Working Toward a Healthier Future for All Living Species

By Bill Durston, MD

Speech given by Dr. Bill Durston on February 17, 2008 concerning environmental issues and the protection of animals

Toward a Healthier Future

Whenever I read the news today, I'm reminded of the statement by that famous American philosopher, Woody Allen, who said, "More than any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness. The other to total extinction. Let us pray we have the wisdom to choose correctly."

There certainly is a lot of bad news these days concerning a lot of important issues, including war in the Middle East, gun violence in our own country, the energy crisis, the lack of access to affordable health care in our country, the worsening economy with associated home foreclosures and job layoffs, and the failure of the Bush Administration and many members of Congress, including our own Representative Dan Lungren, to take meaningful steps to address these problems. I've spoken about these issues at other events, but this evening, I'm going to focus on another issue in which there seems to be considerable despair and hopelessness on the one hand, and quite literally, the threat of total extinction on the other. This issue is our environment, including the living species that inhabit it, and the way in which we humans treat other living species. And I'm going to talk about how I believe that we can work together to find and pursue a third path, one that leads to a safer, healthier future for all the living species on our planet.

The terms "despair" and "hopelessness" bring to mind human emotions, but higher animals are probably capable of similar feelings. The Humane Society of the United States, led by its president, Wayne Pacelle, and powered by dedicated volunteers like Joe Ramsey and other members of this audience, has brought to light human practices which undoubtedly evoke emotions of despair and hopelessness, as well as physical pain, in both wild and domestic animals. These practices include the cruel, prolonged confinement of farm animals in cages so small that they can not even turn around; neglect and willful abuse of pets; forcing animals to fight one another for human entertainment; and inhumane methods of trapping and slaughtering still-conscious animals.

The threat of extinction is also very real for many species of plants and animals. No one knows for sure how many different living species there are on earth, but it is clear that the rate at which species are becoming extinct is rapidly accelerating. At a conference in Oslo, Sweden last year, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon reported that species are becoming extinct at a rate of 3 per hour, which is 1,000 times the expected natural rate. The World Conservation Union listed over 16,000 endangered species in 2007, including over 5,000 vertebrate mammals, birds, fish, and amphibians. The United States Environmental Protection agency lists only about 1,200 endangered species, but threatened species include such North American icons as the bald eagle and the grizzly bear. It's been estimated that between 1990 and the year 2020, about 10% of the world's species will have become extinct. Most of this loss of species is due to human activity. Destruction of natural habitats, and particularly, clearing of rain forests, which is occurring at a rate of over an acre a second, is the greatest threat to other living species. Other human encroachment on natural habitats, hunting and poaching, pollution, and global warming are also contributing.

With all the other important problems we face, why should we worry about the suffering of animals and the extinction of non-human species? In his book, "Losing Paradise," the past president of the Humane Society of the United States, Paul Irwin, argues that we should love other species for their own sake, and I can identify with that argument. I've been blessed with opportunities throughout my life to be out in nature in a variety of settings, including backpacking in the Sierra Nevada mountains; scuba diving off the coast of California and in the South Pacific and the Caribbean; boating and swimming in the tributaries of the Amazon river; hiking, sailing, and cross-country skiing in the Pacific Northwest; and cycling in France, along the Monterey Coast, and along the American River Parkway, which runs just behind our house. I also have vivid memories of hiking, on patrol as a U.S. Marine, through the lush rain forests of Vietnam. I had a dog as a kid, we had a cat when our own kids were young, and for a while, we even had llamas. As a high school student, I worked for a summer on a farm in Germany. Putting the war experience aside, the time I've spent in nature and with animals has taught me an appreciation for the complexity and beauty of life on this planet and has enriched my life in a profound way. And I believe that my wife and our children, with whom I have shared many of these experiences, have been similarly affected.

In backpacking, there is an unwritten rule that you should leave your campsite in at least as good a condition as you found it for the next group of backpackers. I believe that the same should be true of generations of humans. We should leave our planet is at least as good a condition as we found it for future generations.

