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Author Topic: At war with nature?  (Read 2548 times)

Ryu

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At war with nature?
« on: September 12, 2016, 04:03:35 pm »
I have casually observed in my lifetime this strange insistence that humanity has to be at war with nature. Never mind the glaring yet obvious fact that we humans are also a component in this collection of processes we all "nature.

It seems that from the casual homeowner to the farmer, individual to the collective, people seem to insist on seeing every living thing as the "enemy" that has to be controlled, contained and/or obliterated.

Naturally this is not to mean that if there is a serious problem that it should not be dealt with using the means available to us (trying to avoid killing if possible) but I listen to people complain about animals like squirrels, for example, and the way they go on and on you'd think these little critters go out of their way just to annoy humans.

I listened to a man who had chickens and I had mentioned I seen a owl (not all owls are nocturnal, you know) and he went on about how he hated owls because they kill his chickens and I thought to myself, the daytime owls I seen just liked to hang out in large open fields while giving you the cold shoulder every now and then.

If the nighttime owls are a concern then why not keep the chickens in a coup or pen? Just wondering....

Anywhoo...I am not saying there aren't problems between humans and other creatures and I am certainly not saying we shouldn't take precautions but why does humanity love to separate itself from the rest of nature? We're certainly not above it by any means. We eat, sleep, eliminate, feel the effects of the weather and even get the urge to sleep more when the cold winter months descend on us.

Maybe if more people would just take a deep breath and take a look at things with a more objective mindset then maybe they would realize that nature, with all its inherent processes, will do what it does and that when we carelessly bulldoze hillsides and mountains, drain lakes, swamps and various wetlands to erect new housing and commercial developments then how can we be surprised when we start bumping heads at an increasing rate with the wildlife?

When you fill in a river to build apartments then can you really be all that surprised to find a crocodile chilling in your swimming pool?
If you bulldoze hills and clear cut forests then how can one be surprised and angered when the bears, moose and deer move into residential areas and start using your hedge of evergreens as their new buffet?

Well..that was my thought for the time being. ;)

Castus

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Re: At war with nature?
« Reply #1 on: September 12, 2016, 05:54:59 pm »
Quote from: Ryu;196153
I have casually observed in my lifetime this strange insistence that humanity has to be at war with nature. Never mind the glaring yet obvious fact that we humans are also a component in this collection of processes we all "nature.


From an Abrahamic standpoint, I would say it's because men were created in part with the specific purpose of subduing and dominating nature. Humans, as created in the image of God, are intrinsically superior to the natural world.
“Castus, meanwhile, goes straight for the bad theology like one of those creepy fish that swims up streams of pee.” — Darkhawk

“Believing in the Lord means you are connected to me no matter when you are poor, sick, or struggling in a relationship. I am always with you. I want you to believe that. The future is uncertain, and much suffering awaits. However, the mission of the believer is to live life doing their best, no matter what the circumstances.” — Ryuho Okawa

Tom

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Re: At war with nature?
« Reply #2 on: September 12, 2016, 08:24:52 pm »
Quote from: Ryu;196153
I have casually observed in my lifetime this strange insistence that humanity has to be at war with nature. Never mind the glaring yet obvious fact that we humans are also a component in this collection of processes we all "nature.

It seems that from the casual homeowner to the farmer, individual to the collective, people seem to insist on seeing every living thing as the "enemy" that has to be controlled, contained and/or obliterated.

Naturally this is not to mean that if there is a serious problem that it should not be dealt with using the means available to us (trying to avoid killing if possible) but I listen to people complain about animals like squirrels, for example, and the way they go on and on you'd think these little critters go out of their way just to annoy humans.

[snip]

Anywhoo...I am not saying there aren't problems between humans and other creatures and I am certainly not saying we shouldn't take precautions but why does humanity love to separate itself from the rest of nature? We're certainly not above it by any means. We eat, sleep, eliminate, feel the effects of the weather and even get the urge to sleep more when the cold winter months descend on us.

 
I'm pretty sure squirrels complain about us too. Heck, squirrels will scold crows. And crows mob big predator birds. It actually seems perfectly natural that we'll be at odds with other species, but I think that since we have more power over them, we should at least be more responsible with that power. I think the problem is that we need better education on how co-existing with animals is more useful to us than it is not.

(And by co-existing, I mean learning to live with them as neighbors and learning to respect their boundaries and learn how to not feed them so they feel like they can just run over your boundaries, which is often how animals end up being seen as nuisance animals.)

Beavers for example, are good neighbors to have around because the ponds they create end up being very diverse eco-systems that tend to be more drought resistant than other water sources, but previously farmers and other humans did what they could to evict what they saw as troublesome animals from their environments. But now people are making more effort to learn about beavers and learn to live with them in the environment.

Ryu

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Re: At war with nature?
« Reply #3 on: September 13, 2016, 08:30:49 pm »
Quote from: Castus;196168
From an Abrahamic standpoint, I would say it's because men were created in part with the specific purpose of subduing and dominating nature. Humans, as created in the image of God, are intrinsically superior to the natural world.


I see. Well that is really not part of my personal view but I honestly do appreciate reading your point of view too.

I know that more people are trying to work with nature rather than always treating it as the enemy. It's just that it seems that as civilization presses onward there seems to be a growing disconnect between humans and the rest of the natural world.

After all without nature none of us would be alive.
No bees, butterflies or bats to pollinate things means no food for any of us.
No water means no one has anything to drink and no plants will thrive...you get the picture.

Anyways...in the future I would like to see more effort being made to preserve what we have rather than spending billions on obliterating everything just because we can't monetarily exploit it.
The Earth was here first and with no Earth, no plants, animals, people or coffee.
(Yes...coffee is the elixir of sanity :cool:)

Tom

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Re: At war with nature?
« Reply #4 on: September 14, 2016, 06:43:52 pm »
Quote from: Ryu;196229
The Earth was here first and with no Earth, no plants, animals, people or coffee.
(Yes...coffee is the elixir of sanity :cool:)

Pretty that sure Earth is also going to be around after us and probably also life in general. Life has proved remarkably tough considering the number of mass extinction events. Humans just happen to not be essential to it.
« Last Edit: September 14, 2016, 06:44:26 pm by Tom »

MeadowRae

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Re: At war with nature?
« Reply #5 on: September 16, 2016, 07:33:35 am »
Quote from: Tom;196268
Pretty that sure Earth is also going to be around after us and probably also life in general. Life has proved remarkably tough considering the number of mass extinction events. Humans just happen to not be essential to it.

 
I feel the same way. The earth will be inhospitable to humans eventually, whether it's thru our own doing or not.

To piggy back off of Castus's comment, in addition to feeling that man rules over beast, many have a human-centric mindset as well as looking at things from a dualistic point of view. There is humankind, and there is "other." All of that otherness gets lumped together into "nature."

If nature is being inhospitable or inconvenient, she must be dealt with. If she is being nice, then they can leave her alone and observe her as something that's pretty as long as she doesn't cost them anything. (Like lost chickens,for example.)

This same line of thinking causes people to be ill prepared when hiking or camping-people think of the woods as scenic and beautiful and don't take precautions.

Just to be clear; I don't hold this mindset, just something I've noticed.
The genderqueer witch your mother warned you about

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