Eviction Notice
“Eviction Notice” is an essay that first appeared in Facets of Existence: An Anthology written by Talawanda High Schools in AP Language and Composition.
Eviction Notice
By Kenneth Revelee
Behind on rent? Stacked up with credit card debt and unable to afford it because of this? Well join the seemingly similar lives of 37% of other Americans who are barely able to afford gas and to put food on the table. Doesn’t that sound just awful? People having to be evicted because they are unable to pay their landlords the monthly payments? It’s a simple fact of everyday life in American capitalism, either you have the money or you don’t. Simple as that. Although, while people are able to receive a notice of eviction, if provided, would still do no good to all of the natural habitats for wildlife that were destroyed. Where was their eviction notice?
Interestingly enough, not many people know this evident and truthful fact, but the Americas used to be a beautiful place sprawling with wildlife (just like the rest of the world at one point). And just like our European forefathers, we absolutely and mercilessly caused mass destruction to the local habitats everywhere we set foot. Why, you may ask? Well what a silly question, as we had to have schools, offices, grocery stores, malls that are miles long, and many Walmart Supercenters. If there are all these trees in the way, how are we supposed to go about creating a giant shopping mall out of the once great landmass of the “New World.” Not so new now is it? It used to be, but not anymore. Our late friend George Carlin felt very upset in regards to this topic. “New World,” where?
Now don’t get me wrong, The United States of America is a beacon of hope (primarily for entrepreneurs), and for people looking for freedom (and a declining middle class). Anyways, back to the main point. The entire world is at fault for habitat destruction (duh, America can’t do everything). From China, to India, to Russia (all of the big ones), and just about everyone has had an impact on nature and its overall health. But let’s be honest, who really cares? Well, not very many people, and that is sadly one of the biggest reasons that habitats continue to be destroyed and messed with. All of the things that typical citizens of first world countries don’t take into consideration (like their garbage, overall pollution, as well as size) all continue to affect Mother Nature’s children.
When you think of “habitat,” what do you think of? You might envision a small house with a triangle roof, similar to something you would see in a simple cartoon from elementary school. Inside are people (usually who are of family) and live and eat, and even sleep inside these little boxes. That’s the simple essence of what a habitat is…except replace the humans with natural wildlife and the house with a forest or “natural Earth” as one may call it. Somewhere where humans have not interacted or disturbed yet. In 2023, this is factually not possible as the Earth is home to over 8 billion people, way more than any other species on the planet. Which ultimately is the reason as to why only 3% of the entire Earth has yet to be interacted with by mankind. Knowing our competitive nature, I’m sure this will soon change.
Living in Ohio, an old state in the union, it’s hard to travel anywhere without seeing corn. Not candy corn (sorry Mrs. Weatherwax), but rather that stuff that makes you think of the yellow brick road from the “Wizard of Oz.” With its intricate brick-like structure, people just can’t seem to get enough of it! Especially the people of Oxford. The entire town is surrounded by corn fields, we are practically drowning in corn here. But it’s not just like–only in Ohio, it’s all over the country. Corn is like a plague in the United States, I mean after all, it does take up 94.1 million acres. Which isn’t even accounting for the other crops planted in our country, because people don’t eat only corn, that’s just weird. But what is the point of telling you this? That 94.1 million acres of corn (designed to feed the already overpopulated planet), used to be a habitat for some kind of wildlife long ago. Remember the bulls? The millions of them that used to traverse the continental United States? No one does, we ate them.
“Overpopulation, pollution, burning fossil fuels, and deforestation,” (National Geographic). Why quote them you may wonder? Well, they are a respected “habitat watch” organization. Can they do much? No, they are mostly a magazine to show you how bad things are, it’s up to us as a people to make the change. Not just in the U.S. but rather all over the world. We all need to contribute if we want change for not only the habitat loss, but our climate. That’s right (like with many things) it doesn’t mean something to anyone until it actually affects them (the arrogance)! How? Well, deforestation alone makes up roughly 10% of the global warming crisis. Which by itself is a milestone for “how much can we screw up our planet.”
I’ve talked on and on about these “habitats,” but yet I have actually described what lives in any of them! Orangutans, rhinos, indian elephants, and many others have experienced loss of habitat that ranges from Africa, to the Middle East, and even other places all around the globe. Although these are real problems in our everyday lives that most tend to ignore, there is only one that truly gets any attention by the mainstream media in this country; turtles. I have personally seen so many ads (advertisements) relating to turtles, and how we have really wrecked their little innocent lives. With all of the pollution that we constantly pump into our oceans, it’s no wonder that they are upset. Imagine having to wake up every day and walk (swim) through loads upon loads of immense garbage that has piled up and is floating around you? Along with trying to avoid the pop can plastic holders, in an effort to avoid death. It’s sad really, but turtles seem to be one of the few that actually seem to matter to the public, as when you mention anything else other than a turtle, the publicity immediately dies. Strange isn’t it?
Would John Green be proud of my take on this section of the “Anthropocene?” I’m not sure, but I also kindly do not care. As this is not about him, it’s about our world and what we have done so far. As you can see (I hope), we are averaging a “D-” in terms of how well we have taken care of our planet. “F” means failure folks, and if we aren’t wanting to continue to dig ourselves into this hole any deeper, then the time to act is now. Or at least that’s what they have been telling us for the last 30 or so years. When will the actual time to act be? Who knows. But one thing for sure is, there are certainly not enough trees in this world to be able to make enough eviction notices for all of the habitats that were destroyed, and are currently being reckoned with as of the writing of this essay. Like the “used to be” Amazon Rainforest, which will soon actually be renamed the “Great Amazon Desert.” But for other forests like these, and all other habitats that have suffered due to this tragedy, where was their eviction notice?
