HOME | DD

Description

It was unstoppable. Tree after tree was taken down. We all knew this day was coming. It's a dramatic point in human history, but this one tree has no specific consequences of its own. Because each tree adds to rainforest biodiversity, to the lungs of the Earth, to providing a habitat for animals, to providing livelihood to mankind.

Mankind has known about the hamburger connection for a long time. Some of us thought that there was a balance between the number of burgers eaten globally versus a percentage of rainforest being sacrificed. Some of us didn't know that rainforests can only feed cattle for a few years, before new rainforest had to be destroyed to upkeep hamburger supplies. And some of us just didn't want to know, so they didn't have to care.

It's one of those responsible-action things. Where you know every bite is wrong, so you will have to change your behaviour — next time. Always next time. Mañana. What helps then, is a restriction of market resources to a bearable level, and to let the market settle at a higher price point, making alternatives more attractive. But that takes political action by politicians that need a spine, guts, a heart and a sharp mind with a clear conscience, speaking up for the common goal. But the common goal is quickly moving to the background in politics.

And so, it will come to the point where the last rainforest tree is cut down. It won't be traced back to the burger order that made the disctintion, because that might be upsetting to the consumer. Cutting down the tree will be a dirty job, but someone's gotta do it and should not take more effort than any other tree. Most of the wildlife is specific to the rainforest landscape and that will die out, but then, it already will be functionally extinct due to the creeping process when the rainforest is decimated, like it is today. The amount of oxygen from this last tree, and its uptake of carbon, are not so different from that of all the other trees cut down.

After this last tree, mankind will probably find other ways to clog its arteries with its insatiable hunger for cholesterol, saturated fat and excess protein. And to clog the lungs of the Earth. And to abolish the storage of carbon in its most abundant form, namely life. Until only microbes cover the Earth, long after mankind has gone extinct. Then it's finally time for the planet to revive, and to leave behind an era driven by the current kind of dinosaur.

What we seem to be forgetting is that carbon is life, not a waste product but we do need to give life a place on our planet. In our economy. It wants to thrive, the only thing stopping it is marked by misnomers such as humanity and progress.

License: AI from Rick van Rein, available under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Model: DALL-E 3

Prompt: photo. a rainforest tree teeming with wildlife, surrounded by tree stumps in a desert. a lumberjack holds a chainsaw to cut the tree. orchids grow where tree branches part. a mountain gorilla with a child on her back hangs on the stem of the tree. blue morpho butterflies around the tree stem. a brown three-toed sloth is hanging off a branch. birds-of-paradise sit on branches. a jaguar on a branch growls. scarlet macaws scream. a green anacondo on a branch.

Description

It was unstoppable. Tree after tree was taken down. We all knew this day was coming. It's a dramatic point in human history, but this one tree has no specific consequences of its own. Because each tree adds to rainforest biodiversity, to the lungs of the Earth, to providing a habitat for animals, to providing livelihood to mankind.

Mankind has known about the hamburger connection for a long time. Some of us thought that there was a balance between the number of burgers eaten globally versus a percentage of rainforest being sacrificed. Some of us didn't know that rainforests can only feed cattle for a few years, before new rainforest had to be destroyed to upkeep hamburger supplies. And some of us just didn't want to know, so they didn't have to care.

It's one of those responsible-action things. Where you know every bite is wrong, so you will have to change your behaviour — next time. Always next time. Mañana. What helps then, is a restriction of market resources to a bearable level, and to let the market settle at a higher price point, making alternatives more attractive. But that takes political action by politicians that need a spine, guts, a heart and a sharp mind with a clear conscience, speaking up for the common goal. But the common goal is quickly moving to the background in politics.

And so, it will come to the point where the last rainforest tree is cut down. It won't be traced back to the burger order that made the disctintion, because that might be upsetting to the consumer. Cutting down the tree will be a dirty job, but someone's gotta do it and should not take more effort than any other tree. Most of the wildlife is specific to the rainforest landscape and that will die out, but then, it already will be functionally extinct due to the creeping process when the rainforest is decimated, like it is today. The amount of oxygen from this last tree, and its uptake of carbon, are not so different from that of all the other trees cut down.

After this last tree, mankind will probably find other ways to clog its arteries with its insatiable hunger for cholesterol, saturated fat and excess protein. And to clog the lungs of the Earth. And to abolish the storage of carbon in its most abundant form, namely life. Until only microbes cover the Earth, long after mankind has gone extinct. Then it's finally time for the planet to revive, and to leave behind an era driven by the current kind of dinosaur.

What we seem to be forgetting is that carbon is life, not a waste product but we do need to give life a place on our planet. In our economy. It wants to thrive, the only thing stopping it is marked by misnomers such as humanity and progress.

License: AI from Rick van Rein, available under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Model: DALL-E 3

Prompt: photo. a rainforest tree teeming with wildlife, surrounded by tree stumps in a desert. a lumberjack holds a chainsaw to cut the tree. orchids grow where tree branches part. a mountain gorilla with a child on her back hangs on the stem of the tree. blue morpho butterflies around the tree stem. a brown three-toed sloth is hanging off a branch. birds-of-paradise sit on branches. a jaguar on a branch growls. scarlet macaws scream. a green anacondo on a branch.