Category Archives: All Essays

Wanting What One Has

All Essays, Conservation, , ,
Gorilla with baby
Gorilla with baby

Brandon Wiggins, Author and Conservationist

The unique thing about humans is that they are the only species—on this entire planet—that has the psychological ability to be dissatisfied with their lot in life.

Plants make the best of their situation—even ones of horrendous adversity—and either try to survive or disseminate progeny in a last-ditch effort to perpetuate the species.

Sea life attempts to adapt to climate change and pollution—even the floating islands of plastic detritus the size of Texas—sometimes surprising us their resilience.

Terrestrial creatures attempt to adapt but are hardwired to do so over multiple generations—not decades. Yet still they seem to survive with what Providence has thrown them. Well, that is except the most intelligent and sentient beings such as whales, dolphins, upper (perhaps most) primates, and elephants. Surely there are many more intellectually aware species (I, for one vote for octopi—I NEVER eat tako at the sushi bar). However, anthro-egotistical views and the overall analysis based on the separation between what is researched on a scientific level and what is felt on a human emotional level (a trait for which I don’t think we own the patent), seems to prohibit that the two shall meet.

It is improbable that any of these creatures whine about what they don’t have. It is highly doubtful that the Silverback Gorilla is upset that he does not live in Pompano Beach—or wherever. I recently saw a video of an eco-tourist hotel in Rwanda (I can’t wait to go!) where a guest was the unwitting new family member of a troupe of gorillas, mother, babies, dad, and all. It was one of the most amazing YouTube videos I’ve seen.

The primate family waltzed through the eco-village like they belonged there, grooming the man’s head and body. The human village welcomed these indigenous neighbors. The gorillas didn’t want for anything.

So why is it that many, perhaps most, humans (including myself) want more? Why does man/woman perpetually seek to improve his/her lot in life?

In actuality, this is perhaps what separates us from the rest of the mammals and certain cephalopods. Humans strive for more. This is how we have “come so far so fast”(“The End of the Innocence,” lyrics by Don Henley, made famous by the Eagles). In the grand scheme of things, this is both a curse and a blessing for earth. In the hunt for keeping up with the Jones’s, humans have lost touch with the reality of this tiny planet and its finite resources. What we do have, as a species, is incredible. The knowledge and resources available to Homo sapiens is unparalleled to anything that has ever been contributed to intelligent life as we know it.

So why is it that we want more? It is engrained in our DNA, hard wired—as it were. That is a good thing as long as education is the primer. Resources on this planet are infinitely finite. An old Quaker saying is that “one should not have what one wants, one should want what one has.”

And what one has is fleeting.

Wind and the White Bird

All Essays, Science, , , , , ,
Red Bird of Paradise flower
Orange/Red Bird of Paradise flower

Brandon Wiggins, Author and Conservationist

The unpredictability of gusts is the fertilizer of structural stability.

Strelizia nicolai, also known as the “White Bird of Paradise,” is unique in a number of ways. Strelizia is one of the most widely used ornamental species in the world. Unlike most other cultivars, the “White Bird” is used in both interior and exterior applications. Check out any casino in Vegas or senior facility landscape in Tampa and one can find the strelizia genus, especially the “Red Bird,” in lobbies as well as parking lot dividers.

The Bird is able to not only survive but to flourish in a multitude of habitats. She exhibits incredible flexibility in both genetic structure and fortitude. There are very few species that can, and perhaps in an abstract way will, achieve success through sheer botanical determination under such circumstances.

The “Bird of Paradise” has a willowy stem structure. In the interior placement, the “branches” (technically petioles) tend to droop. In the exterior landscape model, Strelizia reginia remains upright and vigilant, needing only an occasional nitrogen fertilizer supplement for the ideal “V” shape.

Wind, coming from multiple directions with a variety of speeds, strengthens stem structure from all angles. The fibers and cellulose in the tissues of the long stems react to breezes with a growth habit constructed to keep its foliage during storms. Without gusts, Strelizia leaves are flaccid.

The stem structure of Strelizia needs controversy to be strong and resilient.

Unexpected gusts are beneficial once in a while. Humans also have the capability to bend with the wind and rebound from adversity. Winds strengthen our structural stability as well. Without the occasional tossing about, the human psyche could be weak during more serious torrents.

Unpredictability is perhaps the greatest psychological threat to humans. It seems that the modern-day Homo sapiens have lost genetic touch with the inevitability of change. One can surmise that Homo habilus and “Lucy” (H. australopithicus) were deeply entrenched in the absolute certainty of change on a daily (most likely hourly) basis. They had a much shorter life span than twenty-first century humans, yet grasped the concept.

Climate change will bring about the obsolescence of “normal.” This is certain. Unless Homo sapiens can join the strength from a lifetime of wind gusts with a conscious, intelligent, bipartisan action to affect political policy, Homo s. will face the consequences of a flaccid global action and a non-effectual result.

If the unpredictability of adversity, i.e. the change of the wind, is not embraced as the fertilizer of stability, there can be no strong structure to weather the change that is coming.

The “White Bird of Paradise” has the right idea.