By Nate Feldman
Quite often, when people talk about the effects of humans on planet Earth, they focus on negative things, such as global warming, deforestation, pollution, and general destruction. We cannot ignore such things, but focusing on that too much can lead to cynicism and defeatism. It’s as if we cannot control ourselves and are doomed to destroy the planet. The reality is that humans have also had many wonderful effects on the planet which we should celebrate.
While it is true that humans have caused the extinction of animal life in some cases, we also protect animal life. Things like nature preserves enable many animals to thrive and do well in ways they wouldn’t if they were out in the wild. There are animal shelters and other organizations that dedicate a lot of their time for the betterment of animal life. Furthermore, many people provide loving homes to domesticated animals, such as dogs and cats. If you compare the health and lifespan of domesticated house cats to feral cats, you will undoubtedly see that cats around humans do much better than those without them.
Human knowledge of the sciences has the potential to save the world from future catastrophes. It is believed by many scientists that Dinosaurs went extinct due to an asteroid collision 65 million years ago. Today, with the invention of advanced telescopes, we are able to detect things from outer space that have the potential to wreak havoc on our planet the way that asteroid did. Also, if a large asteroid is heading to our planet, we are developing technology to knock it off its course. Other animal species have never had such capabilities.
These things are not written to ignore the many negative consequences that humans are having on the planet. This is to also give us credit where credit is due. Many of us do good things for the planet every day and it is important we celebrate that as much as we focus on the bad things as well.
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