Casper David F.C. - The Splendid Web of Life - Pioneer Species (1993)
A Reverence for Life:
Ecological Condition and Morality
- Primitivism, Proto Biocentrism, and Land Ethics.
Casper David F. C. was a strong believer in the sanctity of all life.
He believed that the fundamental axiom at the basis of any meaningful moral philosophy should be the goal of reducing suffering and harm. Since animals and various other non-human organisms are able to experience pain he saw it as an ethical necessity to extend the notion of intrinsic moral worth to include all living beings. For this reason he also argued against the existence of more valuable or less valuable lifeforms which in turn necessitates the development of a biocentric ethical framework that is equally concerned with the reduction of suffering amongst all living beings / “the sacred whole”. He believed that this ethic was incompatible with industrial society and modern civilization due to its “parasitic exploitation and instrumentalization of all life; humans, animals and nature alike”.
“It is a cult. A cult of endless growth, of material comfort and willful blindness.
They idealize the machine and want to recreate man in its image.
Unwavering devotion to the fulfillment of function, no value judgements, complete abandon of all concern for social, spiritual or ethical matters.
The debasement of all life.
Turning existence itself into a meaningless exercise in the reproduction and expansion of technological society at the expense of life itself.
One of the most obvious manifestations of this ideology is the omnipresent disgraceful and completely unnecessary systematic torture, breeding and killing of animals in the Animal-industrial complex (particularly present in the food & clothing industry) alongside our complete disregard for all oceanic life (we are expanding the destruction of oceanic habitats through overfishing, pollution, oceanic acidification and warming to such an extent that mass-extinction is almost unavoidable).
This practice is obviously morally reprehensible. Any denial of the direct moral status of animals is ludicrous. A very significant amount of animals are; intensely social, exhibit preferences and desires, display emotion and are able to build somewhat complex social relationships (both within and across species). This clearly demonstrates the presence of at least some rudimentary form of sentience. They are able to distinguish between individual beings, recall former encounters with various beings (i.e. having the capacity to both establish, recall and judge memories of past events) alongside the ability to adapt socially / change behaviour in order to achieve specific desires/preferences (i.e. some level of social intelligence). Even more crucially however is the fact that almost all animals (even those that does not display obvious signs of sentience) are able to experience pain and suffering. We know this. We hear the screams. We see them do anything in their power to avoid their suffering, fighting, struggling, fleeing in terror etc. We even acknowledge this on a local level. We legislate against the torturing of animals by individuals because it is obvious that it is an unethical action. The torturer is causing the animal unnecessary pain. However once this suffering is externalized, expanded, instrumentalized and systematized to an almost unfathomable degree we no longer uphold the same ethical standards. We pretend it is not there. Willfully accepting its existence even though it is our moral duty to act.
Even more harmful (though maybe less obvious) is the consequences of our current exploitation and destruction of what is generally considered to be non-sentient parts of our biosphere. Deforestation, habitat degradation, expansion of urban areas, coral reef destruction, increased pollution, extensive extraction of natural resources, industrial agriculture, soil erosion (etc.) though highly problematic might initially seem less abhorrent / morally reprehensible than the obvious suffering created in the Animal-Industrial complex. Upon further inspection however it seems that our ingenuity and capacity to inflict and proliferate agony knows no bounds.
Some of the most fatal among these self inflicted wounds are;
1) The irreversible mass extinction of a whole host of mammals, non-mammalian animals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, invertebrates and plants. Current extinction rates are estimated to be approximately 100 to 1000 times higher than preindustrial standards. Due to the constant accelerating rate it is widely acknowledged that we are approaching an anthropogenic mass extinction event (Holocene extinction) comparable to the “The Great Dying” (Permian-Triassic extinction). The consequences of this is the death of at least 75 % of all current living species.
