those European countries, they are trying to do something, but us Americans keep screwing everyone over, let’s change that. We actually have to try. If you want to continue living on this world, and coexisting with everything, then we need to shape up. We have to cut way back on our consummation, and the clearing of this land is a great way to start.

This land is the last place on Earth where species live; don’t you want to save them for your children, and their children to take in what it has to offer? The rainforest is one of the most beautiful places on Earth, and what are we doing with it, cutting all of it down, and what are we replacing it with? Farms. As if there aren’t enough farms already, we just have to go and put them over one of the most stunning places in the world. Don’t you understand what you’re doing? You are killing off species that were absolutely no threat to you (and even if they were a threat, it doesn’t make it right) and substituting it with cities? How, again, is that justified? Ever heard, “You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone”? We’re going to cut all the rainforests down, and then “Oh, we did something wrong, I wish we could fix it.” Well, guess what, pal, you can’t. Everything you do is going have an effect on this, and if you’re just going to have remorse about it later, then what’s the point? Why are people so dense that they can’t see that what they’re doing is completely wrong?  Everything would start disappearing, no they’re already disappearing, and what are we doing, sitting back on our couch watching the TV, and eating potato chips. How self-centered are we? That we don’t care enough that other species are trying to live on this world, too, and we just keep killing them off.

People, understand that coexisting is key to keeping these animals alive. Clearing this land is wrong, ever heard the song “they paved paradise and put up a parking lot”? This is a great example of what we’re doing. This rainforest is the one place on Earth that certain species live, and once we clear all that land, they’re going to have nowhere to live. Do you like it when someone comes and starts destroying your home? And when you ask why, “Oh, because, we need a city here, you’re in the way. We’re not going to relocate your, or find you a new house, we don’t even care what you have to say, in fact we hope you die because you have nowhere to live.” Not exactly the nicest thing in that anyone’s ever done. Remember, we only have one world, let’s not destroy it.