March 25th

commons.wikimedia.org

Should mankind be blamed for every recent extinction? 

The question of extinction most recently surfaced at Bangkok where delegates debated the treaty meant to save endangered species from the devastating effects of trade. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) negotiated about the slaughter of rhino, the decimation of elephant and many other endangered species including the last stand of the tiger. 

The statistics about the losses shock us all, giving rise to protests and the campaigns.

Attractive animals with loveable eyes wrench our heart strings. Yet nobody cares about a tubeworm. 

However, every loss can't be blamed on result of man's unwitting or careless activity. 

velociraptor - www.bbc.co.uk

In the story of life on Earth, the harsh reality is that extinction has always been with us. The most famous mass wipe-out was the loss of the dinosaurs. And four other great die-offs have been identified, one of which killed off something like 90% of species. In the background, some creatures routinely fade out year by year, losing out to others and disappearing. 

The living world is an agitated enterprise in which nothing endures forever. Most astonishing of all is the knowledge that almost every life form that has ever existed on the planet has died out. According to some estimates, each kind of sea creature or land animal or insect or plant that enjoyed a spell on Earth has vanished into oblivion. Charles Darwin wrote about extinction in his landmark On the Origin of Species.

As a mark of civilization we should be responsible for the survival of weaker species. Every living thing contains DNA, which we all share, linking us to each living thing on the planet. We are related to spiders, wasps, snakes and slugs and our family's survival depends on us to be aware of every action.

 Edgar Cayce said that the only sin is unconsciousness.

Maybe this is part of what he meant.