The founders of all of the major religions, including Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam, preached compassion for animals and respect for the natural world. The Nobel Prize winning physician, philosopher, and theologian Albert Schweitzer said:

In the past, we have tried to make a distinction between animals which we acknowledge have some value, and others which, having none, can be liquidated when we wish. This standard must be abandoned. Everything that lives has value simply as a living thing, as one of the manifestations of the mysteries of life.

Scientists and secular moral philosophers also teach that we should respect and preserve other living species. The father of the theory of evolution, Charles Darwin, wrote, "Man, in his arrogance, thinks himself a great work, worthy of the interposition of a deity. More humble and, I believe, true to consider him created from animals." Darwin concluded from his scientific studies that the ability to feel emotions is present in many animal species, and he personally worked on legislation in England to prevent cruelty to animals.

Mark Twain wrote, "Man is the only animal that blushes...or needs to."

In my view, whether you believe that other species were created by a supreme being or through millions of years of evolution, it is unconscionable for humankind to continue to drive them into extinction or to treat other sensate beings cruelly.

Even if one rejects religious, moral, and philosophical arguments for the protection of other species, it is clear that we need to take better care of the natural world for our own selfish interests. As I stated earlier, no one knows exactly how many living species there are on earth, but we do know that species are disappearing at an alarming rate. Similarly, no one knows what the tipping point is at which extinction of other species will pose an immediate threat to the survival of human beings, but we do know that such a tipping point exists, and many experts warn that it is rapidly approaching.

We live on a finite planet, which has been likened to an island in space. If we trash this island, the planet Earth, there is no other habitable planet in the universe that we can move to within the lifespan of a human being. As inhabitants of an island in space, we should take heed of the example of Easter Island in the South Pacific. Archeological records indicate that the island was settled by Polynesians 1,500 years ago. As recently as the 16th century, the island had a flourishing agricultural society. By the 17th century, though, when Europeans arrived, all that was left were huge stone statues. The humans on Easter Island had apparently perished as a result of using up all of their natural resources.

There are already warning signs that we may be nearing an ecological tipping point that threatens human existence. A study just released in the journal, Science, reports that as a result of overfishing, pollution, and acidification of the oceans from absorption of rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, all of the earth's vast oceans have been adversely affected to some degree, and nearly half have been strongly effected, to the point that survival of the marine ecosystems that millions of humans depend on for food are in danger.

We depend on honey bees for pollination of our flowers and our agricultural crops. Over the past few years, there has been a massive die-off of honey bees in the United States and in parts of Europe that is threatening the livelihoods of both beekeepers and fruit growers. The exact cause of this colony collapse disorder is still unknown, but human activity, including pesticide use, genetically modified crops, and global warming, may be factors.

An economic argument can also be made in favor of preserving endangered species for their ecotourism value. It's been estimated that each lion in Kenya's national wildlife preserve is worth $27,000 a year in tourist revenues, and each elephant is worth $610,000. In the United States, Department of the Interior data shows that wildlife watchers and photographers spend billions of dollars more per year on wildlife associated recreation than hunters do.

A health-related selfish argument can also be made for the humane treatment of farm animals and pets. Farm animals kept in closely confined enclosures are more susceptible to infections which can be transmitted to humans, including E. coli, salmonella, and mad cow disease. The antibiotics administered to closely confined farm animals to prevent infection can result in allergic reactions in humans and the development of bacterial strains resistant to standard antibiotics.

Finally, a very strong argument can be made that identifying, prosecuting, and rehabilitating persons who commit cruel acts toward animals is important not only for the protection of animals, but also for the protection of humans. A close association has been documented between persons who abuse pets and other animals at an early age and persons who go on to commit violent crimes against humans. Some of our country's most notorious mass murderers have had a history of abusing animals.

Clearly, then, whether we approach the issue of protection of the environment and other species from a religious point of view, a secular moral point of view, or a purely selfish one, we as a society need to do a better job. And just how do we do that?

One way is to do more as individuals. In that regard, I have great respect for people like Wayne Pacelle and Joe and Diane Ramsey and others of you in the audience tonight who have worked diligently to protect other species and their habitats, and who have modified your own lifestyles in order to consume less of the world's resources yourselves and leave more for other species and future generations of humans. But as individuals, we can only do so much.

