Vultures Tend to Benefit Most from Centralized Food Sources, So Be Careful With That Banana Peel
The Search for Food on Earth
There are over 7 billion people on Earth at this moment.
To find these billions of humans on this planet, a little test that can be done on Google Earth: spin the globe and pick a spot-- any spot-- and then zoom in on that location. Chances are good that the random spot that you picked will be an uninhabited wilderness.
Where is everyone?
A ride in an airplane can similarly offer a new perspective to the world, as the view from high in the sky shows our roads and highways as thin ribbons of pavement surrounded by nature, and cities and towns will appear as clusters of these paved capillaries, with each cluster looking like it’s isolated in the middle of nowhere.
The Decentralized Wilderness
Animals had been minding their own business for years before those highways came through, and many wild animals would not have noticed the roads at all if it weren’t for the smell of food wafting from the shoulders of these remote highways, food that is tossed from the windows of the moving cars on that ribbon of asphalt.
Even though it can hardly be called litter if it's biodegradable and non-toxic, that banana peel or apple core that is thrown out the window of a car will attract these animals to the road, and these are animals which would have had a whole forest full of food otherwise. A highway through the middle of a wilderness-- smelling like bananas-- puts these animals in unnecessary danger of being run over by cars along that thin piece of asphalt.
Despite the enticing aromas, these wild creatures rarely find much to eat along the highway. Instead, they are often run over and killed by cars, creating easy, full-sized meals for vultures. These vultures and other natural scavengers actually do well with such a centralized food source as this.
The Smell of Money
Just as the smell of a banana peel on the side of the road attracts wildlife and puts these animals in danger, the scent of food and money attracts humans into the cities. The city smells like money, and offers a steady flow of food, so like animals lured to the noisy highway, the risk of danger in the city for humans is overcome by the promise of centralized abundance and easy meals.
Nature is a fractal system though, with wind and water determining the flow of things, and while the vultures might think that a highway covered with snacks is a good idea, such a centralized food source as a highway smeared with road-kill benefits few other animals in the end.
Anyway, be careful throwing banana peels out of the car window, and don't be lured into town by the smell of money, unless you are a vulture.
I remember years ago, the predictions we would be shoulder to shoulder one day in the world. As you point out, not possible at all, but the ramifications of the 7 billion are irrelevant in that sort of arena. We don't need to be stuffed into a box together to amply mess things up, that's for sure.
Enjoyed your discussion of the road and wildlife and we human animals. Never thought of it in this light related to cities and towns. Very astute.
It occurred to me while I was posing that banana peel, that cities are like highways, and we are like the critters that are attracted to them, for better or worse!
A great read!
Alright! Thanks!