I think of human beings as the clever monkeys. To understand ourselves, we have to remember where we came from: nature, the ecosystem, the tree of life. We are pretty full of ourselves. We have been very successful and have excelled at being fruitful and multiplying. We kind of lord it over the animals, the insects, the plant life. We act like we own the damn place.
But, although we are clever, time and time again, we are reminded that we aren't as clever as we think we are, and that can come to haunt us, and has major ramifications for the ecosystem, and the planet.
Check out this blog post from Kevin Drum. Could it be that violent crime and lead gasoline are connected? It's kind of an eye-opener. And a good example of where we solve one problem and create another.
Another example is this movie: "Queen of the Sun." The tag-line: "What are the Bees telling us?" My answer: "Clever Monkey, they are telling you that you are not so fucking clever!"
Check out the movie. It is another eye-opener. I was just shaking my head at all the mischief the clever monkeys have gotten into. We are really good at tackling a problem. And then we come up with interesting solutions: monoculture, genetic engineering, bee migration, factory farming.
In order to create abundance of food, cheaply, we have seriously messed with the ecosystem. And you know what? The ecosystem is smarter than us! We are wreaking havoc on the ecosystem and undermining our own life support.
It's a sad tale. Add it to the list of sad tales... And let me tell you, Clever Monkeys, if the bees disappear, we can all kiss our clever asses goodbye!