夜

Man has lost the capacity to foresee and to forestall. He will end by destroying the earth.

—— Albert Schweitzer

One night when I was in Africa, I took a walk before going to sleep. There was no light in the street. Crossing the moonlight and dust, I met several forms that were about my size. They were not moving, standing there silently. I watched them carefully. They look like something sacred, were they trees, or could they be graves?

I started doing research on pollution at that time, and I was not optimistic. Abuse of the use of natural resources causes various and serious problems on our planet. Mankind takes the risk of altering the balance of Gaia¹. We consume too much and too fast. Trees are cut for oil; wild forests are burned to replant other trees which grow faster and are easier to manage; millions of animals are killed for economical purposes. Water, soil, and the earth’s green mantle of plants make up the world that supports the animal life of the earth². But today the temperature of the earth continues to increase, and I saw black plastic bags flying everywhere.

May it end one day.

1. The Revenge of Gaia(La Revanche de Gaïa), par James Lovelock éditons Fayard, 2007. Sa thèse de Gaïa — vision audacieuse d’une terre vivante, à la manière d’un organisme, dont la géologie et les formes de vie ont évolué de façon à maintenir un climat et une atmosphère favorable à la vie.

2. Silent Spring(Printemps silencieux), par Rachel Carson, 1962, p62.