CHAPTER 2: THE HUMAN FOOTPRINT
- Mark Howitt
- 3 days ago
- 47 min read
Written by Mark Howitt
"There is no destination. There is only the journey"
-David Gold (Woods of Ypres)
In nearly all parts of our modern and interconnected world, nature is evidenced to be suffering within their own individually withering ecosystem, from the smallest scale to the largest. It seems as though every day we hear news or learn about new issues effecting the environment as well as the overall stability of our planet. The impact of the industrial worlds footprint on the planet is absolutely sickening. The destruction of this planet has been allowed for the sole purpose of profits to be made by a select group of resource thieving companies.
Sure, it can be argued that they are extracting it for our general use, and that we receive some of the fruits from their labor and investments, but they are still sending us the bill for it at the end of the day. Well, it's usually at the end of the month but you surely get the point. Therefore, it is profit they are seeking and choosing, being directly responsible for choosing this profit over showing environmental stewardship and changing their ways to prolong the life of the planet, and essentially the human race as a whole.
And while it is indeed a true statement to say with assurity that industry has been destroying our planet, that would be like saying the car killed the person, or the gun shot the sheriff and not the deputy. No, the gun that shot the planet and the car that smashed into it was driven by mankind and the industrial complex fueled with capitalist greed was the weapon and motive. There are inspirational people out there who tried to warn us about what would happen if we kept up with our ways, and they deserve a thank you for warning us after what they discovered and what they were seeing. On the other hand, there are still many that refuse to see the path we are on or help in the situation at hand, adding greatly as a contributing factor in the extinction we are all living through at this current time in our lives.
It is worth making the connection here that it's not just the Earth being affected by our harmful and neglectful ways, but the other three elements are influenced as well. The sun and solar energy as our heat source and star, and water and atmosphere or air comprising all the elements. We have noticed significant changes regarding global temperatures related to the changing activities of the sun in more recent times. We, just as the elements are all going through changes. Just as we are changing as a species, all other species on the planet from insects to birds, mammals to reptiles are also feeling this change. This is evidence that everything is interconnected as one whole, as opposed to an existence of multiples. When one is harmed, all is harmed and feels the effect. The planet, being made of the elements, will still be here however after we are gone.
AIR TOXICITY
Air quality is an important factor when it comes to human health, and the rise in air pollution and humidity has had a noticeable effect in nearly all parts of the world. It seems as though the air is getting thicker and harder to breathe for many people all around the world. Respiratory conditions have increased steadily over the last couple of decades, as seen with the SARS and Covid pandemics. Illnesses such as pneumonia and bronchitis are also a concerning factor, as some of these respiratory issues become a permanent health concern, making it harder for the immune system to fight off even the common cold. The World Health Organization (WHO) claims that few risks have a greater impact on human health than air pollution, and with good reason. The cyclical dependence and natural harmony that the elements have on each other changes greatly when even one is slightly affected.
With the rising in global temperatures comes additional moisture in the air and thicker, hotter, wetter summer seasons. Air pollution is visibly less noticeable than other forms of pollution due to what is called “particulate matter”, known as the PM level that is found within air. Particulate matter is invisible particles that cannot be seen with the naked human eye, which embed themselves deep into the lungs when inhaled in a similar way to asbestos, leading to the potential of harmful effects on the respiratory system and leading to other known human health risks. Of these particles, PM2.5 and PM10 are of particular concern to human health. When it gets really hot, or too polluted it gets harder for animals and humans to breathe, and without proper oxygen we could not exist on the planet.
As a result of these factors, new driving restrictions were implemented in China after athletes at the 2008 Beijing Olympics protested that the air quality was poor. In fact, some days the pollution is so bad that citizens have to check reports similar to the weather in order to see if it's safe enough to go outside and leave their homes. Many people walk around with masks on their face and the smog is visible as a hazy mist across many regions of China. The Hebei province is known for its steel production and contains the seven most polluted cities in the area, as winds carry toxins into Beijing and other major cities. Around 70% of China's energy is produced by coal-fired power stations and it is the world's leading car manufacturer, and the air pollution there is forty times higher than the recommended safety levels. As a result of the excess air pollution in China, many people die annually from heart disease, cancers, strokes and respiratory illnesses which has forced the country to actively transition its industries towards combustion-free power sources.
Perhaps one of the first examples of severe air pollution caused by industrialization were the emissions from the Essen smokestacks, which was a factory operated in Germany by the Krupp company during the 1800's. The pollution from Krupp afflicted the Ruhr district, which still sees an effect from the pollution it caused, despite the award-winning efforts by ecological movements during the 1970's and onward. Studies done in the 1960's determined that around 1.5 million tons of toxic dust from the ashes and soot came down on the inhabitants of Essen, causing great alarm and actions to be taken to establish new laws and regulations toward environmental safety.
In 1994, actor and environmentalist Steven Seagal gave a remarkable speech to a tribe council regarding the environment in a film called On Deadly Ground, where he asked "How many of us would have believed if we were told twenty years ago that on a certain day we wouldn't be able to see fifty feet in front of us? That we wouldn't be able to take a deep breath because the air would be a mass of poisonous gas? That we wouldn't be able to drink out of our faucets, that we'd have to buy water out of bottles? The most common and God given rights have been taken away from us. Unfortunately, the reality of our lives is so grim nobody wants to hear it."
Fine particle pollution finds itself in the air, making it much denser and thicker. This occurs in increased amounts when these particles attach to each other or clump together. At times, given the right formula, these chemical elements react causing several problems that occur as a result which directly impacts the environment, plants, animals, and humans. An example of this can be seen in acidic precipitation, or acid rain, which has a devastating impact when the prolonged process of a tainted precipitation cycle is allowed to occur.
Are we destined to become a gasmask civilization? One might think so considering some local weather forecasts often include smog reports and air advisory warnings during the warmer seasons. These reports are known as the AQHI, or Air Quality Health Index. In major cities and more densely populated areas, it is not uncommon for these reports to even advise people not to go outside due to the poor quality of air as it can cause serious health risks, even to the point of causing death in vulnerable individuals with respiratory conditions.
The continual decline of clean air is a direct result of industrial sectors mass producing goods, using archaic industry standards without changing their methods or having a concern for the long-term effects it has on the environment. While some companies have implemented new policies and procedures to reduce the damage they cause to our health and the environment, often it is not enough, and it is more profitable for them to pay the fines they get as opposed to upgrade their production methods and change the way that these industries operate. Unfortunately, until we see a serious concern and change within these industrial operational standards, we will continue to see an increase in health risks associated with breathing the air we need to survive as a species on this planet.
ACID RAIN
The environmental impact of air pollution is like a double-edged sword. Not only does it affect the air that we breathe, but it also causes negative changes to fundamental natural earth cycles, such as the weather. As humans burn fossil fuels, it emits gases into the atmosphere which cause chemical reactions that has damaging ecological effects on aquatic environments and the wildlife that exists within them. One of the more concerning effects of this process is acidic precipitation, which is more commonly referred to as acid rain. Naturally, rainwater in its purest form is slightly acidic as a result of processes such as volcanic emissions and the decomposition of vegetation, a majority of acid rain is caused by the burning of fossil fuels, generating electricity, and other human influences.
