Reasons for misgivings. I consider that in the long term it will be impossible to respond to the problems linked to climate change and environmental protection without looking at the question of man's place on earth (see this column yesterday). There are many reasons why such an approach is received coolly or dismissed by a wall of silence and we can understand these reasons. Some of these reasons are religious: man is the king of nature, which has been made for him; he is a creature in possession of an immortal soul. Other reasons are based on the principle of defending life, its sacred nature (even if in fact no one is planning on the extermination of a section of humanity or that of certain categories of animal, although some of the latter do, in fact, limit their own populations voluntarily). Other reasons are demographic or are linked to a combination of factors insofar as the population is decreasing in some countries and the authorities are interested in how this issue should be addressed (we only need to mention Germany and Russia in this connection). Specialists are, above all, pointing out that the expansion of the human race is in fact slowing down and that the diffusion of knowledge speeds up and makes this trend more widespread, without it being necessary to promote specific reflection.
Crucial rethink. This means that the question of man's place on earth is only skirted around, except in a few rare exceptions. This question is, nonetheless, absolutely essential. Serious analyses, which are not afraid of tackling the question, point out that the majority of difficulties and dangers threatening the balance in nature are provoked by the exponential growth in the human population, the pace of which, for approximately the past half-century, has been incredible. Calculations proving that the Earth could shelter and nourish several billion additional human beings are meaningless because everything proves that this result would be obtained to the detriment of the natural balance and would gradually destroy biodiversity and both plant and animal habitats. Man is increasingly upsetting the structure of the Earth, which previously was done within limits that were at the time still sustainable. We are unsure whether some of the current risks can be controlled, as proved with the use of oil resources in increasingly deeper seas and projects related to the industrial use of the Arctic Ocean. We are striving to protect the Earth's lungs, the Amazon and Asian forests but we are developing a plan for activities that are even more dangerous. Neither should we forget the excesses of certain kinds of fishing, which compromise maritime life, nor the threats, which are still only partly explained, involving bees (according to Einstein, if bees disappeared, the end of the human race would rapidly follow suit). Experts are increasingly underlining the fact that there is a massive extinction of animals and plants going on and that man is primarily responsible for this because he is provoking the destruction of their natural habitat. Scientific studies have also explicitly highlighted the dangers to humanity caused by the gradual reduction in biodiversity.
For the good of humanity itself. It is true that increasingly more substantial efforts are being made to respond to and safeguard balance in nature, and that certain results have been achieved or have been forecast. Nonetheless, in certain cases, the remaining obstacle is precisely the presence of man's activity in the equation. For example, the re-introduction of wolves into a number of regions of Europe. Local farmers are obliged to respond when wolves threaten their flocks or kill their lambs. It is understandable that they protect their livelihoods through with which they help contribute to fighting hunger in the world. They are not responsible for what happens. It is in this connection that man's place in nature should be located, planned and gradually developed, for the sake of humanity itself.
Certain modern prophets consider that it is already too late. According to Guido Ceronetti, the Italian friend of the Franco-Romanian, Cioran, man is currently leading the climate, trees and the planet itself to damnation. He even asks the question of whether the attempt to save man is really worth it because the human race is rushing towards its end and will soon disappear, “watched impassively by owls and other marvellous nocturnal birds”, a long time before the predicted and already calculated disappearance of our little planet. Other thinkers believe, however, that it is preferable to better manage the time that remains to us, especially for protecting childhood, the only period in which humanity is still innocent. Let's give it some thought.
(F.R./transl.fl)