The natural role of the human species on the Earth

I am curious what everybody's opinion is on the natural role that human beings play when it comes to their benefit, harm, and connectivity to the Earth. Most, if not all, animal, plant, and insect species have a role on this planet that is connected to each other in some way or another, and for the most part those species benefit the Earth and help create one massive interdependent organism wherein that if you eliminate species one by one the Earth suffers. The question then becomes: If you eliminate the human species, or at the very least reduce its numbers dramatically, would it make a positive or negative difference to the global ecosystem?

My personal biocentric belief is that all of nature is equally important with no one species having dominion over the other in an unnatural way. Without one species another species would not exist or be able to continue existing. However, despite my belief I find it very difficult to see how the Earth would NOT be better off with less of a human population. The amount of selfish destruction and eco-abuse that this species inflicts on the planet is infinitely more impactful than any other species on Earth. I find that fact to be undeniable. But if you put that aside for a moment and try to put down on paper the beneficial aspects of our species, other than benefits that only benefit humans, it becomes very difficult. For example, there are amphibians in certain ecosystems that if they were to die out the ecosystem that they help maintain would also die out. Can we say the same for the mighty human?

I am curious of your opinions. Can you name just one thing that humans contribute to the planet that do not benefit just humanity and are not born out of a human cause? FYI this is not a human bashing topic I swear to you, but it's a topic i've brought up before while on campus a few years back and while doing various activist work. It often brings interesting conversation and opens some eyes.

 

silliness!

 

What's silly about it? It's a legitimately challenging and introspective question, so try answering it. People like to see humans as being an important part of the planet, and so if that's the case, how are we as a species important to the planet as it stands right now? There are people that understand the connectivity of the world between species and ecosystems and because of that those humans actively seek ways to help the planet beyond themselves and beyond the human species, but there are others that believe our sheer presence on earth is important enough which is not only arrogant but dangerous.

Can you name one thing that humans do that contributes to the earth that is not beneficial to humans or caused by our actions? For example, you can't say that humans help keep animal populations under control since it's human encroachment into wild ecosystems that leads to perceived overpopulation of wildlife. You also can't say that humans help protect endangered species since it's humans that typically cause much of the problems.

 

I can't imagine how the earth would be harmed by the elimination of all life forms.

 

ok francis

 

The Earth as a massive organism wouldn't necessarily be harmed, meaning it's presence in the universe wouldn't be put in jeopardy, but when you look at life on Earth most organisms benefit their ecosystem and in turn the planet in some natural way. How do humans benefit the Earth in a natural way in our current state? For example, You could possibly say that if humans lived a more primitive or simple lifestyle similar to early humans where scavenging, foraging, and limited hunting for survival was the norm then you could say that humans help keep the ecosystem functioning in a more natural way. However in modern times in countries some as the US human behavior and human integration with the Earth is far from natural and quite destructive.

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Can you give one example/answer to my original question?

 

ahem, why? this is pure and utter silly!!!

 

Humans, to the best of my knowledge, are incapable of doing anything that is "unnatural".

You have asserted that most (if not all) other organisms benefit the earth in some way. Would you care to give an example of how any organism benefits the earth?

 

If it's so silly then you shouldn't have any problem giving examples, but on the other hand if you don't want to have a discussion then simply don't participate. I said earlier that it's not a human bashing topic, but it is a useful way of helping people understand our impact on this planet and how we can all do so much more as a species to benefit all life and not just our own species. Having such a selfish view of life on this planet will ultimately lead to the demise of many species including our own.

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When I say Earth I mean a massive system of ecosystems worldwide. There are species that if removed from one ecosystem would mean the demise or diminished health of that ecosystem. Can we say the same for humans being removed?

 

a, no!

 

Very inspiring. Why comment if you have no intention of actually discussing the topic?

 

Because I want everyone to know this is silly. hmm...seemed fairly simple to me.

 

Sure we can. If humans suddenly disappeared from the Earth, domesticated animals would all suffer greatly.

 

Well if no one was around would it matter?

 

Domesticated animals are human invention though. We created the need for them and in turn if we disappeared the deaths of those animals would be on our hands.

 

silly on top of silly

 

So then, there's your answer.

You're welcome!

 

But that's not an answer to my question. Domesticated animals are human invention and are not part of an ecosystem in the same way that wild animals are. If you remove a sea turtle from an ocean environment you would not only impact sea beds and marine life that depend on turtles but you'd also see an increase in jellyfish and other animals that the sea turtle keeps in check naturally, among many other things sea turtles do for an ecosystem. If you remove a human's domesticated cow and in turn the human itself it has no impact to an ecosystem other than one less item created by humans that impact a local ecosystem and one less human to destroy or impact the natural world. So technically speaking removing a human from an ecosystem is more beneficial to that ecosystem than adding humans, is that our impact?

 

We are part of the natural cycle. All species expand to their limits and we will at some point too. Nothing we do is unnatural in that regard. It can't be.

 

Animals do not domesticate themselves. Removing them from an ecosystem only affects humans since humans created the need. In a natural environment the animals balance each other and are interdependent. Show me how a domesticated cow or sheep helps an ecosystem.

 

Actually, they do. Look how ants use other insects. What we do, domesticating anything, is just part of nature since we are part of nature.

 

Procreation is natural but ecosystems have natural checks and balances as well as keystone species and other beneficial aspects. If you remove one or two from that ecosystem it can harm or destroy that particular ecosystem. If you remove humans what happens to the ecosystem? The answer is nothing. Humans do not naturally benefit an ecosystem. We can pretend that we do because it gives us a sense of purpose but in reality our human footprint causes far more harm than good for other forms of life on this planet and rarely do we give back to the systems that give all of us life.

 

Everything is interdependent so nothing we do is unnatural.

 

And this is the main reason why this thread is silly. You act like we made cows, sheep. LOL

 

I'm sorry but are you being serious? How is a human being driving a car to disney world natural in the same way that a dung beetle clears the African savannah of feces? Or natural in the same way as a gopher tortoise making a burrow to survive in but also providing a home for other species from that effort? How is us building nuclear weapons to destroy life natural in the same way as a living coral reef providing food and homes for thousands of various species. What we view as natural for us is far from the reality.