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Gopher Tortoise – A Model for Humanity

Posted on 15. Oct, 2009 by Charles Tsai in E-Inspiration, Environment

Web of Life from Charles Tsai on Vimeo.

Forgive this personal post but on this global Blog Action Day, I’d like to share with you a story I did back when I worked for CNN.  It was the first in a series of videos about biodiversity, a subject I had just learned about at the time.

Biodiversity helped me see the world in a new way – not as a collection of species – but as a web of interdependent life, ecosystems within ecosystems.  Everything is interconnected.

In my reporting, the gopher tortoise, a threatened species found in Florida, presented itself as the best ambassador for biodiversity – a model for how we might conduct ourselves in the world.

You see, the gopher tortoise digs tunnels underground to protect itself from predators.  But in so doing, it also offers refuge to hundreds of other species.

Unlike the gopher tortoise, we seem to forget that millions of other species share our planet and our actions often determine whether they live or die.

As the world contemplates climate change on this historic day and how we should minimize its negative impact, let’s also seize upon a positive vision of who we can be.  Let’s think about how we can be a student – rather than the enemy – of Florida’s gopher tortoise.

Charles Tsai
Director of Virtual Program
Ashoka GenV

Tags: climate change