CLIMATE FINANCE

Humanity’s Collective Shortsightedness Will Result in Our Self Destruction

Long-term thinking is nonexistent anymore.

My aunt has been a tree hugger her entire life. As a 50-year member of GreenPeace, she used to send me t-shirts, stickers, pencils, etc. with conservation slogans.

One of my favorite shirts was a simple white shirt with a silk screened wolf sitting on a rocky outlook. The tag beneath the wolf said, “Gaining ground”.

It was a quasi-brag about the increasing populations of wolves and the pilot programs during the 90’s that reintroduced some wolves to wild areas.

Unfortunately, that shirt is now a sad reminder that most of humanity just can’t see past the end of its nose.

Success Story: Yellowstone Wolves

After being hunted to almost extinction, the gray wolf found protection under the Endangered Species Act of 1973.

During the next 20 years, wolf populations grew to the point where they could be introduced into national parks, with a series of pilot programs across the county.

The most famous reintroduction was in Yellowstone National Park, where the wolves had an immediate and profound impact, as see in this video. The effects of the wolves include:

Deer left the now-dangerous valleys
Vegetation skyrocketed and trees showed tremendous growth
Beavers built dams, slowing the water
Smaller animals arrived, followed by other predators
Erosion ceased and the river changed course

Gray wolves are the keystone species for this ecosystem, and Yellowstone is reverting back to its former purely wild ecosystem.

Unfortunately, not all wolf stories are success stories.

Horror Stories: Wisconsin and Idaho

In November of 2020, the Department of Fish and Wildlife removed the gray wolf from the list of endangered species, once again allowing hunting and trapping.

Wisconsin, with its grand total of 1,000 wolves, was the first state to have a wolf hunt, with the first occurring this past March.

It was a complete disaster…for the wolves. In what has been described as a “killing spree”, almost 1/3 of all wolves in Wisconsin were killed just just 3 days. (The state had to cut the hunt short due to the overkill.)

Limit for the hunt: 119.
Total confirmed kills: 216.
Estimated non-confirmed kills: 95–105

What took decades to build was kneecapped in less than a week.

While the wolves could make a comeback, again, it will take additional hard work and advocacy.

Ed Bangs, a retired US Fish and Wildlife Service wolf recovery coordinator, said it was too early to draw broad conclusions based on the initial Wisconsin season, which he described as a “killing spree” that violated hunting ethics. State wildlife managers were capable of designing science-based hunts that keep wolf populations healthy if politicians and judges let them, he said.

Idaho is not far behind: they just haven’t held their hunt this year.

Just this past May, the governor of Idaho signed a law that will allow for all wolves in excess of the state-mandated 150 to be killed. With a wolf population of 1,500, only 10% will be left (if, of course, additional killings don’t occur).

The harshness of this bill cannot be overstated, as the means of killing the wolves has been expanded.

The law also expands the way wolves can be hunted and killed. Those methods include hunting, trapping and snaring an unlimited number of wolves on a single hunting tag, using night-vision equipment, chasing down wolves on snowmobiles and ATVs and shooting them from helicopters. Also under the new law, newborn pups can be killed if they are found on private land.

The Takeaway

The entire notion of hunting wolves is to protect cattle and sheep. However, wolf kills only account for 0.3% of all cattle losses, with 10x that number killed by weather and disease.

The legislatures of these states do not see anything but a nuisance predator that has exceeded its target populations, therefore it must not be allowed to exist above those targets.

The problem is that wolves are not the problem.

We are.

Humans as individuals are some of the brightest most earnest creatures in the world.

Humanity as a whole can be nothing but a stomping herd of elephants running from a mouse.

A person is smart. People are dumb panicky dangerous animals and you know it.

It’s this self-destructive tendency to achieve a short-term goal at what cost that makes you realize that you need to protect yourself.

No one is coming to save you, because no one wants to think long-term.

Wolf populations. Social Security. Climate change. Healthcare. Poverty.

These are all solvable problems (for the most part) if the government were to plan for tomorrow and take the hits now.

But that’s not how it works, and that’s not what we can expect.

You need to plan for your own future.

The Latest Stories From Money. Daily.

Don’t miss my next article! Click here to get notified when I publish new material.

If you love the articles published in Money. Daily., then become a member of the Medium community and get full access to our full archives.

This article is for informational purposes only, it should not be considered Financial or Legal Advice. Not all information will be accurate. Consult a financial professional before making any major financial decisions.