Humanity is not some uncaring monster that is bent on destroying the world. Humanity is an unthinking monster that is destroying the world. At the head of some of the most damaging programs, industries, and efforts there are people with genuinely good intentions. Their obliviousness easily could be considered criminal negligence.
One of the most pressing issues on most people's minds is that of world hunger. Every second humans die of starvation all over the world. In response to this there are hundreds of programs set up to feed the hungry and get food to less fortunate countries. Unfortunately it is their good intentions that assure there will be even more suffering and mouths to feed in the future. A basic law of nature states that an increase in food supply yields an increase in population. Because people cannot bear to see any people dieing now, they are in turn creating an even bigger problem in the future.
Humans want to have purpose. No one wants to wake up in the morning without a reason to go on. In our quest for purpose we have found the the closest thing to this is improvement. We are consistently looking for ways to improve every aspect of our lives. We build and create at a rate rivaling ants and with ingenuity and originality far beyond. Our factories churn out petty trinkets as fast as they can: scented soaps, stylish pants, music CDs, breath mints, flavoured water, toy cars, and anything else might 'improve' someone's life. These same factories, in their quest to contribute to mankind, pour thousands of tons of noxious gas into our atmosphere. This gas eats away at the ozone layer that protects us from the harmful ranged of solar radiation gradually allowing more and more of it through. Another factory opens and begins churning out sunscreen.
Meanwhile humanity expands its boundaries all over the Earth displacing millions of animals from the homes where they have resided for generation after generation. However these creatures do not go unnoticed, some recognize their plight and take it upon themselves to preserve some of them in the hopes of getting them to breed and be reintroduced into a new habitat (which will subsequently be destroyed at some later date). These animals are put into zoos where people pay money to stare and gawk at them. Meanwhile the animals suffer. In captivity animals begin adopting strange and repetitive habits such as passing, excessive grooming, and even agressiveness. Almost all would be classified as depressed compared to their wild brethren though some don't know this, having never seen their original home.
With a little luck, future generations will discard the concept that good intentions alone are needed to effect beneficial change. Humanity might even be able to be satisfied with its domain and cease expansion in favour of true improvements to society and possibly the environments it destroyed in its expansion. Only time will tell.
) should consider that when we buy and when we earn.