We can educate others about the specific reasons I've discussed for taking better care of other species and the environment we all live in. More than this, though, I think we need to challenge ourselves and others to reconsider what is most valuable to us.

There is an obvious financial value in converting open space into housing developments and shopping malls, in turning forests into lumber products, in netting schools of fish to sell for human consumption, and in carving up mountains to extract metal ore. Many people in our country have amassed vast fortunes from these types of enterprises. Getting rich through such endeavors has been euphemistically called "the American Dream." And while we all need houses, food, and certain material goods to live healthy, happy lives, we should not let the American Dream become the American nightmare through the destruction of our most precious natural treasures. In addition to the easily measurable short term investment costs of building housing developments and shopping malls and carrying out logging, fishing, and mining operations, there are other, more difficult to quantitate, but ultimately much greater costs to our health and happiness from the loss of open space, the pollution of our air, water, and soil, and the extinction of other species that occur when capital gains are substituted as a marker for real human progress. And conversely, there is a value which has been vastly under-estimated and almost entirely uncompensated in preserving and protecting our natural landscapes and the rich variety of species that inhabit them.

We need to recognize that our country's Gross Domestic Product cannot continue to rise indefinitely, and that the GDP not only reflects economic activity which is beneficial to our lives and our planet, it also includes activity which is harmful. A car accident increases the GDP. Clear-cutting a forest increases the GDP. Importing polar bear trophies, killed in the Arctic by hunters in helicopters, increases the GDP. An organization which calls itself, Redefining Progress, has developed an alternative index, called the Genuine Progress Indicator, or GPI. The Genuine Progress Indicator attaches a negative value to economic activity that contributes to pollution, global warming, and the destruction of habitats for threatened species. It attaches a positive value to improved levels of education and more equitable distribution of wealth.

In addition to replacing the GDP with a more realistic indicator, such as the GPI, of our overall progress as a society, I believe that need to develop a better indicator than personal wealth as the mark of a person's individual success. John F. Kennedy said, "War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige as the warrior does today." I believe that this is a true statement about war. I believe that a similar argument could be made that destruction of our natural environment will continue until that day when the small organic farmer enjoys the same reputation and prestige, and the same political clout, that the agribusiness tycoon and the rich developer enjoy today.

Educating people and changing attitudes takes time. As I've discussed, time is running out for many of the species on our planet, and for the overall health of our environment. And no matter how responsible we try to be ourselves, no matter how hard we try to educate others, there are still going to be those who drive by in their Hummers with bumper stickers that read, "I'm using up the oil you're saving." And as long as someone can get away with making a profit from the inhumane treatment of farm animals, from the clear-cutting of forests, from over-fishing or strip mining, or, for that matter, from the invasions of other countries, there are going to be people who will do so, unless laws are passed and enforced that prevent such actions. And legislators like Dan Lungren, who take big contributions from developers and from the political action committees of agribusiness, the oil companies, and war profiteers, are never going to pass such legislation. That's why we need to elect candidates at all levels of government who will represent the best interests of their constituents, not the profits of their corporate donors. And that's one of the reasons why I'm running for Congress against Dan Lungren.

Winning this congressional race against a career politician like Lungren is a challenge. If all of the living species of the 3rd Congressional District could vote, including the forest trees facing the threat of clear-cutting, the wild mammals, fish, and birds faced with encroachment on their natural habitats, and the pets and farm animals faced with daily cruelty, we'd win by a landslide. But only we humans vote, and we hold the future of these more vulnerable species, and the future of our children, in our hands. So we need to work a little harder on their behalf, and to satisfy our own consciences that when we leave this world, we will have done everything within our power to leave it in at least as good a condition as we found it.

It's an honor for me to receive the endorsement of the Humane Society Legislative fund; and to receive the personal endorsement Wayne Pacelle, who is a great leader and a tireless worker in the field of protection of the environment and the living species that inhabit it. This campaign is not about me, though. It is about all of us working together toward a healthier future for our country and our planet. I'm honored to be working with all of you on this critically important campaign, and I look forward to the honor of representing you in the United States Congress.

Thank you.