The captain of a ship stands on the deck of his ship, barking commands at the sailors around him. Suddenly, the man up in the crow’s nest yells that he sees land in the distance, so the captain and his ship go to investigate. As they make landfall the captain notes on how beautiful the small island is, the jungle is a think deep green and the white sands are fine in between his fingers, and the air smells clear. He sees creatures in the jungle ahead of him, gorgeous creatures. Vibrantly colored birds, small white cat-like beasts who purr when his men play with them, and many other amazing creatures none of them have ever seen before. Once the captain felt like he had his fill of the untouched beauty around him he signaled to is first mate, who then commanded the crew to light the jungle on fire. As they sail away the captain could see the bright inferno of the jungle for miles until it faded from the horizon and faded from his memory. They began searching for another island. This short story is a metaphor for what the human race has done to our global ecosystem. Mankind has lit the jungle ablaze and they may not be able to put it out in time to save the beings they share the jungle with, or more importantly themselves.

The photo essay comprised of pictures of four endangered species of animals, the Western Lowland Gorilla, the South China Tiger, the Black Rhino, and the Saola, all pictured by themselves. All of which are dying out due to human activity. These photos were included to show people the organisms that would lose everything due to humans. Included with the photos are different facts regarding the animals to give some tangible data to help the readers realize exactly what is happening. Now the reader may not care about the animals in the pictures. Why should they care if some stupid rhino halfway around the world disappears? It’s not like it going to affect their everyday lives. Hell, they’ve never ever seen a rhino, so why should it matter? It matters because these species deserve to live and exist as much as people do and they are being wiped out by mankind’s constant and insatiable hunger for more and more. As the human population continues to expand they will need more, that means more forests will be reduced to nothing, and more rhinos and elephants will be killed so some rich person can have a pretty bobble on their mantle. On the subject of people, also featured in the essay was a picture of myself. A member of the human race. A species seven and a half billion strong and growing by the thousands every day, while the black rhino’s population hovers at five-thousand. The USC class of 2020 has about that many members. Do humans deserve to have a population that large? Of course people think so, they are hard-wired too, as a part of their evolutionary history they have to value their own kind over others, but are humans more deserving than other beasts? The answer is simply, no. Homo sapiens are not above the other animals who walk this earth. Even mankind’s closest relatives, the great apes, are almost all endangered, maybe man just wants to be the only species of great ape alive. If things do not change they will be the only species of great ape to be alive. The final picture included in the essay was a picture of the view from my dorm room. In the photo trees can be seen for miles off which is why it is included. It is a beautiful view, but not one that will be able to enjoyed forever unless mankind puts aside its selfish ways and learns to live with the environment, not in spite of it. 

Ten million years ago there were no humans on planet Earth. The beings whose descendants would become the great apes of modern day still lived in Africa. If this species had gone extinct there would be no people, gorillas, chimps, or orangutans alive today. This is also true of all mammals, vertebrates, and animals. Evolution is a continues and ongoing process and ten million years from now the species alive on earth may or may not look different from what is alive today, but imagine the possibilities lost with every single species that goes extinct today, whose descendants may grow to be just as amazing as humans have grown to be. Figurative branches of the tree of life being chopped off before they could grow and flourish.

In conclusion, the photo essay was created in order to show how mankind’s selfish actions are ruining their one and only planet for future generations. Everyone needs to accept that mankind is the reason for our planets continual decline and take measure to begin limiting and eventually reversing the damage. However, pictures probably are not going to change people’s minds. There is a good chance that nothing will change some people’s mind. 
