General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: We have 10 years to save Earth's biodiversity as mass extinction caused by humans takes hold [View all]0rganism
(23,921 posts)every time a species goes extinct, we lose a time-tested solution to the questions of basic survival that persisted on this planet for millions of years before humans put our opposable thumbs on the scales of adaptive pressure. who knows what secrets those plants and animals held? what cures and benefits lay within their genes that could have aided us? what opportunities for symbiosis we have missed? some tiny frog in the Amazon or some odd plant in the Australian outback might have shown us the cure for cancer or osteoporosis, but that is lost to us now, washed away in the sea of time.
i think it's vital that we at least keep accurate and detailed records of what we've learned for the beings that follow us up, whether they be primate, cephalopod, insectoid or even artificial life. someone had to go first into the valley of sentience and technology, and apparently, for better or worse, it was our burden to bear. perhaps "passing the torch" gracefully is the most we can do now.