A century ago India had around 40,000 tigers; they are down to 1411 now. What happened to the rest? Well... a few of them died of sickness or old age. The lucky ones.
Once dangerous, now endangered.
Sparrows have an eye for healthy living spaces. Do you hear any twitters around your home nowadays? Same goes with vultures too... when was the last time you saw one?
Sparrows and vultures aren't as popular as tigers, hence their absence goes largely unnoticed.
The key to sustenance is co-existence.
However humans, the most rational of all life forms, prefer 'sole-existence'. Hence extinction is no longer a natural phenomenon, its our favorite pass-time. We exhibit such passion and commitment that today the average extinction rate is one species every 20 minutes.
So how does life go on with so many broken links in the circle of life? Simple... it doesn't.
Every life form directly dependent on an extinct species gets the next one-way ticket upwards.
Humans however, have always managed to find workarounds. Not for long though; Momma Nature has got lots in store - melting icecaps, decreasing land mass, thinning glaciers - all geared towards minimizing 'the' problem... us.
Feeling a little low? Alright, let me cheer you up with some good news : By the time things turn real nasty, we wouldn't be around. Our kids however, will be around to see the end[1] of oil wars[2] and the begin of water wars. Not such a bad deal, is it? We do the deed, they pay for it.
A few decades from now, life would be radically different from what we have seen; definitely not for the better.
"Its never too late"
That is a terrible cliché and I would be lying if I said that. We can however leave our kids a world they can manage with - imperfect, but up and running.
Lets change... not from Monday, not from new year's day... now.
[1] an end caused by oil depletion, not by dawn of morality
[2] oil-wars are known to us by a different name: war against terror. This name makes it sound ethical and just
to be concluded in Part 2
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