HOW TO BE A SUPERHERO
We can outdo Superman and Batman.
I say that because while those superheroes saved the fictional cities of Metropolis and Gotham from external threats, we have the opportunity to save the real world from ourselves. But to do that, we have to act like spidermen. Not imitate Spiderman, the superhero, but act more like real spiders do in nature.
I know that’s a corny opening, but hopefully it has caught your attention because what I have to say this week is important. I want to talk about the environment and the welfare of all the creatures who live on the planet. But the way things are going, that could be a very heavy read, so I’ve gone for the spider thing to lighten things up.
Many of you may not like those eight-legged insects, but I’m quite fond of them. They control fly and mosquito populations, and they are intelligent, observant creatures.
They weave incredibly strong, lightweight webs in places where they are likely to catch enough food to keep themselves alive, and they do not take any more from nature than they need. I respect that, so I think we should try to copy them. At least that last bit.
That thought has been inspired by the news, by books I’ve read recently and in the past, and by what I’m seeing and hearing outside over here in England. The news bit comes from Australia where millions of fish died last week in an overheated, polluted river.
I’m telling you about it because the same thing could happen to fish in Africa… and to other animals, including humans, if we don’t change our behaviour. The problem is global warming and pollution, including farming chemicals that wash into rivers. But there may be a solution, even if it’s going to be a hard sell.
The recent book was The Meaning of Birds, by Simon Barnes, which documented the steady decline of bird populations around the world during the past century. It echoes concerns first raised by Rachel Carson 60 years ago in Silent Spring. Both authors made it painfully clear that if we carry on trying to control nature with chemicals for our own short-term gain, we will wind up with very few insects and birds to entertain us with their songs, and we will lose many other animals as well.
Unfortunately, my eyes and ears are telling me that’s exactly what’s happening. Spring has officially arrived in the northern hemisphere, but the reality on the ground, and in the air, is that it still sounds like winter. There are fewer birds nesting and singing to attract mates than in the past, even though temperatures have risen, and the sun is higher in the sky.
It’s got me worried, and I’m horrified to think Botswana could lose some of its wonderful dawn choruses and some of its magnificent wildlife, so I think it is time for all of us to take notice, and do our part.
All we have to do is act like spiders and be content with enough, instead of always wanting more, more, more. Simple enough.
Okay, it might take a super superhero to sell that one, but it’s definitely worth a try.