As harmful gases such as sulphur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOX) are emitted into the environment, they are dispersed by currents of air and wind that can sometimes reach high up into the atmosphere. These substances then react with the oxygen, moisture, and water droplets found in clouds, forming pollutants like sulphuric and nitric acids. After being captured by the clouds and dissolving, it is then released when it rains, allowing these chemicals to enter the water table through various ecosystems such as lakes, rivers, wetlands, forests, and even urban areas. The contaminated rainwater is then absorbed by the soil, leaching aluminum from particles of soil and clay and transported by streams and rivers into lakes and other bodies of water.
The occurrence and effects of acid rain is most evident in highly populated areas where mining and industrialized production facilities exist. Most notably these areas include North America, the black triangle, China and India, but is also being seen on a more increasing level in other countries as well. As communities develop infrastructure and the population of these areas increase, the use of automobiles and gas emissions from factories will also increase. Despite the fact that we have the ability to transition away from the use of old technologies that require the burning of fossil fuels to function, the world continues to operate within a profit driven infrastructure. Governments and entire resource industries choose to function using methods that will make their companies the most amount of income as opposed to what is best for humanity and the environment.
Growing up as a student in Canada, I recall a time while I was in high school that we were learning about industrial pollution because there was great concern over the damage that the Inco mine in Sudbury was having on the environment. It was in the media quite a bit during this time, and I had to do a project on acid rain and the effects it has on the ecosystem. Meteorite impacts in Northern Ontario formed the Cambrian shield, responsible for what is known as the “Cambrian Explosion” and is an important geographic area in regard to the planetary history of earth. Because of the mineral deposits left by these impacts, Sudbury has some of the highest producing mining centers such as the ones found in the Falconbridge and Copper Cliff areas. These mines are operated by the largest global mining companies in the world, such as Vale, who owns and operates mines in areas with the highest mineral deposits from impact sites all around the world.
The mining industry in Sudbury and Northern Ontario has always been one of the largest in the world, and the mines there were responsible for producing much of the nickel and metals that went into ammunition production during the second world war. As a result of smelting and the burning of fossil fuels from these mines, there is visible evidence of the damage it has caused to the environment all around the Sudbury area, including the death of entire forests and the “black rocks” that are now stained black as a result of acid rain and pollution caused by the mining industry. This has even caused damage to the buildings and monuments in Northern Ontario and beyond, as the wind carries these pollutants into other Canadian provinces and several areas of the United States. Due to the deforestation of around 100,000 hectares that occurred, they even trained moon landing missions because the barren landscape in the Sudbury area resembled the environmental conditions of the moon.
Not only is the earth blackened in Sudbury as a result of the pollution, but more than 20,000 lakes in the province of Ontario have become acidified. Of these lakes, around 7000 of them can be found within the direct vicinity of Sudbury itself, including the deepest lake on the earth caused by a meteorite impact, Lake Wahnapitae. Bill Keller, director of the Climate Change and Multiple Stressor Aquatic Research program at Laurentian University, has also been a resident of Sudbury for nearly half a century and has witnessed first-hand the effects of environmental damage caused by the mining industry. He claims that the “lakes within the city and beyond were some of the most acidified, metal-contaminated lakes in the world”. In an attempt to decrease gas emissions, the giant nickel smelter operated by Inco built a giant chimney known as the “Super Stack” in the 1970's. Emissions were still detected downwind in far off regions however, as it was still emitting double the amount of sulphur dioxide per capita in comparison to the United States.
On a positive note, the amount of sulphur and metal emissions from Sudbury mining operations have been considerably reduced by more than 90% since the 1960's as a result of actions taken due to the concern for the destruction it was causing the environment. Since 1980, there has been a reduction of sulphur emission by around 40% across the North American continent. This shows that when there is a concern, we can work together to change the way these industries operate, but unfortunately this often only happens when the damage is done and there is a rise for immediate concern. According to York University biology professor Norman Yan, the catalyst of change in North America was a direct result of environmental activism at the time I was learning about it in school. “There are sort of four big problems that started the environmental movement, and acid rain was one of them”, with the others being the death of the Great Lakes, DDT and lead pollution. According to Yan, “we've actually made pretty good progress on all of them”.
WATER WE DOING?
It is not only the land and the air being tainted to considerable and noticeable degrees, but the influence of human impact in the water table, oceans, lakes and rivers is of extreme importance. Water is a very important element, and it is essential for all living things on the planet. It can be found everywhere within our life sphere, from the rain and clouds that shed their tears on us from the sky above, to the snow and ice and beads of dew and mist formed by moisture particles in the air we breathe. It is found in the groundwater table and freshwater sources like mountain runoff and glacial water, to the endless number of lakes, streams, estuaries, rivers, bays, coves, ponds, puddles and of course the oceans found on the planet.
The most polluted river in the world is the Citarum River, which stretches nearly 300 km in the West Java area of Indonesia. This river provides up to 80% of Jakarta's water supply to nearly 25 million people, and directly supports the regions agricultural and food supply. Since industrialization began in the 1980's, the pollution of the Citarum River has been responsible for destroying nearly all of the marine wildlife in the area. Domestic waste, along with run-off from the many textile and clothing factories have been the main contributors to the pollution, causing serious damage to the ecosystem and human health, especially in the area around Bandung. Due to the high volume of garbage discarded into the river, some residents even sift through the rubbage in search of items as a source of income. It is not uncommon for people to suffer from rashes and severe skin diseases due to the toxicity of the river, which has led to countless health concerns as well as human casualties.
Another one of the most polluted rivers in the world is the Ganges River, where approximately 8% of the world's population resides within its catchment area. The Ganges spans from the Asian mountain ranges of the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal, passing through over 100 cities and supplying around 400 million people with surface water. While the flash floods that occur due to glacial outbursts are of concern to the villages along the Ganges, the most obvious factor to the destruction of the river system is caused by human waste. Approximately 3000 million liters of untreated human and industrial sewage is dumped into the Ganges on a daily basis, causing around 1 million deaths annually. Due to the river absorbing this waste, the fecal coliform count in some of the more populated areas sits at around 1 million parts per 100 milliliters of water, a truly concerning number. Despite the high level of toxicity, many Hindus still use the river for their “daily dip” rituals. In Varanasi in particular, the Hindus believe that if you are cremated on the banks of the Ganges, it will break the cycle of rebirth and so they send their cremated bodies downriver to reach Nirvana. Nearly 200 tons of burnt human flesh is sent down the Ganges river due to this religious custom, and people still use the river for bathing and as a drinking and agricultural water supply.
