We Killed Big Bird

Last night I had the pleasant suprise of unexpected company. My good friends had just returned from a long trip to New Zealand. And they had lots of stories to share.

I could write a whole seperate blog on these two and how they arrange their lives so they can take 3-4+ month vacations doing things the rest of us just dream about...but thats for another day.

What I want to talk about today is one of their stories, the death of Big Bird.

Apparently, Big Bird did exist. He roamed the plains and forests of New Zealand (and a few other islands). New Zealand had no indigenous mammals (except for a couple of pesky bats) and so, many of the birds did not develop elaborate survival skills, such as uh...flying.

When some big hungry mammals finally did arrive on the island, Big Bird was unprepared. Evolution was too slow a process to save him from the fast footed Maori. And by the late 17th century, the last Big Bird died.

Damn. We killed Big Bird.

So whats this all mean? I dunno. But I can't help but think about our species' impact on this little planet. Extinction is a natural occurance, as is the warming and icing trends of this planet. But, falling meteors aside, these events usually happen over epochs, not centuries or even decades.

We humans are seriously freaking mother nature out.

And I think about it and feel bad.

And yet I will get into my car for my daily 40+ mile commute. And I'll turn the heat up to 68, and I'll eat beef, and I'll chop down the redwood tree that was blocking the sun, and I'll drive to the trail head to ride, and I'll drive to Santa Maria to race, and I'll type this blog.

hmmm...