I always find stories like this so disappointing. I work at a summer camp that focuses on ecology and I try to teach kids how to respect the environment. Seeing articles like this always makes me a little sick. No matter your view on nature, whether you like to be outside, in the woods, at one with the universe, or shut in your house with the computer, television and PlayStation running, it is so important to realize the value the earth has. We get everything from the earth, even in indirect ways.
This article talks about an underground Arctic animal trade ring. A native Alaskan eskimo, who are legally allowed to kill walruses and other native animals, such as polar bears, for sustenance without a permit, created this illegal trading wing with two non-natives. They swapped walrus tusks and other animal parts for machine guns, other firearms, ammunition, marijuana and cigarettes as well as money. They took advantage of the right given to Indians, Aleut and Eskimo people and created a disgraceful scheme to make money.
Of course, I agree that the native people of coastal Alaska should be able to kill those animals for food and clothing, because it has been passed down by tradition and doesn't upset the balance of nature, since it's been done for so many centuries. It's when people start to cheat the system and knock said balance askew, that it starts to bother me. Call me a tree-hugger hippie, but what these people did was throw the equilibrium off, and that's something that we as humans need to be very careful with, especially during this industrialized age.
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