A Meeting of the Greatest Minds

Everyone was making notes for the meeting. It was a meeting of the greatest minds

regarding the situation of the planet. Busy minds wrote and scratched out and rewrote their

individual solutions. They gathered together on the plane. Some were coming by ship. This

was the final phase of their mission. There had been many meetings throughout the world, each

in its own nation. They were now on their way to the United State of America. America was

chosen because of its reluctance to abide by the Kyoto agreements. Someone had to turn the

nations around to save the planet. Each of them believed they were the chosen ones sent by God.

You could feel the tension between them. They wondered who had the magic solution.

However, they agreed to exchange notes before the meeting. We were armed with words.

Eventually, we took a head count to make sure each nation was represented.

Fortunately, we all arrived within an hour of each other. Someone suggested lunch

before the meeting. There were so many of us. We had our likes and our dislikes when it came

to food. According to what nation we represented, each went their separate ways. At last we

entered the large round room and took our seats. We appointed the representative from China to

be the Speaker of the House. We waited patiently to hear the sound of the gavel. I was first to

speak.

“Sir, our nation has surveyed not only our rivers, but the oceans of the world. We found many

more dead zones than were previously reported at the last meeting. There are six hundred to be

exact” The rest followed.

“Sir, I represent the highlands of New Guinea and my findings are that rainfall is down

thirty-four inches this year,” said the beautiful Bird of Paradise.

 “Sir, we represent the Goliath Beetles of the Kakamega Forest in Kenya. May I present

to you The Cardinal Beetle of Europe and the Scarab from my homeland, Kenya. We teamed up

for our survey. Our report states that the earth is slowly shifting due to nuclear testing.”

“Sir, I represent the Army Ants from the Peruvian rain forest. Our species is dying off

due to the cutting down of thousands of trees. It is difficult for our species to breath. It started

with our children and spread rapidly through the forest.”

“Sir, I represent the Emperor Moths of Greece. Our nights are getting shorter and it is

hard for us to find food.”

“Sir, I represent the Worker Honey Bees and all of our species. For some reason

unbeknown to us, we are a vanishing species. We have not found the reason, but we are still

working on it.”

Showing her long thin plumage down her back and her dagger-like black bill she

addressed the Speaker of the House. “Sir, I represent the Snowy Egret who winters in

California. We ask permission to leave winter habitat in California. The smog is choking us and

we fear asthma and respiratory problems like the human species.”

The Laughing Gull Crow, with its piercing call stood before the Speaker. “Sir, I

represent the east coast and we breed near the Atlantic coast and winter in North Carolina. Due

to the massive lack of sand and the noise of the construction that goes on all around us will cause

us, we ask permission to vacate.”

The Martial Eagle rose to her feet. “Sir, I represent the Martial Eagle who feeds on small

game. The human hunters brought their guns and killed off our supply of food. We, too, ask

permission to vacate our homeland.

 From the north, the Artic Tern with his red feet and red bill was the first to plead. “Sir,

we ask your kind permission to vacate Alaska, as the melting snow from the north may drown

us.”

With his strong lashing tail, the alligator rose. He was so nervous; he forgot to name his

country. “Sir, we ask permission to vacate the swamp lands throughout the world, as the waters

have become so muddy and filled with human trash, we cannot keep track of our young.” We

humbly ask if the Speaker or any of the representatives here today could help us relocate to less

polluted waters.”

Each couldn’t wait to tell of their findings.

The mutated frog stood up on its one leg. She represented all her various species. Now

she was getting sick from all the findings. The funguses were prevalent on her back. Sobbing,

she called out loud. “I can’t take this anymore. It is more than I expected. It makes me feel

filthy and disgusting.” Then she hopped out of the room. Out in the lounge, she went over the

findings and cried over the destruction the humans caused the planet.

Back in the meeting, a striking blue dolphin told his findings. “Many of us are being

beached and cannot find our way back to the ocean. Some kind humans took great interest and

pushed some of us back into our homeland.

The Great White stood showing her huge white teeth, and confirmed what the dolphin

said. “Our children can no longer pick up the sounds of their mothers due to the loud sounds of

the sonar. The group called the Navy was told to stop the experimenting. But, it’s back again.

Please help us. Is it possible hundreds of us, the whales and the dolphins can find a way to

muffle the sounds?” His pleading eyes raced around the table. “Someone please help our

children. Please find a way.”

 The dull green lizard stood and approached the bench. Sir, once there were millions of

us, lots of grass and thousands of trees.”

Before he could finish, the grasshopper jumped out of his seat. “Enough is enough,” he

yelled, shifting his eyes around the table. The human government sprayed many chemicals,

some with bacteria in them. At least now and then we find edible herbs and they relieve us of

our pain. Unfortunately, they are also disappearing.

The polar bear that represented the Artic broke his silence. “The humans built huge

towers. They call them HAARP for short. They are causing holes in the ionosphere and

disturbing the magnetic field around the planet. It affects all species. I fear for all of us. Don’t

any of you understand? We are slowly being extinguished. Not one of you will live another

fifty years.

A long silence filled the hall. One by one the various species filed out the doors. Each

returned to his homeland feeling greatly defeated.

And the human went about their business as usual. Little did they know they were

among the species being extinguished. “What a poor dumb species,” the Army Ant mumbled to

himself.

Alone, the Speaker of the House covered his tired eyes and lowered his head on the desk. “I

failed them. Oh, I failed them all.

Quietly slipping back in the door, Whooping Crane who represented Mexico, where they migrate

for the winter, stole slowly up to the bench. “I beg your pardon sir, but I heard you out in the

hall. You have not failed us. You listened and learned. Even if the others feel no safety, I know

you will search out a way for all of us to live in peace and bring back the beauty of this planet

from the long ago when its white caps splashed the rocks and green covered the land.”
If there is any more severe destruction, you know above all the others we will survive again. We

outnumber the humans’ years by the millions for we are the longest living species.

The Speaker smiled and thanked him.