We've all heard and learned about our bodies being comprised of mostly water, and according to biochemist and author Harold Hanson Mitchell, water makes up 60% of our bodies entire mass. This is broken down with " the brain and heart are composed of 73% water, and the lungs are about 83% water. The skin contains 64% water, muscles and kidneys are 79%, and even the bones are watery: 31%." This seems to be the accepted and taught percentages and breakdown of water within the human body, as this is the information and source that the official United States Geological Survey website offers to the public. Mitchell's information is highly outdated under closer inspection, as he was born in 1886 and died in 1966 and published some papers through universities on biochemistry in the 1920's up until just prior to his death. These papers are allegedly the source of the percentage breakdowns currently accepted by the scientific community.
Upon a closer inspection, it seems that there is hardly any background information about Harold Hanson Mitchell on the internet when using a simple and trusted Google search. Throughout the search result pages I took a look at, I could find no images of him or background information relating to him and his credentials. There existed just links to read his various publications available from different academic institutions. At the time of this writing, the links of these publications seemed to be a copy of the same page over and over again on various sites. These links seemed to trail off endlessly into other blank pages in the corners of the interweb. It's as if the internet does not want us to know too much about this apparently important biochemist, whom according to some of the papers he published experimented on animals and may have been involved in some testing programs he was sworn to secrecy not to divulge information about. One thing I have noticed is that where there is smoke there is fire, and there is likely some sort of covert reason that at the time of this writing there is little to no information about H.H. Mitchell online.
According to a more referenceable source, Dr. Jeffrey Utz, a professor of neuroscience and pediatrics at Allegheny University, humans vary in water percentages, and this is dependent on the age and sex of the person. Newborns, up until they are about a year old consist of around 78% water and drops to approximately 65% after their first year of life. Since fatty tissues contain less water in comparison to more lean tissue, adult women sit at around 55% and adult men closer to that of Mitchell's proposition of 60% water mass.
Abundance seems like an understatement in regard to water. The big question is though, "is the water clean?" The rivers that course through continents are like the arteries of the Earth, bringing minerals and nutrients, along with various life forms to new locations where they are needed most. This natural process has occurred for millions of years and yet only in recent history have we began to hear the reports regarding how important it is to "save the ocean" and "save the turtles." Millions of gallons of waste from pollution and the use of fossil fuels finds its way into a community's storm drain system each year, seeping into the water table polluting rivers and lakes, harming the wildlife in those areas. These pollutants then eventually reach the oceans, causing devastation to marine life and their habitats all around the world.
MARINE POLLUTION
All ecosystems and habitats that can be found on the planet are now threatened, just as we are, by the escalating symptoms of the Anthropocene Extinction. The ocean and the various forms of marine biology are certainly no exception to this. Just as with any habitat, there exists a food chain and system in which all forms of life living within it follow in order for the continued survival of the species. This is engrained into the genetic coding of all living things, and nature has a way of warning us when things just don't seem right. The warnings given to us by aquatic life have been quite numerous and some of the more disturbing and apparent evidence of our impact on the planet can be found throughout the water systems in the world.
Marine pollution is a result of several contributing factors, some of which include sewage drainage and residential waste, littering, industrial and agricultural runoff, maritime transportation, ocean mining operations, or the introduction of foreign particles, toxic chemicals, air pollutants or invasive organisms into the ecosystem. Approximately 80% of the pollution we find in marine environments are the result of land-based wastes. It is estimated that around 17.6 billion pounds of harmful plastic materials find their way to the ocean, which according to the marine conservation group Oceana, when divided throughout the year ends up being the equivalent of a garbage trucks worth of debris entering the ocean every minute of every day.
The impact of this harmful pollution is felt from the largest sea creatures such as whales, dolphins and sharks to the smallest sized animals found in the ocean food chain. Tiny grain sized creatures known as zooplankton have been evidenced to have consumed pieces of plastic small enough for their tiny bodies to consume. Essentially, microscopic debris naked to the human eye are floating around the water supply, which are then ingested by sea creatures, some of which end up on dinner plates in places all over the world. Plankton supplies between 60-90% of our earth's oxygen and is an essential source of food in marine ecosystems. The lengths that marine pollution has the capability of reaching seems to have no limits, for plastic debris has been found everywhere in the sea from washing up on shores of remote islands and floating on the surface of the sea, to the furthest depths of the ocean floor and even discovered melting out of sea ice as far away as the Arctic.
The fur trade was critically opposed when we saw videos surface showing smiling sealers clubbing young seals to death, standing in a large area of snow soaked in blood, or videos of shark dismemberment from Asian coastlines. Even though some wildlife are murdered deliberately by human hands, many continue to perish without those responsible even knowing that their actions resulted in the death of an animal. There exists countless reports of ocean life washing up on shore, showing clear signs of evidence that the cause of death was anthropic in nature. Creatures as large as whales have washed ashore and after an autopsy was performed, it was discovered that their death was caused by dozens of plastic bags that were discovered inside their stomachs and digestive systems. Many seabirds have also been discovered dead as a direct result of consuming ocean pollutants and plastic debris.
As many are aware, some sea turtles die each year as a result of what is known as "Red Tide" in area surrounding the Florida coastline. Red tide is an annual event that has happened for centuries, but studies have shown that the severity of it has been increasing over the last few years. Red tide occurs when toxic algae blooms cluster together and wash ashore, and when exposed to fertilizers as a result of the runoff and drainage from farms and lawns, accelerates the growth of the algae. Since an overall increase in red tide blooms was noticed in 2017, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservative Commission claims that over 589 sea turtles have died across the Floridian gulf. Sea turtles along with countless other sea creatures are now being threatened by extinction due to the effects of the numerous forms of oceanic pollution. A more recent rise for concern arose as straws have been found lodged down inside of turtle's throats or nostrils. A strong public outcry began in earnest after a video went viral showing a distressed sea turtle having a straw pulled out through its nostril cavity.
In noble efforts to help with the problem, many people have come together to do what they can to help save the sea turtle population from dwindling away due to human industrial impact. The Paso Pacifico Rangers, a youth group program in Nicaragua have been successful in the protection of over 50,000 sea turtle eggs in an attempt to bring up their numbers. Since tourism brings many new visitors each year to Costa Rica, a volunteer program called the Affordable Turtle Conservation Program was started there. For a minimum of seven days, you can not only vacation in Costa Rica but help rehabilitate sea turtles while you are there. Starting at $35 a night which includes three meals per day, you can help with the sea turtle hatchery and go for nightly walks along the beach patrolling for sea turtles.
A Canadian company known as Save the Turtles has helped by making ocean-friendly products such as recycled and reusable straws, along with other reusable items often used and discarded every day. This helps reduce the plastic wastes that might otherwise have the chance of finding its way into the marine ecosystem. Others have helped in the fight by reducing their own use of plastic products and being more watchful overfishing nets, hooks, and debris that are harmful to fish, birds and other marine wildlife while they are fishing. Others have been participating in local garbage clean ups of beaches, similar to what you might have seen in your own community with organized municipal clean ups of river systems, lakes and shorelines if you live in a coastal region.
