Member-only story
Why Earth Doesn’t Need Your Saving
Be a Respectful Tenant
There are five mass extinctions throughout Earth’s 4.5 billion years of existence. The Permian-Triassic crisis, known as “The Great Dying,” wiped out 95% of marine life and 70% of land animals. A massive asteroid eliminated dinosaurs after their 180-million-year reign. After each disaster, life bloomed again, more diverse and abundant. Earth kept spinning, healing itself, and nurturing new life.
Yet here we are, a species that has only existed for 300,000 years — barely a blink in Earth’s history — claiming we have the power to “save” this planet. What astonishing arrogance.
The Tenant Story
Imagine Earth is like a landlord who, after a 47-million-year lease during the Permian period, decided to renovate the entire house and evicted all tenants, sparing only a few. After 10 million years of renovation, the landlord began accepting new tenants. 300,000 years ago, a notable tenant called “Human” arrived.
Over time, this tenant grew comfortable in the beautifully renovated house. Thanks to this perfect home, they became more intelligent and started exploring. They dug everywhere, demolished and rebuilt according to their wishes. They lit fires everywhere, defecated in bathtubs, cut down all garden trees for playgrounds, and even…
