Ming was the oldest animal in the world...until human scientists killed the clam to check his age. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencet...07-years-old-scientists-KILLED-shellfish.html I think thats awful. Reminds me of a newspaper article I once read as a teen....A man in that story had a tree blocking his driveway...so he cut it down. Turns out they found out that tree was 700 years old. I actually cried reading it....How that soul survived the storms of 700 winters actually to be cut down by a human who for sure didn't know what he was doing but, still.
They're out there fighting back. http://www.thespec.com/news-story/4188332-port-colborne-woman-killed-after-tree-falls-on-her-car/ http://www.staceypageonline.com/2013/11/14/fallen-tree-kills-former-mentone-woman/ http://news.google.com/newspapers?n...RIgAAAAIBAJ&sjid=R2YFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3852,1490256 http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x2690374
You know it's just a clam, right? Considering the list of crimes against this planet we commit on a daily basis, this really shouldn't register.
Still sad for it to survive this long only to be pryed up in the name of science, and I wonder to what ends, longevity studies? no idea. guess it can be put down to typical human arrogance that we can kill and take what we want as everything belongs to us. Just a clam....tell it to the clam.... We are a cancer on the planet..
Holy it still is a living being. I'm not all that fussy about clams (like human babies) but it still upset me. I'd feel the same way if someone mistreated any living being.
So you're vegetarian? The scientists weren't trying to kill the clam, it was an accident that occurred as part of the experiment. It happens and I'm sure no one is as gutted as much as the research team at Bangor who have lost an invaluable research asset.
what's vegetarian got to do with anything? Eating meat doesn't mean you don't respect all the beings. The natives always understood this. They believed that if you mistreat the earth you will upset the earth and animal spirits. and yes I understand that the scientists were most likely floored. Scientists have feelings too. The story was still sad though.
I just don't see how it is consistent to believe eating animals is ok, but it's not ok to use animals to further scientific knowledge, especially when that knowledge can be used to further medical science.
I'm not against in many cases. They found insulin by experimenting on dogs for example. And that has helped save the lives of millions with diabetes, both human and nonhuman. That's just one example. I do not believe that a person has to give up meat entirely otherwise you are akin to the devil's juice, animal abuse, or something of the kind, as a lot of vegetarians believe. I think they're crazy, to be honest.
I still think its sad it died. A clam doesn't register high on the things I care about but, even as an accident, its still a shame something so old died. Like the 200 odd year old giant turtle. Its a turtle, but its still a shame to lose something thats been a part of the world, however insignificantly, for so long
That said, as I said, Scientists do have feelings. The scientists in the US still won't tell anyone where the bristlecone pine tree called Methuselah is, because they know full well what many members of their species are like. So yes, I know, there are many good people out there as well. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methuselah_(tree)
I find it extremely sad that they feel it necessary to conceal the location of the tree for fear that people will vandalise it. There are a lot of human beings whose lives are worth less than that of a clam, quite frankly, such as anyone who would vandalise an ancient tree to make themselves feel 'important' or whatever.
I always find sentiment like this strange. Why is it human arrogance? We evolved to be the way we are because it best suited us for survival. If we are a cancer to the world then we should take care of it only as a means for our own existence. We create, we destroy, we harness what is around us. Everything is a means to our disposal and we must act in a way to keep those means around as long as possible, for our sake. Everything lives and everything dies. Are you mad at the otters who have probably destroyed thousands of ancient clams for dinner, or the beavers who destroyed ancient trees for a dam? We do what is in our nature, nothing to be ashamed of. It's only a shame if we cheat ourselves out of a future because we used resources up too quickly in my opinion.
I think the big difference is that other animals generaly only kill or destroy what they need in order to survive. Whereas we as a species do an awful lot of killing and destroying for trivial reasons. And other animals don't destroy the environment that they rely on for survival, like we are busy doing.
Who says what we do isn't necessary for the development of a species with our intelligence level? Not like we have a bunch of other sentient species around to base a judgment off of. I think you would get a lot more done saying, "look guys, if we destroy all this stuff it'll have backlash on our own quality of life/existence" vs. "woe is us, the cancer of the earth destroying that which is sacred. We should all die for our transgressions!" (hyperbole included in that, not directing that at anyone posting here). You learn from your mistakes, that applies on a large and small scale, individual and collective. Now if you want to talk about mistakes that are near impossible to correct, that has more to do with politics and individuals in power than it does the human race as a whole. ::raises glass:: Here's to the next great revolution that hopefully puts us on a more progressive path, especially if it makes us a space faring species.
That's not strictly true Johnno. Loads of animals destroy their environment, overly predate prey animals or over eat a resource they rely on. Elephants for example fell trees and destroy large swathes of foliage and then leave perfectly edible food to rot. The difference is that they do so mindlessly and if they do it too much they simply die off and allow the damage to be restored. There are natural checks and balances in the natural world the humans have bypassed.