CORAL BLEACHING
A major issue concerning the health of the ocean is a phenomenon called "Coral Bleaching." This process becomes apparent when coral colonies in the ocean lose their vibrant colors and begin to turn white, resulting in a visibly colorless ocean habitat. Coral bleaching happens when the symbiotic algae found on coral colonies, known as zooxanthellae, either die off or removes itself from the coral. Coral bleaching also occurs when the photosynthetic pigment of the algae becomes degraded, resulting in a colorless seabed of algae-less coral. Ocean acidification also plays a role in the removal of algae formations on coral colonies in the ocean.
The coral essentially expels or rejects the algae that are found to be living inside of the tissues of the coral. The coral polyps seem to expel the algae when it knows that the algae, its food source, becomes tainted. This is a major concern because the algae provide approximately 90 percent of the coral's energy source, making it an essential element within the ecosystem of the ocean. As mentioned, the algae and coral polyps have a cyclical endosymbiotic relationship and are a major necessity for the continual health of coral reefs around the world. Therefore, these algae formations are vital to all life on the earth as much of the marine life found in the ocean are dependent on coral reefs.
Coral reefs found throughout the world are starting to disappear at an alarming rate due to this "reef morbidity." The once beautiful ocean forests are losing their color, and the issue of coral death has become a serious concern globally. Throughout the years of 2016 and 2017, coral reefs suffered immensely with back-to-back bleaching events. This left half of our shallow water coral reefs dead or severely impacted. This has had not only an effect on the coral but also to the larger wildlife that is dependent upon it, such as fish, sharks, whales and dolphins. It has the same result as if we were to remove the trees in a forest, and the birds and animals being left with a baron wasteland of dead and dying plants and their habitat. Another factor regarding coral bleaching is the effect it has on the human population. Approximately half a billion people on our planet, and likely even more, consume food from the ocean. This is evident with coastal communities, who since the earliest time of settlement have depended on seafood for survival.
In 1976, an architect named Professor Wolf Hilbertz invented a synthetic building material for the sea known as Biorock technology. This material is used for marine construction and is claimed to be self-repairing, strengthens with age and grows over time. Dr. Hilbertz referred to this technology as or Seament, Seacrete, or Mineral Accretion Technology. Biorock was created after Jamaican biochemist Dr. Tom Goreau extended an invitation to Dr. Hilbertz to help out with a coral reef restoration project in 1987. They found that Biorock technology grew hard limestone rock and increased the growth of not only the corals but also aided other marine life that required the coral reef as their habitat. As a result of the meeting in 1987, in an attempt to research and develop technology relating to coral reef restoration, the Global Coral Reef Alliance was founded. This greatly advanced the developing Biorock technology, as since then they have received millions of dollars for reef projects as well as receiving awards from the United Nations for Biorock restoration projects, as well as fishery projects.
Reef morbidity is a major concern globally and is the result of water pollution due to industry and coastal development projects, overfishing, and other contributing factors. Carbon pollution and drastic changes to the earth's temperature and various ecosystems are also a contributing factor at the global level. The immense consumption and use of fossil fuels are expected to wipe out coral reefs which could leave them entirely wiped out by the middle of this century, according to some scientists and environmental activists.
It takes quite some time for a coral reef to come back from pollution events, often decades and I believe that we may find through continual analyses of the reefs that it might actually take a century or more for a coral reef system to fully recover, and return to the state that it once had, in where they were healthy and flourishing. It might even be, and likely true that some coral reefs will never fully recover, as they would not have a chance to with continued destruction of their environment. It seems that perhaps the most devastating impact on the coral reefs comes from oil spills, where it's a scenario that is paralleled to using chemical warfare against the marine ecosystem.
OIL SPILLS
Solid materials that pollute our water sources are much easier to clean up than liquids or gases that get mixed with a source of water. Toxic wastes and oil result in a near complete devastation to the marine ecosystem, often in which the effects are still seen and documented for many years after the initial incident taking place. Despite the lingering effects and statistics concerning oil spills and the environmental havoc they cause, the legal debate over what can be considered an "oil disaster" still continues.
This debate exists solely because the multinational corporations that control the resource harvesting industries around the world do not want to be held accountable for their actions or lose support of their public image, for bad reputation is just plain old for business. However, if the collection of fossil fuels and raw materials is causing the destruction of our planet and various life forms found on it, but it's good for business regardless, then these companies will continue to do so.
This is a pattern that has existed since the industry was born, and unless some serious changes are made then companies and globalists will pursue a disregard of life over their goals of profiteering, and the continued destruction of our planet will result in a loss of life worse than anything recorded in human history, directly contributing to our journey deeper into the anthropocene extinction.
Steven Seagal perhaps risked his career when he called out big business and industry as being responsible for "destroying the water we drink, the air that we breathe and the food we eat." He went deeper by saying that "they have no care for the world they destroy. Only for the money they make in the process. How many oil spills can we endure? Millions and millions of gallons of oil are now destroying the oceans and the many forms of life it supports". It is apparent that many celebrity figures are aware of these important issues, however if they choose to speak out against the infrastructure, they risk losing their wealth and status within our society.
Natural disasters and weather anomalies also play a contributing factor to the pollution in our oceans and bodies of water, as factories are often built along coastlines to shorten the distance of transporting materials and to be as close as possible to maritime shipping routes. We have seen the evidence of this following major catastrophes such as the Fukushima nuclear disaster and hurricane Katrina. One would think that industrial centers would be constructed in locations far away from high-risk coastal areas, which are prone to storms and severe weather conditions, gambling with the possibility of future calamities. Although some countries have put laws in place in consideration of these concerns, many of these areas were established before it was too late and the excuse that it would be too costly to relocate is given. As always, governments and industry choose profits over the safety and sustainability of our planet.
Indeed, the solution to these problems exist within our overall outlook on these issues, and the entities that play a role in the destruction of the planet for resource control need to get with the program and steer their motives away from the goals of profiteering. To sum things up, Steven Seagal said that "as long as there is profit to be made from polluting our earth, companies and individuals will continue to do what they want. We have to force these companies to operate safely and responsibly, with all our best interests in mind, so that when they don't, we can take back our resources and our hearts and our minds to do what's right."
A WORLD OF WASTE
As the world becomes more interconnected and developing countries introduce industrial infrastructure, the more we see the rise of pollution and destruction of the environment in nearly all corners of the earth. As the mass production of material goods increases, so too does the amount of waste and in some parts of the world the disposal of this waste has become more of a growing concern. I have often wondered if we are destined to live on a planet built on our own garbage in the not-so-distant future, as indeed some communities have even been built on top of landfill sites.
Despite this fact, we still see many people around the world living in such poverty that they have to travel to dump sites, gathering garbage and eating the scraps and wastes of others to survive. I have watched videos of entire families waiting for trucks to arrive at the dump and fighting to get at the garbage before it even has a chance to hit the ground. While the saying goes “one man's trash is another man's treasure”, it is truly saddening to see that some parts of the world still live in conditions of extreme poverty. There is a clear division between those who live in excess, and those who are barely surviving in this modern age.
