One of the fundamental roles in determining the state of the various ecosystems found throughout the planet is perception—how does one view the world around him? In order to study the effects that perception, closely tied with culture, has on the treatment of the natural environment, we can focus on the history of the area now known as the northeastern United States. The Native Americans that lived in these areas had a unique relationship with the earth, vastly different than the one most European societies shared. They had a deep reverence and respect for the elements of nature, which caused them to treat the natural environment with great care and conscientiousness. Their sense of identity was inextricably tied to the earth, partly because of their religious beliefs but also because of their awareness that logically, we as humans depend on the earth to sustain us; that the very condition of the human race is a reflection of the condition of the earth. And yet, how many years must it take the modern day civilizations, with their proud developments and unnerving manipulations of nature, to realize this very thing? Or perhaps, in a tellingly more sinister reality, they already have realized it.

When the colonists arrived in the Americas, they began to alter the environment in an unprecedented manner. They treated it with a relative indifference inherent of many technologically developed societies, viewing the natural world as a conglomerate of unexploited gold mines. Things were becoming all about the market, all for commerce. If it wasn’t profitable, then it wasn’t valuable. At first, we may be able to be a little more forgiving of the colonists’ treatment of the environment—of course, only if we look past their obvious encroachment on the Natives’ lives and lands. But it was certainly the case that the Europeans were not aware of the true effect that their actions had on the environment. With lack of scientific evidence, the colonists’ were probably able to maintain their perception that the earth had a nearly infinite amount of exploitable resources. This led to their relentless pursuit of the precious materials that the environment provided. While at first salt marshes were prized for their salt hay, which served to sustain livestock, the perception of this valuable ecosystem changed quickly as the market demand fluctuated. And when they became increasingly associated with undesirable pests, the New England salt marshes turned into an object of persecution. The filling of these wetlands had a tremendous impact on the environment, only fully realized well into the 20^th century. And so, the question remains: Now that we knew this information, what were our subsequent actions? Did we finally stop destroying our ecosystems without first assessing the effects that it would have on the environment? Let’s look at the facts.

As early as the 1960s, and probably even earlier, a new environmentalist consciousness began to emerge. With the scientific data now piling up, people began to speak out against the practices that were destroying our planet. And so, many laws and policies were put into place. But the signing of a law and its enforcement are two different things. A 2011 article in the New York Times reports on a massive lawsuit against big energy companies such as BP and Exxon Mobile, demanding that they “should be held responsible for fixing damage done by cutting thousands of miles of oil and gas access and pipeline canals through the wetlands.” Yes, despite the lengthy laws, the destruction of our precious resources continues well into the 21^st century. And if that isn’t enough to irk you, just take a look at these powerful statistics about our environment:

Posted from Worldcentric.org

• We are losing forestland at a rate of 375 km2 each day. This is more than the total area of New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey and Delaware combined!

• The world has already lost 80% of its original forests.

• 1.1 billion acres of tropical forest were cleared in just thirty years, between 1960 and 1990.

• Brazil lost 91.4 million acres of its tropical forest between 1980 and 1990. This is almost the total area of North and South Dakota combined.

• At the world’s current rates, 5-10% of tropical forest species will become extinct every decade.

• 75% of all the fish stocks in the world are already either: exploited, over-exploited or recovering. 27% of coral reefs have already been and 70% of Earth’s coral reefs will cease to exist within the next forty years. The world has lost half of its coastal wetlands, including mangrove swamps and salt marshes.

• In the next 30 years, as many as one-fifth of all species alive today will become extinct. 23% of all mammals and 12% of all birds’ species were considered “threatened” in 2003.