2) Famine and extreme population decline through starvation as a consequence of the destabilization of the global food and and water supply. The primary cause for this will be the vast increase in desertification and land degradation of drylands due to soil erosion, drought, floods, unsustainable agricultural practices (to maximize yields) and deforestation. The most significant parameters in this regard is the general increase in temperatures combined with more volatile and extreme weather changes. Floods, extensive precipitation and winds remove topsoil which exposes lower soil layers (sub soil) to warmer temperatures for extended periods of time during droughts. Due to the limited amount of moisture and organic matter present in the subsoil this will result in a hard, dense and “unproductive" layer of soil (hardpan formation).
It is currently estimated that around 75 billion tons of soil is eroded each year. This erosion is induced by human activity and approximately equates to the degradation of 12 million hectares of “productive land” (loss of crop area comparable to the size of Greece).
The current erosion rate is around 13-40 times faster than natural erosion rates and it is continually rising. It is estimated that approximately 10-20 % of drylands are currently degraded. To understand the severity of this problem it is important to know that drylands currently cover around 41% of the earth's land surface, include 45% of the world's agricultural land and supply 60 % of the worlds food production. If this rate of land degradation, desertification and soil erosion continues it will inevitably lead to global food shortage and mass starvation.
3) Decline in physical and mental health due to highly increased occurrences of a whole host of diseases.
Climate change induced health problems include (but are not limited to);
A) Increased occurences of heat related illnesses and death as a consequence of rising temperatures (e.g. heat stroke, heat syncope, edema, heat cramps, tetanic seizures, acute respiratory distress, permanent organ damage etc.).
B) An increase in various forms of respiratory diseases caused primarily by air pollution, dust storms, wildfires and mold exposure (e.g. pneumonia, asthma and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).
C) Vast increase in infectious disease. This include vector-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, leishmaniasis, zika fever, chikungunya, ebola, lymphatic filariasis, rift valley fever, various tick-borne diseases (e.g. lyme disease and encephalitis), waterborne diseases such as gastroenteritis, vibrio (particularly vibrio cholera), typhoid fever, cryptosporidiosis, giardiasis, Legionnaires disease alongside wound infection and sepsis.
An increase in these diseases will cause a very significant amount of suffering and death. COPD, Pneumonia and asthma are among the diseases that claim the most human lives every year (only exceeded by cardiovascular diseases and cancer). Diarrheal diseases currently account for 10–12% of deaths in children under five and lymphatic filariasis is the leading cause of permanent disability worldwide. Severe outbreaks of diseases that have previously been geographically isolated and quite rare/infrequent can potentially pose significant challenges to civilization as we know it. The average fatality rate of ebola is currently around 50 % (the difference in fatality rate varies quite significantly between different outbreaks. With fatality rates ranging from 25-90 %).
In addition to the direct impacts on humans it is also important to note that vector-borne diseases such as trypanosomiasis, Rift Valley Fever, and bluetongue causes extensive suffering and death to both domestic animals and livestock.
4) Deforestation and habitat loss.
Forests provide a multitude of functions which are crucial to the continued survival of our entire biosphere. Among these are:
c) Lowering CO2 levels in the atmosphere through natural carbon sequestration and photosynthesis.
b) Regulating precipitation levels through plant transpiration.
c) Protecting topsoil by providing cover from wind and heavy rainfall.
d) Providing habitat for a large number of animals, plants, indigenous communities etc.
(Approximately 80 % of all terrestrial animals species and 75 % of all bird species live in forests).
A very significant amount of re- and afforestation is necessary in order to avoid the catastrophic rise in atmospheric temperatures, reducing soil degradation and desertification along with providing the continual survival of a whole host of species. The current rate of deforestation is 160,000 square kilometers per year, which equates to a loss of approximately 1% of original forest habitat each year. Deforestation for farming and logging have severely disturbed at least 94% of temperate broadleaf forests; many old growth forest stands have lost more than 98% of their previous area because of human activities.
5) Vast increase in climate induced displacement and migration.