It's obvious that the countries who produce the most municipal waste are the ones with the largest populations, economies, and industrial sectors. China, the United States and India are often at the top of the list, with countries like India, Brazil, Germany, Japan, United Kingdom and Russia being large contributors as well. Even lesser populated countries produce high amounts of waste, with Kuwait, Guyana, and Antigua being some of the largest producers per capita, but Canada topped the per capita list in 2025. Although the numbers do fluctuate as monthly and annual data is updated, it is surprising to see countries we would never expect of being major contributors being at the top of these lists. It goes to show how much of a global issue it truly is.
The largest landfill site in the world which is on a land mass area is the Apex Regional Landfill site, located in Las Vegas, Nevada which consists of an area spanning 2,200 acres. The issue of where to put the accumulation of garbage has seen some interesting solutions, such as filling in marshes and island areas through what is referred to as “land reclamations”. Often, we see public parks and recreation areas built on top of landfill sites, or locations that have been through the land reclamation process. While it is not exactly safe to build a city or urban area on top of landfill sites due to the contamination of the soil and ground water in the direct and surrounding areas, we still see this happening as a solution to deal with the garbage problem.
Several areas in Boston, Massachusetts were formed as a result of filling in bays and marshland areas, such as the entirety of the Back Bay region. In India, the modern city of Mumbai was created by filling in areas between seven islands through land reclamation projects that spanned over 150 years. Sections of the Lake Michigan shoreline were built on reclaimed land and over 100 former landfill sites were transitioned into parks and recreational areas in Toronto, such as the Leslie Street Spit. Monaco, Dubai, Korea, and China also have several sites that were built on landfill sites or through reclamation projects. Perhaps as a way to mock the situation, some locations in the United States have even been given names like Mount Trashmore Park in Virginia Beach, and Freshkills Park on Staten Island, which was built upon one of the world's largest landfill sites and is expected to be one of New York's largest parks once it is completed.
In the past, it was thought that burning the garbage might be a good way to get rid of the perpetual accumulation of human waste and debris. Obviously, this idea was eventually prohibited due to the severe consequences that arose, such as further air pollution through actions such as the burning of tires and rubber materials, and soil contamination leading to groundwater toxification. An entire city in the United States was evacuated due to a garbage dump being set ablaze, caused by an underground coal fire in the city of Centralia, in Pennsylvania. For over 50 years, noxious gases from the continually burning fire have been escaping from under the 400 acres of land there, which is expected to burn for another 200 years as it continues to expand, leaving the city of Centralia a virtually uninhabitable ghost town.
Inevitably, the amount of waste that is disposed will only continue to rise as we witness the increasing expansion of globalization. This demonstrates that the vast amount of garbage produced on a daily basis all around the world is of serious concern, and in more recent years we have seen an increase of activism and attention to this matter. A company called Sensoneo established the Global Waste Index as a way to monitor the waste produced by each country, publishing current totals based on information and statistics that are gathered from various sources.
As a solution to tackling the issue of where to put the ever-increasing amount of human waste, some countries governments had the bright idea to start dumping it into the ocean, using garbage barges and creating massive islands of floating trash. The effect of these decisions have caused considerable damage to the ocean's ecosystem and marine wildlife. In turn, humans are put at risk if they consume seafood which has been contaminated by this ocean pollution. What makes it worse is the difficulty of monitoring the toxicity of contaminated seafood, and at times the FDA and other organizations put in charge of public health and safety in regard to these matters don't even do the testing, as evidenced during a congressional hearing in my documentary film NWO: Domino Effect. This is truly alarming and should be taken much more seriously than it is. One would think that this is being done on purpose, perhaps as a method of population control or the make more profits for the sick care industry and pharma-pseudo companies.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is nearly twice the size of the state of Texas, estimated to be around 1.6 million square kilometers in size. This massive floating landfill is perhaps the largest accumulation of trash on the planet and is an absolute eye sore when viewing it on Google Earth. The fact that this mass even exists is astounding, yet we see more and more garbage islands and barges popping up all over the place. It seems as though these formations of floating debris are created as a way to deal with the problem until we figure out just what to do with all that trash, but until then it continues to contaminate the environment and be a great burden upon humanity.
In an effort to protect the world's oceans from damages caused by humans on a global scale, international maritime rules and regulations were established through the BBNJ Agreement, which is more commonly referred to as the Global Ocean Treaty, or High Seas Treaty. This was done to enact strict international laws targeting the activities carried out by companies involved in industrial marine operations such as overfishing, deep-sea drilling and mining, maritime transportation, and military operations, to name a few. After the legislation reached 60 ratifications, it is to become international law in January of 2026. It will be interesting to see if the efforts put forth by the Global Ocean Treaty will actually have an impact on holding companies accountable for their actions, as we have seen time and time again that it's cheaper for these corporations to pay the fines and deal with the legal consequences than it is to halt operations and aid in stopping these problems that continue to exist. Their intended goal is to protect a mere 30% of the world's ocean by the year 2030.
PROFITS OF RECYCLING
The business of trash is huge. In a day and age where everyone needs to have the newest, the biggest, and the best products that are out on the market, it leaves behind masses of unwanted or outdated material goods that can provide further income if resold or taken apart for its raw materials. One of my favorite past times is checking out yard sales, flea markets, hock shop and used item stores. This is not only because of the nostalgic blast from the past feeling when seeing items from my childhood that are no longer in production, but also because of the repurposing and recycling factors involved.
One of the greatest systems that came about from the concern for the environment due to human pollution was the 3 R's I was taught in public school. I was educated from a young age on the importance of “reducing, re-using and recycling”, and that outlook has directly helped with the reduction of wastes, and led to the formation of entire industries whose goal is to reduce the human footprint on the planet. Although this is a good step in the right direction, recycling is also a revolving door tactic for giant corporations and industries operated by globalist interests. As a result of people returning their aluminum cans and plastic bottles for a small refund, the companies that manufacture these products yield huge savings in production costs, adding significantly to their profit margins, and yet we still see periodic inflation on the goods they provide us for our necessity to survive on this planet.
Out of everything that we produce on a massive scale, plastic is by far the most concerning due to the rate of its production and use, and the environmental concern of its inability to break down. When plastic bottles and packaging end up in a garbage dump, it takes years for it to break down, and it is because of this that plastic packaging is the most recycled product in the world. In 2010, China was the largest producer of plastic which resulted in 59.08 million tons of plastic waste. Every day, its population of nearly 1.5 billion people generate around 70 million kg of single-use waste, and if you also add every other countries statistic to this scenario, you can see just how much plastic waste is produced on a daily basis. The amount is staggering, to say the least.
The methodology of “planned obsoletion” goes into the development of many products, mainly in the electronic and communication sectors of business. This is done so that there's always a need and demand for their up-to-date products, based on their desire to increase profits on an annual quarterly basis. Cell phones and computers are built to last until the products they've already pre-developed can be introduced, making the older stuff unusable or undesirable and adding to the heap of dusty outdated electronics piling up on our furniture. If a company were to put out the greatest evolution of their technology right from the very beginning, they would not be able to continually make a profit despite it being better for the environment.
