The Cove

I found the movie The Cove to be very interesting. I could not believe that the slaughtering of dolphins actually took place (and probably still does). Another thing that was so shocking was the fact that Japanese markets label the dolphin meat as whale so that people will purchase it for more money. It is crazy to think of what our country would be like if money were that important to our leading officials. I also find it funny that representatives made up “scientific” evidence showing that dolphins and whales are the cause of declining fish populations globally. It is almost comical that they say this when, in all reality, it is probably due to rise in human population and consumption of fish. They fail to realize (or don’t want to admit) that they are causing this change. They continue to blame declining populations on whales and dolphins. In my mind, if you are going to blame something else for something you are doing, you are suggesting that that species can distinguish right from wrong. If something is blamed, then does it have rights? I think so, if it were not accused of this would it not be just another fish in the sea? I think that people must not only realize that the slaughtering of dolphins is taking place on a daily basis. I think that, after they have realized this, they must take action and try to save them as they did with the whales. A failure to do so could end up eliminating an entire species from its ecosystem, leaving only memories in the zoo.

The Land Ethic.

I was 8 years old the first time I experienced what I thought to be a truly wild environment. I was in the boundary waters on Basswood. There was a very heavy wind, resulting in around 3 food waves (according to dad), and I was in a canoe with my dad. Now, I don’t know if you know anything about canoeing, but waves that size makes it a very bumpy ride. I seriously thought I was going to die (mind of an 8 year old). I didn’t die; we made it to a campsite and set up camp. I had the privilege of observing nature at its finest. I saw moose, deer, bears, eagles, fish, you name it. The most shocking thing I observed were eagles ripping apart the remains of fish that we had filleted and placed on a rock just across the lake.

This was the first time that I observed what my grandpa likes to call the circle of life. We caught the fish, killed the fish, consumed the fish, and disposed of the remains. The eagles proceeded to consume what was left of them. Now I know this isn’t the best example of the interconnectivity of the organisms coexisting within an ecosystem, but it should work. I witnessed, firsthand, the relationships between predators and prey. As Leopold says, “think like a mountain.” I could not have stated it better. The mountain sees the wolf preying upon deer, deer preying upon grass and seedlings. It knows the importance of each animal in it’s ecosystem. The idea that even the smallest changes to an ecosystem could result in drastic changes. An example of this is selective hunting. If the populations of whitetail deer in Minnesota were not managed how would the environment be altered? How many animals would starve?

Mining is another fantastic example of a drastic change in an environment, which, most likely, has detrimental effects on the inhabitants of the mining area. Leopold challenged the way we make environmental decisions by illustrating the fact that all aspects of a given habitat/environment must be taken into consideration before acting out human wants and needs. I Think that this is a fantastic idea and I pray that I will be able to view things in this fashion until the day that I die.

Save the Trees. :P