The Baltimore Sun recently carried a letter from a reader advocating fracking in Maryland, apparently placing the priority on overpopulating the planet and "to hell with the environment" ("Md. shouldn't make the same mistake as New York in banning fracking," March 31). Already, fracking has been shown to be a scientifically proven unhealthy way for man to quench his ravenous energy thirst while continuing to disregard the sacredness of this only Earth we know about — and our only environment.
We humans have already wiped out many species of other creatures and plants on the planet as well as trashed the air, rivers and oceans including much of the land and what lies beneath it in order to satisfy our "must have" appetites. We've been programmed by our own egos to crave and to seek a "spoiling by entitlement" (a sort of greedy domination of all other life forms around us). For example (as if there is a shortage of examples): Over half of all the trees that were on the earth when I was born in the 1940s have vanished thanks to man's presence and disregard for nature often bolstered by the outdated "go forth and multiply" mantra. The population is estimated to top 12 billion people by 2020, but many of the self-indulgent "me first" generations, including many of my peers, are still further programming their offspring as to how to trash the planet.
Rather than fracking the earth, we would do well for this generation and those yet-to-come — as well as for all plants and animals who were here before people existed — if we would review how birth control works and how to respect creation of plants and animals, soil and air. It isn't rocket science but the "it's all about me" mantra, now selfishly promoted and fiercely defended and justified, provides no way for us to respect the planet and those life forms with whom we share it.
Edgar C. Ludwig, Baltimore