Is the planet better off without us?

Posted on by Opher

There are many who are wonder that with the terrible damage we are presently doing to the planet, whether the place wouldn’t be better off without us.

There are so many disasters. I reckon the major ones are:

Overpopulation
Global Warming
Species extinctions
Extreme pollution

Presently I think we are in grave danger of totally upsetting the ecological balance of the planet and doing permanent damage.

Would the planet be better off without us? That is debateable but if there is nothing left that is sentient to appreciate it would it matter?

I have a few thoughts.

Well certainly the richness of life and abundance would be better without us.

And certainly there are a number of other creatures who are sentient (and intelligent) who might well prosper without us (gorillas, chimps, elephants, whales to name but four).

I certainly appreciate nature and have a great love for animals and plants. I would like to see them flourish and it distresses me to see them treated so badly and suffering so much.

Then, of course, evolution would work to fill in the gaps. There could well be a new highly intelligent species that would eventually replace us and prove to be more compassionate and a better manager of the planet. So that could be good.

But I have a fondness for humanity. I think we are a bit Jekyll and Hyde. Perhaps there is hope for us? Perhaps we can learn to care for the other life we share the planet with? Perhaps we will learn to be less cruel? Perhaps we will learn to manage the natural world a lot better and learn from our mistakes?
I’d like to think so.
You don’t value what you’ve got until its gone, do you?
And the cruel, vicious side of our nature is really our worst side!
But there are many people who do care for nature. That gives me hope!

9 thoughts on “Is the planet better off without us?”

  1. As the saying goes, the jury is out … but hang on, we ARE the jury! Agree that we’re loveable rogues … as Roman playwright Terence put it, “I am human, and I think nothing human is alien to me.”

  3. I recently read about a specialist on rodents, who thinks that following the demise of humans an improved rat species will come to dominate, as they already populate the entire world and breed so quickly. I live near La Brea Tar pits in L A, and you can see that only 11,000 years ago, mammoths, mastodons, saber tooth cats flourished in an area now populated by humans, plus their dogs and cats – oh, and rats too.

    1. Who knows? Evolution is random and interesting.
      Perhaps it’ll be the cockroaches!
      We lived in LA for a year and visited those tar pits! That was amazing. Captain Beefheart wrote a song about them:
      Come on down t’ the big dig
      Come on down t’ the big dig
      Come on t’ the big dig
      Singin’ the Smithsonian Institute blues
      Singin’ the Smithsonian Institute blues
      The way it’s goin’ La Brea tar pits
      I know you just can’t lose
      The new dinosaur is walkin’ in the old one’s shoes
      Come on down t’ the big dig
      Can’t get around the big dig
      This may be premature but if I’m wrong
      You can just say it’s the first time I was happy t’ be confused
      Singin’ the Smithsonian Institute blues
      Alll you new dinosaurs
      Now it’s up t’ you t’ choose
      It sure looks funny for a new dinosaur
      T’ be in an old dinosaur’s shoes
      Dina Shore’s shoes
      Dinosaur shoes
      C’mon down to the big dig
      You can’t get around the big dig
      C’mon to the big dig
      Ya can’t get around the big dig
      Singin’ the Smithsonian Institute blues

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