On Dolphins and Dennis Miller...

I have two most thrilling /magical/enchanting engagement experiences I have had with the non-human world. The first was when I was bodysurfing at Black’s Beach in San Diego and a pod (flock? Gaggle? I guess it is pod) of Dolphins started bodysurfing in the waves right near to me. At first I saw the fins in the water and thought I was surrounded by sharks, but then I saw one closer and realized they were Dolphins. It was amazing they moved so fast and were so elegant in the water, simply spectacular. The second is just daily interaction with my Cat; she is so smart and curious that everyday I am enchanted by her.

As for whether or not we should save nature, the answer cannot be summed up in the usefulness of it, yes I could argue about all the potential medicinal finds we are losing in the Rainforest everyday do to de-forestation, but I believe nature is important to save not for the narrow concerns of humans, but for the intrinsic value of nature itself. I once saw the comedian Dennis Miller, someone I used to respect, arguing for drilling in ANWAR, and his well thought through line of debate consisted of the fact that he probably would never go and see these Caribou in the Alaska wilderness so why keep it around? So basically his argument was that since ANWAR was not ever likely to contribute to his own personal enjoyment of life that there was no reason to keep it around, and he said this with a straight face! I guess it is the same mentality that would cause someone to chant, “Drill baby, drill!” A mentality pinning an imaginary “us” versus “them,” where the “them” are environmentalists and not the environment, because as has been demonstrated many times through Hurricanes and Tsunamis, you cannot beat Mother Nature, Mother Nature will always beat you. However, more importantly it is not necessary for something to be used or enjoyed by humans for it to have value, nature needs to be saved just because we have no moral right to destroy it.