Eulogy for an Environmentalist

EULOGY FOR AN ENVIRONMENTALIST

September 28, 1992

Professor Thomas Mtanga was somewhat short, relatively rotund, and extremely terrified of public speaking. He furtively glanced at the audience from his seat near the podium. Mtanga's skin was particularly dark, a notable characteristic of his Samburu tribe of central Kenya, and he quickly noted that most of the audience was white. Obviously many of these people had travelled great distances to be present for this eulogy.

"Damn", Mtanga thought, "twenty-thousand people here tonight and at least another 500 million watching the live broadcast - just waiting for me to talk". The gurgling in his stomach was reminiscent of food poisoning and his throat was dry. "I am going to faint soon", he concluded as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.

After mentally testing a few escape routines, particularly the one about an elephant sneaking up on him and eating his carefully prepared speech, he conceded that he was trapped. His stomach started to cramp.

Simon Arbellum, famed author of Environmental Sociology and leader of the EnviroSupremacy Movement, had died two weeks ago, on April 3, 2062. Arbellum formulated the basic tenets of Environmental Sociology during an extended visit to Kenya's Masai Mara National Park. So it was not surprising that he asked to be buried in Kenya. Upon Arbellum's death, President Lotia of Kenya promptly offered to provide a eulogy broadcasted to all Associated Planets and, in turn, ordered Kenya's only resident Astrosociologist to deliver the eulogy. That was the day that Professor Mtanga realized he should have turned down Nairobi and accepted the position at the University of Mauritius.

The eulogy for Arbellum was taking place in the new conference hall at Nairobi's Kenyatta Conference Center. The huge Center appeared many decades ago, in the late 1980's, consuming about half a city block in downtown Nairobi. The original tower and pseudo-flying-saucer dome were still there, but the adjacent park to the north was no longer visible. Due to Kenya's increasing conference business, the park was now under a 30-storey conference hall/hotel - but that was not enough. Additional conference rooms were needed, so the Center again expanded northwards across City Hall Way, displacing Nairobi City Hall itself. Local residents recalled it was the only time that City Hall lost a battle.

Tom Mtanga thought Arbellum could have died at a more convenient time than April. This was the beginning of the Long Rains and his overcoat and trousers were soaked from simply walking from the parking lot to the Conference Center. "Damn", he thought, "my shoes will probably squeak as I walk to the podium".

At the appropriate signal from the media, President Lotia rose and welcomed all to the memorial service. After a few additional comments, he humbly introduced Kenya's foremost astrosociologist.

Mtanga gasped silently, took a deep breath, and rose to the podium.

"Good Evening, Ladies and Gentlemen of the Associated Planets. Tonight we remember a life. Some say this person was famous; some say infamous. Whatever your personal opinion, we are here tonight to remember Simon Arbellum and his as-yet-uncertain impact on our civilization.

"Simon was born on a farm in the Canadian Province of Alberta. He was fond of explaining that the nearby town had only two gasoline stations and one bar. This lack of urban amenities no doubt fostered his attachment to nature and his feelings of respect for the environment.

"When Simon was in his early 20's, after a few unsatisfying years in university studying various aspects of the physical and sociological sciences, he began travelling around the world. It seems this was the time when he began questioning the relationship of humans to the natural environment - a question that would in fact influence the rest of his life as well as that of all human civilization.

"From his writings, we know of the impact that Kenya had on Simon's philosophy of the environment. He fondly recalled the grassy plains and hills of Masai Mara National Park here in Kenya. He spent weeks watching animals interacting with their environment and with each other. He observed lions forming highly organized packs to hunt wildebeest; a cheetah with blood dripping from its hungry jaws, devouring a gazelle; and giraffe searching the occasional tree for the choicest leaves. With bitterness, he noted how tourists interfered with lion hunts, frightened the napping cheetahs, and circled and chased the giraffe. And his greatest disappointment was the lack of rhinoceros - the last fallen to poachers just a few years before.

