When human management isn't such a good thing

What condition would our forests, lakes, rivers, deserts and oceans be in today if they were not being "managed" by the human race?

There is no argument that:

• No management......of FRACKING would save billions of gallons of water that are poisoned daily with over 730 toxic chemicals per hole....water that can never be used again in our lifetime to drink or grow food. Without fracking, more water could be available to support the ever growing populace that we are now facing....yet we destroy what precious little of it we have left. There is only so much water on the planet. What we have now is all there is.....and all there ever will be...When it's gone, it's gone.

• No management.....of our FORESTS that suffer from excessive clear cutting that are now heating up exponentially, would allow habitat to come back and keep our forests cooler in severe fire seasons. No management would also keep rivers and streams cooler for wildlife and fish to survive in. More water would be absorbed back into the landscape preventing erosion and severe dryness which is a direct consequence from tree loss. In the midst of extreme climate change, we need our trees now more than ever.

• No management .....of toxic hazardous AIR POLLUTANTS that put over 1.7 billion tons of CO-2 into our atmosphere yearly.....would leave our air clean and pure resulting in less sickness and cancers for all living things while promoting better health for the world.

• No management......of sonar, blasting and putting RADIOACTIVE pollutants in our oceans and air would give us healthier, bountiful fish to eat while maintaining healthy phytoplankton and preventing more sterile garbage dumps on our ocean floor.

• No management.....of MINING that destroys groundwater causing sink holes and erosion could make our environment clean and pristine to walk through without the presence of ugly poisons and pollutants that kill everything in their wake....(including the trees.)

So whenever I hear the word "management".....I tend to cringe. I do realize that one could argue that we need these invasive methods, even with all of their side effects to survive comfortably.....but do we really?

When we take the sway of exaggerated amounts of MONEY off the table, we clearly see that there are many ways to replace our old destructive habits. Alternative energies such as algae (for fuel), wave power, wind and solar are there for the taking and are technically free and abundant. This is nothing new...but the clock is ticking and it's time to get serious.

While harnessing these natural alternatives would not be near as costly, we would be replacing old jobs with new jobs as we embark upon the solution the right way rather than the self destruct way. Some are not waiting and have already invested large sums of money into alternative energy because it has to be the trend of the future if we are to survive.

Stanford researcher Mark Z. Jacobson says that the world can be powered by alternative energy using today's technology in 20-40 years, but there are those who believe and have shown that this job can be done sooner on a large scale.

There will have to be an understanding from a few who keep a choke hold on the rest of us from moving forward. It doesn't make sense that the very ones (not all of them) who benefit and destroy this planet the most....don't see that we are still all in this together and that their lives will also be affected by their lack of awareness and greed. No one is immune.

You can't eat money, drink oil, or breathe radioactive air for too long without rubbing yourself off the planet completely.

Bonnie Bogart-Brown is a Benewah County resident.