Dr. Jane Goodall on Recouping the Earth interviewed by Bill Moseley "As we move toward the millennium, it is easy to be overwhelmed by feelings of hopelessness. It is tragic to fly across parts of Africa that were forested just a few years ago and see them changing into desert. Far more people are trying to live there than the land can properly support. They cut down the trees for firewood, building poles, to make clearing for grazing their cattle or goats. They do this; they destroy the land to survive from one day to the next. They are too poor to buy food from areas more suitable for agriculture, and still their numbers grow. "Chimpanzees and gorillas, our closest living relatives, along with many species of wild animals, are slaughtered for food or captured for the live animal trade. All around the world there is cruelty to animals. Beaten donkeys, starved dogs, all the brutality of the circus. Intensive farming methods, developed to feed the growing human populations at a maximum gain to huge corporations, have led to untold suffering for millions of sentient farm animals. "There is a terrible pollution around the world, the gradual poisoning of air, land, water. The balance of nature is disturbed. We are destroying our beautiful planet Earth. The trees are going, the deserts are growing, the water is drying up. There is poverty, famine, disease. There are fears of new epidemics for which there will be no drugs and rather than fight the cause we torture millions of animals in the name of medical progress. And there is the crime, the drug pushing, the violence in our inner cities. And everywhere ethnic conflicts and wars. It is a grim picture. "But yes, I do have hope. And my hope is based on three factors. "First, we have at least begun to understand and face up to the problems that threaten the survival of life on Earth as we know it. Surely, then, we can use our problem-solving abilities to find ways to live that are more in harmony with nature? Indeed, many companies have begun "greening" their operations -- and whether they do this for good PR or for real ethics, it doesn't matter as long as they do it. And millions of people worldwide are beginning to realize that each one of us has a responsibility to the environment and to our descendants, and that the way each one of us lives does make a difference. "My second reason for hope lies in the tremendous energy, enthusiasm, and commitment of a growing number of young people around the world. As they find out about the environment and the social problems that are now part of their heritage, they want to fight to right the wrongs for it will be their world tomorrow. They will be moving into leadership positions, into the work force, becoming parents themselves. They will need solutions to the mess we have created. Young people -- when informed and empowered, when they realize what they do truly makes a difference -- can indeed change the world. "My third reason for hope lies in the indomitable nature of the human spirit. There are so many people who have dreamed seemingly unattainable dreams and because they never gave up, achieved their goals or blazed a path along which others could follow. As I travel around the world, I meet so many incredible and amazing human beings. They inspire me, they inspire those around them. "So let us gird our loins and move into the next millennium with hope, for without it we may as well give up now. If we lose hope then all we can do is eat and drink the last of our resources and make merry as we watch our planet slowly die. Instead, let us have faith in ourselves, in our intellect, in our staunch spirit. Let us move away from greedy materialism, and develop respect for all living things. Let us try to replace impatience and intolerance with understanding and compassion. And love." Jane Goodall, C.B.E., Ph.D., is director of science and research for the Jane Goodall Institute, which she founded in 1977 to promote wildlife research, education, and conservation of the habitats that sustain life on earth. Goodall's methodology revolutionized the field of primatology as she was the first to distinguish between individual chimpanzee personalities, giving them names instead of numbers. She also chronicled chimpanzees making and using tools, a skill once believed exclusive to humans.

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