Story 13. Written by Jim Waitlord

The news came on, and it was the same old story: another report about rain forests being felled in South America and Asia. On TV, bulldozers ripped through trees while sad-looking animals fled. The news anchors all said the same thing: "Disaster! The planet is being destroyed by them."

My grandfather snorted as he sat next me. "It sounds like we've already figured it all out, doesn't it?" He shook his head as he said. Despite his advanced age and sour disposition, Grandpa usually had something fascinating to say.

"What do you mean, Grandpa?" I inquired.

"Take Europe," he remarked. "It was essentially all forest a thousand years ago, or perhaps much less. A huge old forest. However, we Europeans destroyed it all. In order to build our towns, factories, and farms, we cleared the ground. We carried out precisely what they are currently yelling about."

I had never thought of it that way. It felt like we were pointing fingers at the rest of the world and saying, "Don’t do it," even though we’d already done the same.

"It’s like the saying, ‘The pot calling the kettle black,’" Grandpa continued. "We criticize them for destroying their forests, but we were the ones who showed the world how to do it. And it’s not just about forests," he added."We started this crazy race for more—more land, more goods, more growth. We told everyone that expansion, expansion, and more expansion were the only ways to succeed. Now they’re just following the example we set."He sighed, and for a moment, I thought he was done. But then he leaned forward.

"And it’s not just hypocrisy, you know? It’s about survival."

"Survival?" I asked.

"Yes," he said. "Those rain forests are the lungs of the world. They give us the air we breathe. If we keep cutting them down, we’ll ruin the balance of everything. If oxygen levels drop, even a little, we’re all in trouble. We’ll suffocate. It doesn’t matter if you’re European, South American, or Asian. It will affect everyone."

He looked at me gravely. "This is madness," he said. "We act like we’re the most intelligent species on the planet, but if we ruin the air, we’ll wipe ourselves out. Maybe other creatures will survive. Maybe something smarter, something that knows how to live in harmony with nature, will rise out of the chaos we’ve made."

I thought about that. It was terrifying. Were humans really that foolish? Were we ruining our only home, our one chance? It was a lot to take in. I looked back at the images of bulldozers tearing through the jungle on the TV, and I couldn’t see it the same way anymore. It wasn’t just someone else’s problem—it was ours. We started this whole mess, and it wasn’t enough to just shout at others to fix it.

The Lung of the Planet