The Future of Life

Just recently I finished my spring semester in college. Due to my procrastination when it came to enrolling in my classes I was not able to take all the classes I had hoped too. Luckily one of the fill in classes, Human Ecology, opened a new arena of knowledge I had never considered. As part of the course, the class was required to read Edward O. Wilson's The Future of Life. The book outlined many of the environmental problems that are plauging the world and the consequences we, as part of the biosphere, face.

Included below is an essay I wrote for the class covering the content of the fifth chapter of the book entitled The Future Of Life. The chapter covered the generous services our environment supply to us free of charge and the financial disastors we will face if they are to dissapeer.

What is our biosphere worth? That is the question Edward Wilson attempts to answer in chapter five of his book “The Future of Life”. According to a group of economists and environmental scientists, the value of ecosystem services provided by the natural environment is at or near $33 trillion. These services vary in value and include pollination of crops, water purification, the nutrient cycle, the balancing of atmospheric gases, and the most valuable, at $17.1 trillion, soil formation. It should come as no surprise that the dollar values of these resources are expected to increase as the services become more tarnished and their engineers become increasingly scarce (World Resources, 1998). Regrettably, this figure has had no effect on Homo sapiens. We continue to increase the dollar value of these natural services by decreasing the abundance of contributors Mother Nature has so generously supplied to help sustain our existence. This includes rainforest destruction, species extinction, and the continuing contribution to greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere. It is said that every action has a consequence. Unless the human population seriously considers the predicted outcome of our environmental abuse and attempt to form a solid solution, the payment to replace our lost natural resources will prove to have greater consequences than just an economic burden.
One ecological service Wilson discusses, which I had never before considered, is the linkage between the contributions of the pharmaceutical world and the disruption of Earth’s rainforest habitats. Rainforests, which cover only 6% of the land surface, house nearly half of all the plant, animal, and floral species living in Earth’s biosphere (Wilson 2002). Out of this rich field of biodiversity scientists continue to discover and supply the world with new pharmaceuticals used to combat infectious diseases. The possibility for cures for major diseases plaguing the world today such as AIDS and cancer are now believed to be hidden away in the rainforests ecosystem. One example of this can be found in the research conducted by the National Cancer Institute. It was the research conducted by this organization that discovered that Calophyllum lanigerum, a tree native to an island off the coast of Borneo, contains a substance(calanolide A) that actually kills H.I.V. without harming healthy cells of the infected (Shenon 1994). Unfortunately, due to deforestation and countless other habitat violations, many of these possible cures are being lost before they are found. Calanolide A was nearly one of these cures. Rainforests are being cleared away much faster than scientists can study all the known and unknown numbers of species believed to hold medicinal cures. Of all the rainforest’s species only 1% has been tested for their effects on combating infectious diseases. If this is not viewed as a destructive argument to reserve the rainforest than I don’t know what is.
As we continue on our destructive, we only see the contributions of the world’s natural services when they are in danger or have already completely vanished from our grasp. The story of calanolide A and its near loss is only one reason behind preserving, not only tropical rainforests, but all ecosystems. The long term benefits the human race may achieve far outweigh the short term benefits we have thus far obtained. It should come as no surprise if the world economies collapse when put under the pressure of supporting the price of the lost ecosystem services. Why this estimated number, $33 trillion per year, is not raising more attention to governments and peoples around the world only shows the lack of seriousness we, the human race, hold in preserving planet Earth.