A Wild Life and Wildlife

This past week, our school library and our English department hosted an author visit. Shelley Gill is a renowned children's author who has lived a very exciting life and has chronicled many of her adventures in her picture books, with many of her storylines based in Alaska. Among many of her journeys, she has raced in the Iditarod, swam with whales, climbed a mountain in Antarctica, and spends her summers as a whale detective to study their migratory patterns and to help protect them. After reading several of her books to my students, I learned just how passionate she is about wildlife. As I listened to her presentation, she raised many interesting points about the dire ecological straits our planet is in. She seamlessly blended history, science, writing, and living life to its fullest during her visit. Her basic message to our students was that the reason she decided to write books was to help change the world in her own unique way.

Now I try to avoid preachy blogs, but on the heels of meeting Shelley Gill and reading a recent article, it definitely made me think. I believe in signs and having faith in a higher power, so when science backs up what the universe has been trying to show us for years...how can anyone ignore it?! I believe that all things are connected.

Global warming is real, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. I am baffled by the silly political squabbling surrounding this issue. If certain politicians or celebrity names are attached to an environmental cause, their opinions are dismissed as left or right wing mumbo-jumbo. It's not about them! It shouldn't be about monetary implications! Climatologists have offered study after study as proof and have forcasted severe implications if the world does not react accordingly. Mother Nature doesn't care what political party we all belong to or whether you believe it exists at all. Global warming threatens not only humanity, but every living thing on Earth. People can choose to believe however they want, it doesn't make the reality go away.

For instance, plankton are slowly disappearing. Now you might think, "so what?" Well, without plankton, the oceanic food chain would greatly suffer. Plankton are at the bottom of a very long food web that ends with whales and polar bears. I do not profess to be an expert on any of these issues, but I have done my homework. Wildlife have as much right to be here as we do. We share this planet with them, despite our arrogance that we run the show. I think Mother Nature would beg to differ. In the long run, I wonder if we can even stop what may be an inevitable future, but maybe we can buy more time us all.