Delusions of Independence

Problem Child

It has been eons since humans committed the ultimate ecosystem hubris:  to dare go it alone, leaving behind the 8 million-strong species they had co-evolved with.  Like rebellious teenagers, clueless of what they wanted to do with their lives, they dashed out the back window one night, abandoning the family who had nurtured them for 3.8 billion years.  Entering the unknown, they hid amongst the dark shadows at the edge of the ecosystem, where they began to morph into a bizarre, sometimes beautiful, but undoubtedly sinister new world: one that was selfishly intended for humans, and humans only. 

Prompted more by impulse than thoughtful deliberation, the teenagers had forever left behind their little village, trading it in for the big, ugly city they were about to erect.  Free from the rules and supervision of the ecosystem, they could now mold their new environment any which way they wanted:  keeping it as untidy as they liked, surviving on drugs, junk food and rock n’ roll.  They had finally gotten what they wished for, which was to break the rules of the ecosystem, leave all of nature behind, and try to forget the place they had come from as quickly as possible, as if it had all been one, big, ugly nightmare. 

The city’s architectural style would become a bold statement of independence from nature, as well as a full-on affront, a declaration of war towards Earth itself.  It was a vision of a city that was so ugly, so inhospitable to life that no species would ever dare to dwell in it except for humans.  As a matter of fact, within the confines of the city, the teenagers had indeed managed to banish almost all life forms, bar the occasional ornamental tree or lingering “pest”.  Without nature’s artistic input to illuminate the dark, urban corners, or soften the sharp, austere spikes of human arrogance, new structures called “buildings” would emerge and evolve into nameless, stiff and desolate monolithic monuments of untold visual brutality.  These were the new homes of people, secluded on all sides by thick, impenetrable walls which were pretty much soundproof, weather proof and life proof.  The occasional window or balcony would let some light in, although the typical view was that of another building or busy polluted road.

Humans tried to give these cities names, so that people would feel less intimidated and visit them.  But as the cities grew in size further and further, the teenagers’ urban vision would come true:  the city would become a place exclusively for humans, given that no other species on Earth would tolerate so much toxicity, noise and violence on a daily basis – 100% of it self-inflicted.  Luckily, humans were extremely resourceful and could tolerate this environment.  They were so busy with their lives anyway, that they could not see the ugliness they had created.  

It must have taken immense greed and ambition on the part of the architects of the city to be so blind to pollution and destruction, and to come to believe that somehow this sterile, desolate and toxic landscape was a vision of progress, an investment into the future, and a place where they would eventually bring up their children.  By building megacities, humans had succeeded in shutting nature out while at the same time creating a prison for themselves.  

While impressive as an engineering feat, the story of the city had been one of annihilation and extinction all along.  Today, humanity is responsible for the existence of some of the most abysmally ugly and depressing, hostile, toxic and dangerous environments on Earth, most of them created on lands that were once part of the richest, most habitable and biologically diverse zones of this planet.  Lush river deltas, fertile valleys, sun-kissed coastlines once buzzing with an almost infinite array of life forms, were aggressively taken over and replaced by monocultures of humans who offered nothing to the local landscape, other than mechanically reproducing more and more copies of themselves. 

But however ugly, inhospitable, and sterile the city was, it would easily manage to charm humans right from the beginning with its imposing grandeur and illuminated evening vistas.  The city dwellers would admire the city and feel proud as humans for having created this monstrous, bizarre new world.  The city would become a symbol of their independence, a living reminder that they had “made it”: they had escaped nature, safe inside their industrial concrete fortresses.  

Sitting on this narrative of accomplishment and power, and comparing themselves to the Creator, the teenage humans were able to continue to feed their delusion of independence: that they didn’t need the village anymore, even though it continued to be the source of all their food, oxygen and water.  They had created their own little single-species ecosystem, unaware that it was merely a parasite of the ecosystem they had come from.

George is an author, researcher, molecular biologist and food scientist.

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