Vanishing forests

Carl Zimmer, the author of Parasite rex, has a piece on the NY Times regarding the Tanzanian Eastern Mountain Arc, where the surviving patches of forest, encroached by human development, contains an enormous quantity of species to be still discovered. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like there will be time enough for biologist to even describe the species before they are driven to extinction, let alone make efforts to preserve them.

This all development business makes me sad. When people all over the world will understand that your success is not measured by how many children you have but how well you can rear them? Most people still behave as if we were hunter gatherers, sparse on an enormous territory and barely able to leave a dent on it, whereas this is not obviously the case anymore. And hasn't been for the past three hundred years to say the least.

I understand the need for providing means for a decent life to all the people alive on the planet right now, I do understand their strong will of having descendant.
I do also concede that they are entitled to the same level of life that we westerners enjoy. pity that the world can't cope with this all.

It's just OUR problem. If we mess up the environment, we will not wipe out life from the planet. Life is tough and in a couple of million years will be able to recover from it. may be more, but it will no doubt on this. But we are a fragile species, and our very same advanced society relies on a stable environment to prosper. Exactly the thing we are messing with. Good luck to us all.

Thoughts from Kansas has a comment on the article too.