Why do some enviromentalist act as if humans are from another world and only visitors on earth?

Question

They seem to think we have no right to infringe on other animals territory. Animals do what ever they need to survive and we are a part of the ecosystem just as they. If it comes down to an animal or a person... by by animal, I am here just as you, so get the h... out of my way!

Answer 1

That's a good question. Many people seem to ignore or even reject that idea that humans are indeed part of the environment, and that human cities are in fact a highly developed type of ecosystem itself.

The human ecosystem is incompatible with many other ecosystems on the planet, and there is the very real danger that we are spreading it too far, but humans have just as much right to exist and modify the environment to our own benefit as ants, beavers or wasps do.

There are even a number of species that benefit from association with our ecosystem. Dogs and cats, cockroaches, pigeons, rats, raccoons, squirrels, even coyotes, white-tailed deer and opossums are all expanding their range and numbers through association with our ecosystem.

However, since we appear to be the only animal capable of observing and realizing the effects that our ecosystem is having on the larger global ecosystem, maybe it would behoove us to pay attention to what that data is telling us before we modify the ecosystem so much that it is no longer sustainable. The way we're going, it could turn out that sentience and tool-use together make for a very short-term evolutionary experiment before we make ourselves extinct and the other ecosystems move back in to fill in the hole we leave.

Answer 2

I think the answer has something to do with the naturalism craze in the aristocrats of Europe in the 1800's.

If you notice, it is bad for any species to become extinct if it was around in the 1800's. If a specied became extinct before that, as in one or all of the "dinasaurs", that isn't actually bad, after all, if they hadn't gone, we probably wouldn't even have most of the mammilian species of the 1800's that many environmentalists are so worried about protecting.

If its not some wierd semi-religious carry over from 1800's naturalism, then maybe they subconciously see OTHER people as competition, and therefore bad, where as other animals are prey, and good.

Or maybe they just haven't thought about it.

Many creatures affect their environment to make it better for them and worse for any competition. Some plants will drop leaves that make the soil more acidic. They do better in acid soils others do not. They flourish. It is natural selection working away. When people do things to make their environment better for them it is suddenly UN-natural and bad.

In the end, it may be because people are the heads-up favorite survival organism and we are so good at it that it makes some people root for the underdogs (and under-owls etc).

Answer 3

One point that many people miss is that what comes around, goes around. Hey stupid animal, here is some mercury for you to swim in. Oh crud, now I can't eat seafood 'cause I'll poison myself. Hey everybody, let's all get obese on cheeseburgers. Oh crud, all the rain forest that had to be cleared to raise the cattle for that burger can't make oxygen anymore--not that I can breathe well with all the fat surrounding my lungs.

Hmmm, choice between animal or person? You obviously did not pay attention to your biology teacher because you would then know that we are members of the animal kingdom. As a result, what we do to "other animals" we do to ourselves. How's the air quality in your part of the world?

We as humans supposedly have the brains to know better, whereas other animals lack that same level of intelligence to modify their environment like we do, to put up a fair fight. We are mere bullies if we do not have any concern for any other species than ourselves, and therefore do not show any signs of true intelligence.

Answer 4

I've never heard such claim. However, there is evidence present that make such a credible (arguable).
Humans as a species before agriculture were no different than pigs, snails, ants, fish, etc. We were all a part of a system of rules. Rules that some refer to as evolution. Humans at this time, in simplest terms, were not as frivolent as our current culture is today. Humans took what they needed, when they needed it (like any other species on this earth) but never took so much to put a system out of balance. This wasnt because they were better. It is because they were reliant on the balance of a system that kept them alive.
Once the culture that relied on Totalitarian Agriculture arrived things began to change. Not only in our life style, but also in our minds. We currently perceive Humans to be Above animals. This idea is the justification for destroying ecological systems that have worked for millions of years to promote our totalitarian agricultural agenda. So in a sense our culture can be compaired to an alien species because it has done something no other species has, they have gone against any rule that keeps systems stable. We have taken the fate of our own lives into our own hands, instead of relying on the rules of evolution.
While this change has yielded many possitive results, it has also unveiled many horrific aspects of life that are exlusive to our culture: war, famine, extreme poverty, social and mental disorders, etc.
While many choose the path of naivety, this lifestyle we lead will not bear possitive results unless minds of our culture being to change.

Answer 5

Some environmentalists think of humans as a cancer, which must depend on its host (the earth) to survive, but whose existence, reproduction, and growth will eventually kill the host. The death of the host causes the death of the cancer, too.

That's the real concern of environmentalists, that the imbalances caused by humans will result in the self-destruction of the human species along with all the others (except possibly kudzu, rats, and cockroaches, which seem to be near indestructible). There are several ways that could happen, from detonation of nuclear weapons, to climate change, to collapse of whole ecosystems from the loss of other species.

The truth of the matter is, the real threats to the health of the planet don't come from issues of human survival. They come from the desire of some people to have more than other people: SUVs instead of compact cars or public transportation; beef instead of grain (which needs much less water to produce); nuclear weapons instead of international respect and cooperation; electric elevators and treadmills instead of stairs to climb; land, fertilizers, and pesticides used for grassy lawns instead of food crops.

The issues involved with survival--deforestation and overgrazing for instance--actually have very little impact compared to consumption by people in industrialized countries who have access to lots of resources and no legal obligation to use them in responsible ways.

Answer 6

Hmmm... no longer certain how i trust about this one. on the only hand sure I revere our large mom this Earth. on the different, i do not unavoidably trust she is consciously attempting to dollar us off of her for what we've finished. Emphasis there is on consciously.... you be conscious, I do position self assurance in 3 fold regulation and, an concern would nicely be made that we are as others have pronounced purely reaping what we've sown those type of lengthy centuries of burning an pillaging. And so, for each action there is an opposite reaction on the least (if no longer 3 fold) and via what we've finished we will now could harvest what those who got here earlier us have sown.

Answer 7

Animals are the early warning system.
When a species dies out, the planet just became a little bit more inhospitable to life.
When a lot of species start dying, as with the birds and DDT, it means earth is becoming a lot less friendly to people...and we had best turn around FAST.

Answer 8

HUH???? It's the anti-environmentalists who act as if they're not part of this world and think they can play God with it without suffering the consequences.

By the way, Beckee has my vote for best answer. Maybe the rats and cockroaches will take better care of the planet than humans have.

Answer 9

I am not familiar with any environmentalists claiming that humans are aliens from another planet. However, it could be said that humans, given how they have so badly managed resources on this planet, act as if they think they are aliens with no vested interest in maintaining the environment of this planet.

Answer 10

Not just environmentalists. Here in Florida people 3 people were eaten alive by alligators. You wouldn't believe all the people saying "Well, they (the alligators) were here first." Maybe we should sacrificed our first born so the alligators have enough to eat.