Greater Than Us

by dane bunel

We’ve made it through another year, but at what cost?

Think about all the things that we see in our everyday life and what we know as human beings. We are made to feel, and when time is spent out in the shiny green grass as the sun shines on you with big bright trees lurking in every corner, you really start to feel one with the world. Now imagine a world where all of that is taken away.

The real question has to do with the future. Is the decline of wildlife fixable or simply inevitable? The only way to figure this out is to go back and look at what’s laid out on the surface and what’s fact.

Certified climate change organizations and wildlife enthusiasts such as the WWF, UNICEF, and the World Economic Forum have been keepings records and charts over the last 100 years, and all giving a clear indication of what the root of our problems really are. The answer is simply ourselves.

Any wildlife chart optional for view on the Internet will tell you all the same thing. Whether it be accumulating trash in the ocean, steady glacier declines, burning forests or overfishing our seas, catastrophic decline has no sign of slowing down. In the midst of our ongoing struggles with life during Covid-19, we’ve failed to realize all this time that there is something far greater that has hit the peak of its own pandemic long before our own, and that thing is nature itself.

The question still remains though, can it slow down for us to catch up? People that revolve their life around things like oil, fishing, construction, etc. are more likely to contribute to the decline of wildlife, but that isn’t slowing anyone down when it comes to our lives. In the end our life will still continue, but is the decline of life around us inevitable? Many believe the only man worthy enough of giving an answer is long-time wildlife enthusiast David Attenborough. He himself will tell you all the things I have already said.

It’s a difficult topic to absorb but Attenborough puts simplicity in it with one beautiful quote. “I just wish the world was twice as big and half of it was still unexplored. Are we happy to suppose that our grandchildren will see things like elephants and trees as something only seen in books? If humans were erased tomorrow, the world would honestly be better off.”

Even with that being said, there are still drops of life on this planet not yet touched by humanity, our last hopes. Other than that we still have our purpose too, even with an overcrowded population. Although the future seems inevitable right now, the fire can still be put out with enough help. If we’re going to be part of the issue and there’s no way to slow it down, the next best thing to do is to speak up. Change comes with one easy task, treat others the way you want to be treated, and not just other human beings, other living entities. Lets make 2020 the year of reflection where we sit back, reflect, and act.

If you want to get involved and stop the below 50% wildlife destruction scale, speak up and get in contact with a number of nonprofits and organizations partnered with the WWF who’s contribution is fully achieved when a call from you comes through. Let’s make 2020 the year where we take back our planet.

This is a piece by local Louisville artist, Asia Quammie, who dedicates this drawing to all the men and women who need a clearer vision of what real problems really look like. Photo: Dane Bunel