It is the privilege of the wealthy to obsess over the environment. To the starving people in Africa a rain forest is an obstacle in their fight to grow food. Deforestation, extinction, these are important, and I am concerned. It is just easier for me to sit ensconced in the luxuries I scarcely notice and judge the profoundly poor for their shortsightedness, than it is for them to fret over livestock during war, famine, and pestilence.
Today the AP ran another story about destruction in war torn Congo. Apparently rebel soldiers are killing gorillas and hippos for their meat. While I grant you that the destruction of these animals is of greater significance due to their scarcity, I also wonder how many African people die of starvation while we scold them over their consumption of their local animals.
I think that Americans would rather save the gorillas than save the Africans.
How many Africans equal one gorilla in the eyes of the developed world? Now that is a real-life application of math.
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