Therefore, until we change the way we live and are controlled by the interests of profit, we will continue to see factories producing products on a massive scale, adding to the pollution and human footprint on the planet, and the problem will never be solved. It would seem that a solution to the problem of global waste should be established, with new and innovative methods and technologies being put into place.
TOXIC WASTE
Following the first and second world wars, it was common practice for militaries to dispose the unexploded chemical ammunition by exploding it under the sea, or just generally dumping it all into various bodies of water. This practice is now prohibited in most countries around the world after several obvious future catastrophes took place as a result of the poor decisions that were made in the past. This problem was especially of concern in northern areas of France due to the volume of chemical weapons that were disposed of at sea by the French government. As a result of the dumping, they began to stockpile the untreated chemical weapons at a depot located in Vimy. Then, in 2001, due to concerns relating to hazards at the depot, the materials were transported to a military base in Suippes using refrigerated trucks, which are to be stored there for a “lifetime” of 30 years.
In 1919, a train carrying ammunition in Germany was destroyed which resulted in the scattering of unexploded ammunition and a residual threat to the surrounding environment. Residues of poison from mustard gas is said to have found its way into the soil and plants in the area, although some authorities have refuted this despite the fact that a simple scientific analysis of the event dictates that this is indeed what would occur. Claims that construction workers and local farmers were injured due to the clearing of trees and vegetation in contaminated areas as late as the 1960's have been reported as being unverified, likely due to the lack of honest and appropriate testing being done to avoid public scrutiny and legal consequences.
Therefore, we must beg to ask the question that if these weapons of human destruction are so harmful and hard to deal with after their manufacture, then why are we still building atomic, nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons of mass destruction? Should it not be illegal by international law for any person, company, country, or military to create weapons that whether they are used or not pose a severe threat to the environment and human survival? War is big business, and destructive materials will continue to be created in the name of national security even though in most cases the implied threats are invisible and non-existent. The seemingly prophetic and desperate plea of Eisenhower's farewell address on January 17th, 1961, warned us about the potential dangers associated with the merging of military and industry. This establishment, which he referred to as the military industrial complex, continues to thrive even to this day.
Ignoring the advice of Eisenhower, militaries around the world continued to build and test weapons of mass destruction, many of which are still stored to this day. Between the years of 1956-1963, atomic bomb tests were carried out jointly by the Australian and British governments, including the involvement of the air force, naval and ground factions from both countries' militaries. These tests were conducted in Maralinga, in the northwest area of Adelaide, in South Australia where 7 atomic bombs were exploded as part of Operation Buffalo and Operation Antler during 1956-1957. The last explosion, codenamed Taranaki, was the largest of the group, containing a payload of over 27 kilotons, making it larger than the bombs that were used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Due to the fact that these atomic devices were “test” bombs, they were far more radiologically hazardous, and many workers and military personnel were not informed of the risks of plutonium poisoning following the tests that were done.
The greatest nuclear disaster in modern history happened on April 26th, 2986, when the number 4 RBMK reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant near Pripyat, Ukraine, exploded due to human error by inadequately trained personnel, although many speculate it was caused by a conspiracy conducted by the USSR. As a result of the explosion, 31 people died and around 600,000 fire fighters and clean-up workers became ill from toxic nuclear exposure, who became known as the “liquidators”. Half of a century later, the effects of the radiation on the environment are still detectable and are expected to many years on into the future.
The events at Fukushima are also another prime example of nuclear catastrophe in more recent years, although it was caused by weather and natural disasters as opposed to it being human related. Following the construction of nuclear power plants all over the world, it has become apparent that these are high risk facilities and as they continue to operate, we will never know just when disaster will strike, and we will be faced with another long-lasting nuclear crisis that impacts the health of the environment and all human life.
I've often wondered if the state of Florida is named so because of the “fluoride” manufacturing that takes place there. As a result of their aluminum industry, an excess of toxic waste known as hydrofluorosilicic acid is produced and shipped off to communities all around the world to be added into the public drinking water supply. This process is known as water fluoridation, and fluoride in Florida is big business. If you take a look at the state of Florida from a Google Earth map, you can actually zoom in from space and see these massive lakes and pools of toxic waste, blistering the landscape of central Florida into a chemical wasteland.
It's no wonder that so many communities are actively trying to get fluoride removed from their public drinking water supply. There's a reason why it says on the toothpaste tube to only use a small pea sized drop on your toothbrush, and to never swallow it cause of the fluoride. It's meant to be used topically and should not be ingested into the body or enter the bloodstream. Cities should be fined for the health damages caused by the consumption of this toxic waste.
MASS ANIMAL DEATH PHENOMENON
As a touring musician, I would often play shows during the summer months in the Northern Ontario town of North Bay. I recall during some earlier visits that I noticed a very odd and foul smell in the city and asked some friends what was causing the odor. The locals told me that every year they get an infestation of shad flies, which come ashore in massive swarms to mate from Lake Nipissing. Also known as Mayflies, these insects then die off in mass numbers and are nearly impossible to avoid, as people and cars end up crushing them and their bodies litter the city. As millions of these flies begin to decompose, it creates the foul stench that can be smelled throughout the region.
While it is common to see various organisms die off in large numbers due to the very nature of their lifecycle or mating habits, certain species have also suddenly died off, and it is not common for this to occur within their lifecycle. These events seem to indicate that the sudden mass deaths of these specific lifeforms perished due to un-natural causes, often by changes to their natural living environment or as the result of human activities. Often these events happen suddenly, within a very short period of time, in specific geographical locations, and seems to occur on an increasing level over the last half century. As the machination of humanity increases, so too are the signs of its effect on the natural world.
Videos and reports of the sudden death of hundreds to thousands of birds, fish, animals and insects seems to be a regular occurrence, and many of these events seem to happen in various areas of the United States. I've often wondered if the death of these animals is the result of frequencies or energy, perhaps as the result of new military weapon technologies that can be used to invisibly kill off large groups of targeted living organisms, or by using technologies like HAARP. Biological warfare tests could also be a culprit, as many of these deaths are said to be caused by an outbreak of a disease that is specific to that particular species, such as the tests on animals that were done on Plum Island.
Instances where a vast number of deaths occur within a specific species in a short period of time is known as a mass mortality event, or MME. It is also sometimes referred to as a mass die-off and has been considered to be a sign of the possibility of that particular species being at risk of extinction. This phenomenon has been linked to not only viruses and pathogens, but also extreme weather events such as droughts and wildfires causing the loss of their natural habitats. Poisoning through pesticides and toxins, and even global warming have also been attributed to causing mass mortality events. While it is expected to see these types of losses when natural disasters occur, it is the instances of MME that seem to have an invisible cause that have raised alarm bells within scientific and academic circles.
It seems as though birds are the most at risk of dying off, as more and more examples come to light of bird kill events. Due to the increase of these occurrences, several organizations have been formed by citizens and scientists in order to research and monitor these bizarre deaths, such as the Southwest Avian Mortality Project. On New Years Day in 2011, thousands of dead blackbirds were found in Beebem Arkansas. In Northern California, the worst epidemic saw the death of over 94,000 birds at the Tule Lake Wildlife Refuge, a place where you would think the animals are protected from being killed on mass. Over the past decade, the USGS National Wildlife Health Center reported that over 175 mass mortality events of birds have been documented in the United States alone.
