On exotic animals and birds and humans

Posted on July 9, 2008
Filed Under Environment | Leave a Comment

Having lived in Australia for a few months, I had to try some of the foods not available in North America. Last weekend, I had the chance to taste Kangaroo and Emu meat in a pizza that can be found at the Australian Hotel down at the historic part of Sydney known as The Rocks. Eating Kangaroo and Emu made me think for a second about how we treat animals and what humans have done in terms of causing the extinction of many.

Now, Kangaroo and Emu are not exotic animals by any stretch of the imagination (especially in Australia,) but there are many other species that fit the bill. And many of those have gone extinct. Some animals we hunted to death for food or for their skin. Other we exterminated for sport. Some, we continue to harvest for silly things such as ostrich feathers used for decorative table centerpieces.

Now, I agree to a large degree with the late comedian George Carlin who once said as part of his routine. It is a bit arrogant for humans to think that the planet (our Earth) really cares about the influence of humans on its ecosystem. Considering some 90% of all species that have lived on this planet since the beginning of life have now gone extinct, what is up with all the protests and such. Like George said, “I didn’t do it! The planet will go on existing long after humans have gone extinct themselves just like it has done for millions of years before we evolved.”

The problem is that I don’t want humans to go extinct. Unfortunately, if we do not product the planet’s ecosystem, we might inadvertently cause our own species to disappear. Sure, the planet will go on with business as usual, but what about us? So, take it easy and do your part in helping the environment whether this means recycling an aluminum can of soda or reducing carbon emissions by driving a couple of miles less every other day. Do it for us!

PS: The Kangaroo and Emu pizza was delicious if not a bit chewy.

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