I remember my first visit to the United States over a decade ago. Landing from my small, bustling hometown of Meerut, India, I was instantly awestruck. The silence, the systematic flow of traffic, the lack of honking—it was a world engineered for flawless human convenience. Everything was neat, clean, and in order . For nearly a year, I was hypnotized. I praised this country for its efficiency, its cleanliness, and, notably, its lack of stray animals . Where were the dogs, the cows, the insects that are a normal part of life back home? The US, I thought, was truly a superior model of civilization. My clothes never even collected dust; it seemed the entire landscape was sterilized. But as the years passed, the hypnosis began to fade. I started asking a darker question: What is the price of this perfect order? The Cost of the Empty Road My initial praise for the US was based on what I didn't see: no stray animals, no swarming insects, no dust. I realized this absence wasn't a s...
You highlight a profound paradox: humans, who label themselves as civilized and learned, are simultaneously the primary drivers of environmental destruction. This isn't a new observation, but it's one that gains increasing urgency with each passing year. Elaboration and Examples: Deforestation and Habitat Loss: Your point about wiping out jungles is starkly true. From the Amazon rainforest to the Borneo lowlands, vast swathes of critical ecosystems are cleared for agriculture, logging, mining, and urban expansion. This directly displaces and eradicates countless species. Example: The palm oil industry, driven by global demand for various products, has led to massive deforestation in Southeast Asia, pushing orangutans, Sumatran tigers, and other unique species to the brink. Global Warming: The scientific consensus is clear: human activities, primarily the burning of fossil fuels, have released unprecedented amounts of greenhouse gases, leading to climate change. This isn...