Protecting the environment is a topic that is becoming more and more popular in recent days. There are already lots of “green” organizations that are dedicated to nature preservation and there are even college majors like “environmental economics” or “environmental protection.” The ideas behind these organizations are based on the understanding that we, humans, as preeminent species on the planet have a duty to protect wildlife. However, I disagree with this opinion for two important reasons.
To begin with, protecting wildlife is sometimes nothing more than a sentimental luxury. People decide that some animals look harmless, so they protect them from predators, or give them medicine – both are services they would not usually receive in nature. In addition, some endangered species are even put into zoos, so that we can preserve their population. However, all this costs a lot of money and time, and it is not clear whether it is really helping the environment. Hence, we waste an enormous amount of resources in “protecting” animals just because they look cute, but it doesn’t bring us any benefits.
Next, from an evolutionary perspective, humans are simply the most developed species on the planet and we have, therefore, always made nature serve our needs. It is natural that an animal that can better make use of its available resources dominates its environment. No other wild species would like to protect an individual or individuals of a different kind. Therefore, we should rather ask ourselves whether we have the right to play god with the environment and determine which animal makes use of our protection and lives and which one does not and dies.
In brief, I believe that humans are not obliged and even should not try to interfere in natural processes by protecting wildlife. Helping some animals in a bad condition may be noble, but it may cost a lot of money and it will not bring any benefits to humans. In addition, humans are the most highly developed species we know of, and it is only natural that they make full use of whatever resources available to them in any possible way.
