Human race towards an evolutionary Cul-de-sac

The other day, I was reading the news and I came across an article, in which a reputable naturalist said that the Giant pandas should be allowed to die out. One can find his comments here. http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wilderness-resources/stories/reputable-naturalist-says-we-should-let-pandas-die-out

According to him, these cute and cuddly animals have not been able to adapt themselves and therefore it makes more sense to simply let them die out.

Of course, I am no naturalist or an expert in this field. But, with my limited knowledge I can safely say that when an animal is endangered due to a loss of habitat, which is a result of human activities, it is difficult for me to fathom as to why the poor animal is being blamed for its own demise. However, the point of my piece is not whether what he said was acceptable or not. According to Packham, 'this species has gone down an evolutionary cul-de-sac'.

What struck me when I read this article was that if any species is headed towards an evolutionary cul-de-sac, it is in my opinion the human race.

I understand that human species is the most intelligent and has been able to adapt itself to the most difficult environments in the world. Man has learnt to play with fire, irrigate barren lands, create the most beautiful music and has also managed to visit moon. Then why do I say that man is headed towards an evolutionary cul-de-sac?

The answer is a complicated one. And I will attempt to answer it with my limited ability to use logic and knowledge. For centuries now man has made advances in technology and science. And there is no reason to believe that science and technology has not made our lives better. Of course it has. We produce much more than we ever have. We save more lives from devastating diseases than we have ever had in the past. We are much better equipped to handle natural disasters than ever before. Then, why is it that we are still moving towards an inevitable end?

It is not because of our advance in science, but rather it the regression in our moral responsibility, which is leading out species to a slow death. Famous economist Malthus was afraid that we are headed towards certain doom because, food production grows at an arithmetic progression, but when it comes to population growth it is geometric in nature. In short he foresaw that population will grow at much faster rate than food and the species will probably starve to death. Fortunately or unfortunately, the development of high yielding seeds, Genetically modified food and hormone induced animals, the demise of our race for nutritional reasons seems to be unlikely. But there was an element of truth in Malthus's fear....it is the growth of man's wants, which is increasing geometrically. We never seem to be happy with what we have. Of course, it would be highly unfair to say this for the entire human race, but it is certainly true for a large proportion of the world population.

When you look at the so called developed nations and the urban cores of the developing nations, it fairly easy to see the increase in consumerism. It has simply become a must to have more. Veblen, another economist, albeit a lesser known economist had introduced the term conspicuous consumption. He had used this term to describe the consumeristic attitude of the nouveau riche. It basically described the attempt made by this class of the society, which indulged in buying new and expensive commodities in order to secure a good social standing. Though Veblen wrote about this more than hundred years back, it couldn't be any truer than ever before. It is not just the middle class of the so called developed nations, which are demanding bigger cars, houses etc, but it is also the fast growing middle class of the developing nations, which is being sucked into this ever attractive and glittering world of consumerism.

With increasing demand on limited natural resources, it is easy to see how the unending demand for more has taken a toll on our environment. Be it the deforestation of amazon rain forests, the pollution of life giving rivers, the dumping of toxic wastes in fertile lands, it is just a matter of time before we will see that the geometric expansion of our wants will lead to what Malthus feared....our end. It is our own evolution that we need to be worried about...not that of the pandas. If not for the pandas or the whales or the tigers it is probably time for us to think about our own evolutionary future. It is in the healthy future of these species that we can see our own future secured.

Maybe its time for us to say that two pairs of shoes are enough or that seven sets of clothes are enough or one car for a family is enough. It is not science and technology that needs to be changed it is something much more fundamental....its us.