Forced climate migration can be induced by human exacerbated “natural” disasters such as an increase in tsunamis, landslides, wildfires and more intense cyclones. Though these events are often disastrous the true catastrophic reasons for forced migration will undoubtedly be the more gradual and sustained environmental damages such as; desertification, flooding, drought, soil degradation, habitat loss, coral bleaching along with rising sea levels, shoreline erosion and coastal flooding. As mentioned earlier desertification will inevitably result in extensive crop failure, food shortages, a vast reduction in the availability of work (particularly in fishing and agricultural production) along with a significant reduction in habitable land. Intense flooding will destroy critical infrastructure, flood residential areas, disrupt transit systems, increase disease, overburden medical centers, contaminate water supplies and destabilize energy plants. These problems will be further exacerbated by shoreline erosion, costal flooding and submerging of low lying land (particularly islands). The compounding effects of these problems will inevitably result in political instability, famine, civil war (fighting for resources) and forced migration.
6) The occurrence of intense feedback loops between the consequences of warming atmospheric temperatures and the initial causes which create the warming in the first place.
Amongst these feedback loops are;
a) The increase in atmospheric temperatures which results in an increase in oceanic temperatures (initially due to thermal expansion, melting glaciers and sea ice etc.). This generates:
- An intensification of the hydrological cycle along with more frequent and intensive droughts. Warmer temperatures causes increased evaporation from water bodies, soil and vegetation which results in more intense precipitation during rainfall. The compounded effect of this is a general decrease in vegetation due to soil erosion and desertification (as described earlier). Since the general amount of vegetation is reduced, the general level of CO2 in the atmosphere will increase i.e. the atmospheric temperature will increase even more. A negative spiral that perpetually exacerbates the current damages will occur.
- Permafrost Thaw and a general decrease in surface reflectivity. As global warming heats the ecosystem, frozen soil thaws and becomes warm enough for decomposition to start anew, accelerating the permafrost carbon cycle. Depending on conditions at the time of thaw, decomposition can release either carbon dioxide or methane which causes additional warming. The annual permafrost emissions are approximately comparable with global emissions from deforestation, or the annual emissions of large industrial countries such as Russia, the United States or China. The melting of arctic sea ice and snow gradually reduces the amount of reflective surfaces which results in an increase in absorption of solar radiation. The consequence of this is rise in oceanic temperature which again exacerbates all the previously mentioned problems.
b) The increase in desertification and soil erosion puts extensive pressure on farmers to establish new fields (which often necessitates deforestation) and/or having higher crop yields on preexisting fields. Higher crops yields are primarily achievable through the use of pesticides which generally results in either water pollution, soil contamination, biodiversity reduction or an increase in various health hazards. To create new fields farmers often have to implement Slash-and-burn techniques. Fields (swiddens) are created by cutting and burning forests, vegetation and woodlands. When the downed vegetation has dried in the sun it is burned which fertilizes the soil allowing for the possibility of establishing temporary fields. After about three to five years, the plot's productivity generally decreases due to the depletion of nutrients along with weed and pest infestation, eventually causing farmers to abandon the field and move to a new area. Most fields are barren and unusable for decades afterwards. A rough estimate is that 200–300 million farmers worldwide use slash-and-burn techniques. Thus a vicious circle is created were soil erosion (caused by human induced climate change) results in food shortages which necessitates additional deforestation and soil contamination which in turn causes general temperatures to rise (less vegetation, more CO2 in the atmosphere, more habitat loss, less useable farmland etc.).
These wounds are merely excerpts of some of the more dreadful ailments we are inflicting upon ourselves and other members of the biotic community. Due to the continued and increasing severity of all of these problems, it seems self-evident that drastic change has to be implemented. Environmental and ecological disasters such as world crop failure, holocene extinction, extreme water and food scarcity and complete ecosystem collapse will become a reality if we don’t change our ways. The final consequence of our current way of life could be the approximation of omnicide (human induced extinction of all life on earth). At the very minimum we are producing unfathomable amounts of suffering which could eventually lead to extreme population decline and/or societal / civilizational collapse (primarily due to starvation and lack of water access).
Casper David F.C. - Dissolution (1992)