More People, Less Sheep: Less Sheep for More People.

According to the US Census Bureau, as of February 24th, 2010,The World population is currently 6,804,600,000 and is predicted to reach nine billion by 2040. This increase has a strong probability of having devastating outcomes for the Earth's environment. As we have seen throughout history, increase in populations are usually complemented with environmental degradation. I use environmental degradation as a phrase to encompasses habitat alteration, climatic change, destruction of ecological balance, exploitation of nature and its members and pollution. In the 'Last of the Flock, we see a direct relationship between population growth and the demise of an animal population. In order for the author to feed his six children, he had to sacrifice his sheep, probably for slaughter. "I sold a sheep as they had said, and bought my little children bread"

We as a human population,are currently exceeding the Earth's carrying capacity ;The more persons added to the Earth, the more burden it will be on the Earth's environment to sustain us. When in times of economic struggle,as the author was experiencing "Six Children, Sir! I had to feed,Hard labour in a time of need!", the environment oft pays a heavy price.

Following the anthropocentric ethic, which many adopt, Human beings tend to reject the intrinsic value of our animal kin, but acknowledge and exploit the instrumental value of the animal kin. Surprisingly our author did not seem to genuinely adopt such an anthropocentric ethic, it appeared as if he genuinely cared for, loved and nurtured the sheep. He appeared to have an emotional attachment to the sheep which he bred and reared throughout his life. " Sir, 'twas a precious flock to me, As dear as my own children be"However due to his relatively large family, the author had to sacrifice his "dear" sheep to feed his children. This poem is a specimen on a small scale which depicts the effect of rapid population growth on a given environment(in this case an animal population). The needs of the six children decimated the flock.One can only imagine what the addition of billions of people on our Earth's fragile eco system could mean for the Environment. This poem gives you some perspective on population growth.

The more humans on Earth, the more we exploit, thus the less we have; The less we have, the more we need to exploit, to provide for the 'more' humans. Its a fatal cycle.

"On Earth as it is in Heaven"

"We are Seven" speaks volumes to me. As I have mentioned, as an Environmental studies major I analyze the literature works which I read, with an expected bias. I attempt to understand the poem by relating the relevancy to Environmental concepts and terms. This poem is a very interesting work; The author attempts to convince the little girl that since two of her siblings are deceased they are no longer present with her on Earth. The little girl refused to believe that two of her siblings were not still present with her on Earth. She states, "Seven boys and girls are we;"she even recalls how she "sits and sings to them". She explains that two are in Wales, two are at sea, and two are buried under the churchyard tree.

This view of death is not widely accepted today, the main ideology teaches that there is an acute separation between the living and dead. However, many cultures such as that of particular Native American and Central African tribes believe that their loved ones do not leave them to enter a different world, but they are either reincarnated into the environment as a member of nature, or are ever present with them, and are able to access them freely.

The little girl's response in "We are Seven" reminded me of these indigenous beliefs which are consistent with an eco friendly environmental ethic, which describes nature as a closed loop. We are nature, we come from nature and we return to nature. If we adopted the ideology of the little girl, we would probably adopt a more sustainable lifestyle, in consideration of the "belief" that we will always be present on Earth despite of what mankind consensus' defines as "death". I interpreted her statements as her believing in a "oneness" with nature,I do not think she believes there is any escape to a heavenly paradise but that humanity is a part of nature and will always be. If we adopt such a belief humanity would probably treat the environment better knowing that both us and our loved ones will always abide there, a belief that would suggest that there is no heavenly getaway.

She concludes by stating "Nay, we are seven". I interpreted this in a way which is a long the lines of my preceding analysis. Seven is usually defined as a perfect, heavenly number. We may be the human race, Earth, nature; that which is human, thus I interpret "Nay, we are seven", as Earth is Heaven.

What does a nightingale have in common with a snake, bat and shark?

As an environmental studies major, It was very encouraging to read this poem. The author, Samuel Taylor Coldridge of "The Nightingale A Conversational Poem, Written in April 1798" rejected the greek myth which damned the nightingale as representative of melancholy and gloom. In Greek Mythology, the nightingale was personified through Philoema, who was raped by her brother in law,Tereus. To ensure her silence Tereus proceeded to violently remove her tongue, the story tells that Philoema was then transformed into a nightingale, whose songs are to be of sorrow, songs which Philoema could not utter.

"Most musical, most melancholy"Bird! A melancholy bird? O idle thought, In nature theres is nothing melancholy!" In this line, the author

rejects the notion that nature is melancholy, he believes nature cannot be despondent in and of itself, but rather human beings designate such associations to aspects of nature. The author doesn't only reject the notion, he admires the bird. "Nature's sweet voices always full of love And Joyance!' Tis is merry Nightingale That crowds, and hurries and precipitates" The author believes in the therapeutic power of nature, he believes that the birds are "stirring the air with such an harmony"

I believe that the 18th century nightingale is comparative to the shark, bat and snake genera in today's society. These three types of genus are demonized by biblical literature, cultural ideologies, media and misinformation.The shark genus associated with fear, otherworldliness and predation, partially due to popular movies such as JAWS etc.The Snake genus representative of evil, to many has been generally damned by the Judeo-Christian creation story which presents the snake as an earthly channel for Satan. The Bat genus have been associated with blood sucking vampires in many movies such as Bats and Dusk to Dawn. Just as in the poem, many were unaware or neglectful of the joy the nightingale possessed, Many persons today are also ignorant of or neglectful of the vital importance of such species in their specific ecologies. Bats are very important to many industries and the pollination cycles, Sharks are vital for keeping the oceanic ecology in check which ensures our oxygen source and Snakes are important indicators to the heath of a food chain. I urge everyone to adopt the Coleridge ethic from this poem, we should experience nature for ourselves and not adopt the beliefs of men who have demonized nature for particular reasons. After all, we are a part of Nature :).

Its a bird, its a plane, its an albatross

This poem was written in the Romantic period, when religious imagery in literature was prevalant. Thus, from my perspective the albatross, a beautiful stoic bird, is representative of God's love for us which he has shown through creation. In this poem, "The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere", I compare this beautiful white albatross to Jesus Christ, the son of God which was sent to cleanse humanity from sin. The albatross' experience with the sailor is similar to the relationship humanity is believed to have with Jesus Christ according to the Christian Faith. The albatross leads the dismayed ship's crew out of the fatal Antarctic "sea of sin". The crew members are thankful for their emergence from the sinful "sea of ice" and offer thanksgiving and praise to the albatross. However, the Mariner, eliminates the praise towards the albatross, by ending its life, the crew is furious with the Mariner, as they believed that he killed the very thing that saved their lives. However as the weather becomes warmer and the fog they experienced disappears, they blame the albatross for the bad weather they encountered. This is parallel to the "Adam syndrome" many Christians are alleged to be diagnosed with, which occurs when they blame God for problems that he has not inflicted upon them. In a Protestant England, I believe the albatross' character in this poem, is not one which the writer created to evoke sympathy for wildlife, but rather i believe it is an excellent analogy of the relationship Christians engage in with their Savior, Jesus Christ. It is an excellent way to relate nature and Christianity, two relatively new themes in this time period. The author couldn't have used a better animal to reflect the pure, sacrificial nature of Jesus Christ