LETTER TO THE EDITOR: The other ‘AI’ — ambitious ignorance — menacing humanity’s future

To the Editor:

The Atlantic Right Whale’s extinction plight is well-known and conclusively documented by marine scientists. In an effort to reduce premature deaths, mostly caused by ships striking whales at high speeds, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA] has recommended reducing vessel speed when traversing migration pathways of Right Whales during calving season.

Numerous states, including Georgia, have refused to comply with NOAA’s safeguards. Political leadership asserts that the commercial costs of reducing speeds is unacceptable, meaning that expediting global transport has greater priority than the survival of this iconic species. Implicitly, similar foolhardy conclusions apply to any other inconvenient environmental damages.

Though truly tragic, the Right Whale problem is just one of thousands of examples of how our profits-at-any-cost culture is destroying the planet, and with it, the very life-support systems and food supplies upon which human existence depends.

Consider that:

— “Our planet now faces a global extinction crisis never witnessed by humankind. Scientists predict that more than 1 million species are on track for extinction in the coming decades.” [Center for Biological Diversity]

— Scientists also recently reported that marine ecosystems are overheating much faster than expected, causing serious threats to species that are essential to human food supplies.

— Deadly disease risks are worsened by human destruction of ecosystems. “We depend on heathy ecosystems for our health and survival. Biodiversity is declining globally at unprecedented rates in human history.” [World Health Organization]

Unless humans soon learn to transcend ambitious ignorance, prioritizing profits will continue hastening our doom.

David Kyler

St. Simons Island

David Kyler is the co-founder and director of the Center for a Sustainable Coast, established in 1997 as a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting responsible decisions that sustain coastal Georgia’s environment and quality of life.