Here is a story that everyone should have heard of by now, although it tends to be not too well known. It is a story that perfectly illustrates and encapsulates the lack of foresight of our supposedly modern and sophisticated society.
The origins are simple. Some decades ago, back in the 1970's, there was a fish farm in the South that had Asian Carp. It overflooded after heavy rains, and the Asian Carp were released into local waterways.
The problem? Asian Carp are horrible fish for many reasons. They are big, yet provide little to no good edible meat. Yet, they themselves are fairly big, and consume a lot of food for sustenance. They eat the food supplies of other fish species, and wind up killing off many other fish that are better for people, because they are big and eat the food supplies for these fish. Oh, and they reproduce at an amazing rate.
How amazing is their reproduction? Well, they have taken over some entire stretches of rivers, and have reached a point where they are knocking on the door of the Great Lakes. If they get in, it is expected that they will effectively decimate many other species of fish and, by extension, ruin the fruitful Great Lakes fisheries. If they take over the Great Lakes (it's supposed to take a few years, but it is expected to happen), then there is nothing really stopping them from becoming the dominant fish species in pretty much all of North America.
All because a few imported fish at a fish farm happened to be released into regular waterways after heavy rains (I think it was after a major storm), and were free to live their lives and reproduce. Because some people were careless and reckless, somewhere along the line, the entire life cycle of numerous species within our rivers and lakes is under serious threat.
It's hard to imagine. Or, perhaps, it's not.
After all, a Scottish farmer once decided to bring some bunnies for a farm in Australia. But at some point, they managed to escape. Just a couple of dozen, no more.
But it causes a huge epidemic, and there are now tens of millions of rabbits in Australia now. They have become a serious problem, even altered the landscape there.
All of this because of human stupidity, that unquenchable desire to tinker with Mother Nature, and then to grow horrified at the result. Mary Shelley Wallstonecraft was not far off from reality in writing a book about the madness of these brilliant ideas that turn horribly wrong.
So, what shall we say now? Forgive them, for they knew not what they did?
Maybe. Or maybe, we had better figure out some way to plug up this problem, while we still can (or perhaps now already, if we still can), before it is too late. Before the Asian Carp reach the Great Lakes, and it's Game Over!
Here is one article updating the situation:
http://ecowatch.com/2013/asian-carp-advancing-toward-great-lakes/
I just figured that, since this problem is as predictable as it is horrifying, and since it serves as a good example of why human ingenuity far too often works against us, one particular quote, which has been mistakenly attributed to both George Carlin and the Dalai Lama, but is actually from a former pastor of a Seattle church. It is a great quote, and works to sum up so many of the paradoxes of our modern, advanced society:
"The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings, but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints; we spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy it less. We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but less time; we have more degrees, but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgment; more experts, but more problems; more medicine, but less wellness. We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get angry too quickly, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too seldom, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.
We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate to often. We've learned how to make a living, but not a life; we've added years to life, not life to years. We've been al the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet our new neighbor. We've conquered outer space, but not inner space; we've done larger things, but not better things. We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul; we've split the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less; we plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait; we have higher incomes, but lower morals; we have more food, but less appeasement; we build more computers to hold more information to produce more copies than ever, but less communication; we've become long on quantity, but short on quality.
These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion; tall men, and short character; steep profits, and shallow relationships. These are the times of world peace, but domestic warfare; More leisure, but less fun; more kinds of food, but less nutrition. These are days of two incomes, but more divorce; of fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throw away morality, one-night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer to quiet to kill. It is a time when there is much in the show window and nothing in the stockroom.
Indeed, these are the times!"
~Dr. Bob Morehead
If you are interested in learning more about this quote yourself, you can always click on the following link to Snopes:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/paradox.asp
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