"Simon Arbellum never clearly explained when he formulated and adopted the fundamental theorem of Environmental Sociology, that 'the Natural Environment has the Highest Priority'. We do not know if he originally intended this to mean that human life has less value than the environment, but not long afterwards he clearly explained what 'Highest Priority' meant.

"But in light of what he saw in Kenya and in many other countries around the world, it is obvious why he developed such an attitude. He could simply no longer accept the rude, uncaring destruction by one species that could, in fact, destroy the entire planet.

"Simon's studies and travels culminated in the publication of his text, Environmental Sociology, in 2017. In a way, it read like Marx' and Engle's Communist Manifesto, but Simon made it clear that nature's proletariat could never rise up against the human bourgeoisie. Environmental Sociology was dismissed as a cranky, radical book, but it did not fade away. Instead, it became a battle cry.

"In the latter decades of the 20th century, concern was growing worldwide over the maintenance, protection, and restoration of natural habitat. As the concern grew and was addressed by government agencies around the world, the environmental movement became self-sustaining, actually self-accelerating. Whatever land had been disturbed by humans had to be returned to 'pristine' conditions. By the first decade of this century, the environmental agencies of most governments were in constant battles with their sister agencies responsible for economic development. Efficiency in the public and private sectors began to suffer. Simon's book became the 'Bible' for the environmental movement and he was adopted as their leader. His supporters began using the name, 'EnviroSupremacists' or 'ES'.

"Although Simon knew he had few leadership qualities, he was not concerned over his popularity. He considered himself only a figurehead, swept along by the ES movement and the increasing social turmoil. Perhaps the turmoil was exactly what he hoped for, perhaps he was secretly afraid of it - he never said. But his lack of strong leadership is directly responsible for the anarchy that followed.

"Early in the second decade of this century, radical physicists were also active - creating a relatively inexpensive interplanetary drive at Stanford University in California. Driven by low-temperature fusion and assisted by superconductivity, Neptune could be reached in a few minutes, with most of that time required for acceleration and deceleration. Those of us ancient ones here tonight can recall the first Alpha Centuri Expedition of 2022, a five-day roundtrip.

"Within years, governments, special-interest groups, and religious cults were building their own interstellar ships. This interstellar mobility and the mounting conflict over the environment created an explosive mixture that is primarily responsible for the direction that human civilization will follow throughout the rest of its existence.

"Due to the strength of the ES movement in North America, the North American Government faltered and the economy collapsed in 2027. This marked the onset of the years we now call the Dark Decades - twenty years of worldwide anarchy, decay, and destruction. Millions died from warfare and starvation. It was at this time that Simon Arbellum showed his true strength, or lack of it.

"People turned to Simon Arbellum for guidance and advice during the dark times. Despite fervent pleas from many groups and governments, he would not offer any solution. Some say he was not capable of resolving problems, just of causing them. The greater the turmoil and frustration grew, the more Simon seemed to retreat into solitude.

"In any case, an unknown number of ships left Earth during the Dark Decades. Nobody knows who owned most of them or whether they reached inhabitable planets. Our best estimate says 65 ships departed.

"Since the Dark Decades, we have searched for and located five other planets that were reached by the Earth ships. The population on one planet was completely eliminated by a native virus shortly before we reached them. Another planet, populated by a radical arm of the ES movement, will not accept the Associated Planets' Policy on Environment and Human Progress and thus does not want any further contact. As required under the terms of the AP's Policy, the remaining three planets are in various stages of study by astrosociologists in order to identify carefully the manner in which each society has chosen to balance environmental and economic concerns. After the completion of these studies, those planets may wish to join the Associated Planets' Economic Union. Meanwhile, we continue to search for the other ships.

"You may have noticed by this time that this eulogy was perhaps more of a review of recent history than a tribute to a man. However, for Simon Arbellum, the primary significance of his life from our perspective was the way he determined, knowingly or unknowingly, the path we all now follow - a path that has brought us pain and destruction, balance and understanding. We can curse him or praise him. For this eulogy, let us just say: May he rest in peace."