Congratulations to the House Judiciary Committee in their attempt to stop the incredibly cruel and wasteful practice of shark finning. How interesting that this practice is illegal in most U.S. waters but not around Hawai’i where the shark was revered
Congratulations to the House Judiciary Committee in their attempt to stop the
incredibly cruel and wasteful practice of shark finning. How interesting that
this practice is illegal in most U.S. waters but not around Hawai’i where the
shark was revered as a god.
What is it about people who feel entitled to
indulge their appetites with costly things like shark fin soup, deadly fish
dishes, thousand dollar bottles of wine, and remedies for impotence like tiger
penis or rhino horn? The rarer the item, the more its supposed curative
potential (maybe we should up the price of Viagra!)
Humans have always
squandered their resources and ignored the consequences to future generations.
How insolent to think God put everything here on earth for our pleasure. Don’t
underestimate the impact of man’s ruthlessness. Buffalo were once as plentiful
as ants on an anthill. Look at the East Coast fishery collapse of swordfish,
cod and salmon .
We “harvest” the ocean’s resouces with reckless
abandon forgetting that only a small percentage of that vast watery domain
actually produces the fish for which we troll. Those coastal areas are now
being inundated with pesticides, sewage and animal waste.
How much longer
can they sustain life? Ask the shrimpers in the Gulf of Mexico, they know. Or
the clam diggers in the Chesapeake Bay.
The warning signs are everywhere.
We ignore them at our own peril. We humans either need to reduce our
consumption or face the fact that we have squandererd our children’s and
grandchildren’s inheritance. Politicians call for paying down the national
debt. Let’s do that and add to it the natural resouces debt which we are
rapidly accumulating.
Connie Copenhaver
Princeville
