There are places on this planet that are so remote that they are uninhabitable by human beings. The Mariana Trench, for example, constitutes the deepest part of the ocean. It’s 7 miles beneath the surface and the pressures down there are unimaginable. Likewise, none of us are setting up housekeeping on the world’s highest glaciers. Not only are they too ever-changing to provide us with a firm foundation, but also they’re cold beyond all imagining. And let’s face it: You can’t get pizza delivery in either locale, and the wifi is nonexistent. So no.
Even so, humans have still managed to negatively impact these places. According to this article, the nuclear bombs that were detonated from 1945 through the 1960’s have doubled the carbon-14 levels in our atmosphere. That carbon-14 was taken into plants, which were in turn eaten by animals (including us). Those animals then pooped, and that poop entered the ocean, even as deep as the Mariana Trench, and the animals down there snacked on said poop, and now have high levels of carbon-14 in their guts. This toxic residue has also been found in mountain glaciers around the world, and those glaciers are melting, also thanks to us. So yay! We’ve conquered the world!
Sigh.
The article also talks about micro-plastics that have been produced by us, and are also found in every crustacean that has been tested from the Mariana Trench, and yes, indeed, they have been detected in glaciers as well. So we have managed to fundamentally alter the entire planet, even in places where we have never stepped foot. What a horrifying realization.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t plan to put this accomplishment on my resume, even though I’m every bit as complicit as you are. What a legacy. Our mothers would be so proud.
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