The phenomenon of MME is not only witnesses in bird populations, but is also happening to fish, insects and plants as well. Environmental disasters such as oil spills have a devastating effect on marine ecosystems, and many examples exist where we see thousands of fish floating on the surface of the water due to the poisoning of their habitat. There is also a concern in regard to the pending extinction of bees and other insect species. As the concern escalates, I wonder when human beings will be the next on the list of being at risk of experiencing a sudden mass mortality event. And when that time comes, I believe it to be highly probable that it will be caused by our own hands.
CAGED AND DISGRACED
For centuries, human beings have been fascinated with the majestic beauty and diversity of wildlife found all across our planet. Indeed, humans share a special bond with the animal kingdom, and it is for this reason that a large amount of the human population have pets and domesticated animals to share their life experiences with. Everything from cats, dogs, reptiles, birds, insects and fish can be purchased from breeders or pet stores to bring home as a companion. Although less common, even tigers and bears have been attempted to be domesticated as videos of combat sport celebrities like Mike Tyson and Khabib Nurmagomedov show them sparring with these animals.
The practice of capturing wild animals to display as a collection can be dated all the way back to around 3500 BCE, with the discovery of a private menagerie in Hierakonpolis, Egypt. Although it was not a public facility, many exotic animals including elephants, hippos, and baboons were discovered at the site. Evidence suggests that many of these animals were buried with members of the royal elite during this time period, as many ancient civilizations believed that some animals were a direct link to the spiritual world. It is highly likely that menageries such as the one at Hierakonpolis existed before this time period yet currently remain undiscovered.
The oldest zoo that continues to operate is the Tiergarten Schbrunn, which was established in 1752 in Vienna, Austria. It was originally created as a private exotic wildlife collection for the imperial court, however in 1779 it opened up to the public and continues to operate to this day. It is considered to be one of Europe's top zoo's, and has won several awards throughout the time of its existence. After Tiergarten Schbrunn opened its doors to the public, people from all over the world would travel to Vienna to visit the menagerie. This influenced the development of new zoos to open up around the world during the 1800's, and eventually they began to appear in nearly all major urban areas worldwide, as well as the renewed interest in the study of wildlife and our connection to the animal kingdom.
Many of these establishments desired to have the rarest and most exotic animals to display as main attractions, because the only way to see these living creature's prior would be lucky enough to witness them in their natural habitat. For example, most people could never go to the arctic to view a polar bear, and so many of these facilities began capturing and importing animals from all corners of the earth. Initially, this was done illegally by poachers or private organizations that were contracted to capture these animals, with the most endangered or rarest species being worth more money. Unfortunately, many of the captured animals died during transportation, or as a result of them not being able to survive after being taken out of their natural habitat. It was simply not possible for some of these animals to live in captivity due to the inadequate living conditions they were put into, and certain species could not be domesticated or survive in captive conditions.
Chain attractions and amusement parks like Marineland and SeaWorld were created to give people an opportunity to see aquatic wildlife up close and in person. Taking animals out of something as vast as the ocean and putting them into a fishbowl seems to be cruel however and has been a topic of controversy since they opened their doors for business.
Perhaps as a result of fear and sadness, and unique to their species, the dorsal fin of a killer whale will curl up and fold over after it's been put into captivity, and this persists even after being released back into its natural habitat. A majority of animals, especially if they were born in captivity, lose their natural hunting skills after being hand-fed by humans. Their natural instincts do not properly develop in these conditions, and it is for this reason that many are euthanized instead of being released back into the wild.
As reports of inhumane living conditions and animal cruelty escalated, new laws were developed in an attempt to control and regulate the way in which these facilities operated. Several animal rights protection groups like PETA, ASPCA, and Greenpeace were formed to hold those responsible for environmental crimes and animal abuse accountable. As a result of the efforts of social activism and protests against the cruel treatment and conditions of animals, we are seeing the closure of more and more zoos and wildlife amusement parks.
In recent memory, there is great debate over what to do with beluga whales that are held in captivity in France and in Canada. After evidence surfaced showing inadequate water systems and algae growing in containment tanks, parks were shut down and the issue of what to do with these animals was then debated. After relocation efforts proved unsuccessful, the consideration of euthanizing the whales caused an escalation of controversy surrounding the issue.
WORLD WILDLIFE FRAUD
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is a United Nations funded organization that was started on April 29th, 1961, by an odd combination of characters. The organization was founded in Morges, Switzerland by the former Nazi party member Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, Prince Phillip, a member of the British crown and reputable big game hunter, as well as Sir Julian Huxley, who was the president of the British Eugenics Society. It does not take a detective to notice the strange correlation in regard to the individuals comprising the founding of the world's leading endangered species and wildlife protection agency. Other notable members involved in the groups early beginnings included Max Nicholson, Peter Scott, Guy Mountfort, and Godfrey A. Rockefeller.
The World Wildlife Fund, now called the World Wildlife Fund for Nature, began just a couple of months after a public outcry against the royal family in January and February of 1961. This occurred when images surfaced depicting the royal family hunting big game and endangered species for sport and leisure, continuing their heritage of royal hunts and blood sport. The images showed the royal family posing while on a hunting trip to Northern India with the Maharaja, standing in front of a slayed Indian tiger, which was considered a rare and endangered species even at that time. The young Prince Jagat Singh is pictured with his foot on top of the cat's head standing next to Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip, the Duke of Edinburgh. Despite opposition from British and Indian politicians, the hunt went on, and Phillip also killed a crocodile and 6 mountain sheep on that same trip. Shortly after the outcry, on subsequent hunting trips, Prince Phillip put a bandage on his finger so that his skin would not touch the trigger, as if to say, "I'm not shooting anything, the cloth around my finger is".
According to Allen Douglas, the executive director for the Intelligence Review through the Africa and Asia desk, at one point the Queen was videotaping their travels and hunting expeditions and during their travels some elephants encircled a group of tigers. When a rare and endangered Indian Sumatran rhinoceros came into view and into the encirclement, the group gasped as at that point in time there was only around 250 known to be left in the wild. Their main concern was the itchy trigger finger of Prince Phillip. They knew he would shoot the animal if he saw it, so members of the group attempted to scare the rhino away by shooting near it. Their efforts to save the animal were futile, for when the Duke of Edinburgh saw it, he took aim and fired, killing the rhinoceros.
Perhaps as a symbolic band-aid to publicly cover up his love for hunting big game, Prince Phillip went on to establish the WWF just a couple months later, claiming his sudden desire to protect endangered species. But all of this seemed obviously a ploy, and under the guise of "conservation" and "environmentalism" the fund was established using the money received to set up "Big Game Hunting Grounds" known as Game Park Reservation areas in Africa. These reservations were set up to establish protected areas, as well as zones that were designated hunting grounds and indeed the hunting of big game increased after its formation, as evidenced through timeline statistics.
