missing birds

this nytimes article about birds disappearing almost made me cry. it makes me sad every time i learn something that affirms what i told my math teacher in the 8th grade: the purpose of human beings is to destroy the planet.

just because we're finding ways to live a sustainable life doesn't mean that we aren't continuing to hurt the biodiversity that exists on this planet. yes, for one species to survive, other species must be injured or even killed. everything we eat comes from a living thing, animal or plant. but even when buildings are designed to use dramatically less electricity and built with "eco-friendly" materials, we can't forget that we're still taking over another species living space. the planet is only so big, ocean and land, and we're taking over more and more of it.

hong kong plowed hills flat and dumped the earth into the ocean to create more land, a practice called land reclamation. residential skyscrapers are built on these pieces of land. i doubt that hong kong is the only place that creates land in this manner. not only did we destroy a piece of land that was inhabited by other living creatures, but we also took over a piece of the ocean. maybe i'm being too dramatic in saying that it's a tiny baby step in our take-over of the ocean.

also, new houses built in this country are getting bigger and bigger. all those hollywood stars who bought priuses in the rush to the newest fad--to be environmentally conscious--live in giant houses that take over a huge plot of land and use an immense amount of materials for its infrastructure. oh, and the furniture. i wonder if the same prius drivers also own furniture made from exotic materials ripped from the rain forests.

yes, doing one thing is a start, but it's more of a matter of adjusting your entire lifestyle to cause the least amount of damage to the rest of the species on this planet. we need it for our own survival. what will we eat if we kill off and force out the rest of the living organisms?