IT IS NOT NICE TO FOOL MOTHER NATURE |
Mother Nature has her own design and strategy for the earth and its inhabitants. Only now are we beginning to realize the error in trying to fool Mother Nature and to thwart her carefully thought out plans.
For example, we have tried to dam rivers and erect levees in order to avoid flooding. This approach has only worked on a temporary basis. Eventually, the channels have silted up and reduced the ability of the river to carry water. Later, when a really serious rainfall occurs, flooding results which overwhelms the dams and levees and results in catastrophic flooding.
As an old geology professor of mine explained, the natural sequence is for heavy rainfall to cause erosion of soil up in the mountains. This soil is then carried down the river by the rapid current of the water as it goes downhill from the higher ground. When the water reaches more level ground, flooding occurs. At this point, the water can no longer carry the sediment and this is dumped in the flood plain. The end result is a moderate level of flooding and the build up of prime farmland where the soil has been deposited. Dams and levees upset this delicate process and ultimately result in much worse floods and the loss of new and renewed farm land. In short, we are paying the price of trying to fool Mother Nature.
Similarly, we have made it a point to fight forest fires in order to "save the forests." Now, we have learned that forest fires are Mother Nature's way of clearing out underbrush. Without periodic fires, the underbrush grows so thick that, when a fire does start, the forest burns so completely as to seriously damage the forest. Again, we are paying the price of trying to fool Mother Nature.
The consequences of fooling Mother Nature will be most serious in terms of our own bodies and the human race in general. For example, every day our bodies are exposed to countless numbers of "germs." Fortunately, our bodies have immune systems which are capable of developing anti-bodies to fight off these invaders. Sometimes we lose but mostly we win. This also fits in with the survival of the fittest concept.
Since the early 40's, we have had penicillin and other antibiotics which have been effective in killing harmful germs. Unfortunately, the germs also read the book on survival of the fittest and have learned to survive these antibiotics. So, we now have these super germs which do not respond to antibiotics and our bodies have lost our natural immunity and the ability to fight for our selves. The end result for mankind may be the same as happened to the Eskimos who died in great numbers when exposed to germs for which they had not developed immunity.
In a similar vein, our society has become obsessed with cleanliness. Our floors are clean enough to eat from. We are endlessly using mouthwash and bathing. We have strict control of our food supplies and all of this is done in order to avoid exposure to germs. The end result is that we may lose the chance to develop immunity to everyday germs. In addition, it has recently been postulated that failure to expose babies to a sufficient number of germs during their first year may leave them prone to life long problems with allergies and asthma.
Actually, we are in daily contact with some pretty nasty germs but they do not normally cause trouble because our immune systems take care of them; that is, until we try to fool mother nature and avoid exposure.
At the same time, we are exposed to countless other little fellows that are not harmful and in many cases are beneficial. Recent studies have shown that the human colon contains 200-300 assorted bacteria, viruses, parasites and worms which may work in a symbiotic way with our bodies. In fact, certain inflammatory bowel disease have been shown to have been helped by the introduction of the eggs of certain worms.
It appears that the sterile environment that we live in may be trying to fool mother nature and prevent the natural introduction of bacteria, parasites and worms as necessary for a healthy ecosystem in our intestines and other parts of our bodies.
The most serious error in trying to fool Mother Nature is in failing to maintain and upgrade the human gene pool. In order to understand this process, we must remember that 35,000 years ago we were desperately hunting for berries, nuts or any kind of food, huddling in caves at night for warmth and generally trying to avoid being eaten by lions and tigers. We were animals. Today, we have an incredible civilization such that most of us live very well - but we are still animals subject to the same long term influences and demands of Mother Nature.
In nature, the sickly, crippled or mentally defective baby animal is quickly eaten or starves to death. The same thing happens to adult animals that develop genetically transmitted defects or simply do not have the stamina to survive nature's challenges. This is Mother Nature's way of maintaining and upgrading the gene pool for that species. Subsequent generations are then more apt to be strong and viable and able to survive.
The primary problem with our human civilization is in trying to bypass this survival of the fittest process. We now have ways to let babies, children and adults live that would have once died because of their imperfections. As a result, more and more people continue to live who lack a robust stamina, who are retarded, who have mental disease or who have inherited disabilities. Such people are often capable of having children and passing on these imperfections to subsequent generations in ever increasing numbers.
In many cases, such as where the child has an intense need to mutilate themselves, the child suffers a great deal more than in the old days when they would have been quickly eaten by the lions and tigers! It is legitimate to ask whether Mother Nature's way or our way is really the more humane. I realize that eugenics or euthanasia or even the process of letting defective babies (or adults) die naturally will not happen in the foreseeable future. However, I hope that society will at least realize that we are running up a bill with Mother Nature that is getting higher and higher and which will have to be eventually paid.
It is not nice to fool Mother Nature!