Animals such as the Indian and African Rhinos, African Elephants, and Panda bears were a few of the species whose numbers were lower and nearing extinction, and the WWF took under its initiative in particular. The same animals known to be hunted by royalty since the earliest of times. When the WWF was founded in 1961 by this same royalty, the African Elephant had a population of approximately 3 million, but have since plummetted to around 400 thousand and dropping. Less than 20% of their natural habitat is currently under formal protection. In the 1960's there was around 100,000 African Rhinos left, and today they are currently listed on the IUCN Red List as critically endangered and nearly extinct. What seems clear is that numbers have dwindled to near zero points in some cases since the establishment of the WWF. Although they claim to want to prevent the trade of illegal ivory, royal families throughout the centuries have certainly had an interest in making fortunes from it.
It seems that the targeted land grabs carried out by the WWF in the name of creating wildlife preservations has been a contributing factor to the decline of various animal species in the region. Some species numbers seem to have abruptly declined in correlation with the founding of the organization. In some instances, these parks and protected zones that are established also contain large amounts of minerals or natural resources, and the establishment of mining and extraction operations causes damage to the environment, disrupting the animal's natural habitat. To put it bluntly, it seems as though Philip and Bernhard's wildlife fund has made a killing from all of the public and corporate donations it has received throughout the years.
TROPHY HUNTING: A ROYAL TRADITION
It seems odd that if a mythological creature like Bigfoot were to exist, humans would go hunting it down to capture it and prove its existence and claim the trophy. There are still people who bring their guns deep into the vast wilderness, believing that they might encounter a legendary or extinct animal. Killing such a rare cryptid would certainly add to its rarity on the earth, reducing the chances of mating and ensuring the continuation of its species. Yet, as silly and destructive as this seems, there are people in the world who make it their goal to hunt and kill the rarest species on the earth.
The royal family have a trophy room displaying the evidence of a slight portion of their many hunts, which is located at Sandringham where the family gathers at Christmas time, and frequently invite sporting friends to the 20,000 acre estate in Norfolk. The room is essentially a private taxidermy museum, which displays a vast array of animals they have killed, including some rare and endangered species. Throughout history, it has been a tradition among many royal families to hunt down the rarest and most exotic animals found throughout the world.
According to the British anti-bloodsports lobby known as the League Against Cruel Sports, statistics gathered from press reports suggest that Prince Phillip alone has shot and killed over 30,000 pheasants. In 1993 during a seven-week hunting trip, he hit a personal target by killing 10,000 birds. It is also said that he killed 50 wild boars in a single day while on a hunting trip with and Prince Charles in Germany. A known tradition of the royal family is to partake in fox and bird hunts at their royal country estates, where they purchase birds to release on their property to shoot them out of the sky like they were skeet shooting. Their infamous "bloodhound" hunts of foxes is also a tradition that has been carried on throughout the history of the royal family.
Continuing the royal tradition of big game hunting, in more recent years, images have surfaced showing Prince Harry next to a water buffalo he had killed for sport in South America in 2004. Additional images have surfaced showing him on crocodile hunts and as hunting expeditions of the royal family became more well-known with the rise of social media, their trips were increasingly being boycotted and exposed. Bizarre royal practices such as “blooding” rituals were exposed, where members of the family would smear the blood of the freshly slain animals on their faces, and the public became more actively involved in protesting these traditions.
In 2023, news outlets reported that the royal family were banned from hunting near the Balmoral Castle, on the Abergeldie Estate in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. After the estate was purchased by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1852, it was used by the royal family for hunting and fishing for nearly two centuries. After the estate came under new ownership, they were banned from hunting there which led to an increase in public opposition towards the hunting traditions of the royal family. Due to the negative spotlight that these reports generated, in 2025, Princess Kate announced that her children would not be put through blooding rituals.
For centuries, humans have hunted for survival and even at times for sport, but it's the examples of trophy hunting, unnecessary killing, overhunting and overfishing that are the most concerning. The buffalo were nearly hunted into extinction and as the evidence shows, many of them were not killed to consume as food or for the use of their raw materials. Often, they were killed as a way to disrupt the food supply of the native tribes that were being invaded, with images depicting bodies of killed buffalo scattering entire prairie landscapes. Luckily, the population of buffalo has stabilized since that time, but we still can find modern examples of humans killing animals for wasteful and destructive purposes.
In many parts of Asia, sharks are killed off in large numbers simply for their fins, which after they are removed the rest of the shark is dumped back into the ocean. This is done because of the profits that can be made from shark fin soup, which is considered a delicacy in many parts of the world. Another strange and wasteful delicacy is monkey brains. People will even pay thousands of dollars to crack open the skull of a living monkey to eat the brain, but after the monkey is killed and people get a small taste of it, they are disgusted and don't actually end up eating it. Elephants and rhinoceros are killed only for their tusks, and as long as the motives of profit or status is involved, we will continue to see these animals being killed off.
SOLUTIONS
Often times as environmental concerns are identified, we see new laws come into play, along with the formation of new groups and organizations that are put into place. These organizations are given the responsibility and authority to combat the situation. However, they are all too often run by corporations and individuals that are direct contributors to the problem. Essentially, these perpetrators are walking contradictions put into place for the sole reason to maintain the power and control over the corporate interests at hand.
In the current age of global interconnectivity, we are seeing the truth about these subjects come to the light at an ever-increasing rate. Unbiased research and efforts by activist movements have certainly made a huge difference in bringing forth the changes we need for environmental stability and survival on this planet.
It is important to share information and expose the truth about history in order to understand what we need to do to overcome the future consequences of our past actions. It is comforting to see a shift in our concern and awareness of these issues, but knowing is only half the battle and continued efforts are needed in order to reach the true harmony we seek upon the earth.
While it seems we are on the right path to identifying the problems that exist within our world, the solutions to these problems always seem to be out of reach, unattainable, or take drastically long periods of time to take fruition. Sometimes, a solution to the problem never even comes at all.
In order to solve a problem, we must first identify it and in order to stop the negative implications associated with the issue, solutions must be put in place no matter what the cost. Often, these solutions are never put into place due to profit losses and financial excuses. Until these issues are properly addressed and solved, it is inevitable that we will continue to live with the consequences of our decisions and of our actions.
SOURCES
Article: https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/water-science-school/science/water-you-water-and-human-body
Documentary: We Feed the World (2005)
Interview: Yale 360 - https://web.archive.org/web/20100612181943/http://www.e360.yale.edu/content/feature.msp?id=2284
TV Show – 72 Most Dangerous Places to Live
Book: Yoshifumi Tanaka - The International Law of the Sea (pg. 299) (2012)
Website: https://www.savetheturtles.ca/
Article: https://www.latortugafeliz.com/great-article-of-an-american-woman-volunteered-to-save-sea-turtles
Website: https://www.biorock.org/
Film: On Deadly Ground (1994)
Documentary: NWO: Domino Effect (Mark Howitt) (2013)
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