Are we are the luckiest generation of all? A short essay.

Are we are the luckiest generation of all?

Christmas is over. How many Charles Dickens versions of 'A Christmas Carol' did you count over the holiday period? This is a short essay on the ghosts of Past, Present and Future.

I read in a newspaper article that people born in 1948 are considered to be the luckiest generation of all.

Their generation saw free schooling; free healthcare and an end to National Service. They missed World War II; rationing never affected them too much as children and they were the first generation that climbed onto the property ladder. They were even the first people to experience 'The Pill' - free love, flower power, peace on you and all that jazz.

They can also look forward to a comfortable retirement. The current pensions crisis is set to make people work longer for less reward. But the 1948 crowd will enjoy a retirement funded by a final salary scheme. And there aren't too many of those schemes about anymore!

So, are you one of them? And do you feel lucky?

It got me to thinking.
Oil has now been predicted to last for another 80/90 years. When it eventually runs out it will only have covered roughly a 200-year period. Will that mean the end of travel as we know it? And, presumably, it will get more expensive the nearer that time gets. Indeed, it's at an all-time high in this country right now.

So I think those of us living now are the luckiest generation of all, especially those interested in Wildlife.

Wildlife watching (and travelling) for earlier generations was a pastime only the 'idle rich' could indulge in. Most of our parents and grandparents were either too poor; too busy at work or caught up in the horrors of the Wars. Or raising us! There was no infrastructure to take them to the 'wildlife' places anyway. Air travel was too expensive and there were very few 'Nature Reserves'. A week in Bognor was about the most ambitious holiday many had. That was usually where, as a child, I ended up.

But these days, more people have more spare time and more spare cash, albeit within the middle of a recession. Countries around the world are more accessible, wildlife conservation 'tourism' is becoming more and more popular. People can visit both Poles; the Titanic and even take a trip into space!

But then, spare a thought for tomorrow's generation.
A couple of weeks ago I was at another reserve, sitting in a Hide. A family came in and the two small children were totally enthralled with watching the Tits and Finches on the Feeders. I smiled to myself and thought how they would be even more excited at what they would see when they grew up.

But what wildlife will be left for them to experience? What with alleged global warming and habitat degradation some 'experts' are predicting a 50% loss of all other species by the end of this century. Indeed, 500 animal and plant species have become extinct in England – practically all within the last two centuries. It's been said that we are mortgaging our children's future. Are we also dooming them to experiencing wildlife only through our photos and films?

Last year was the International Year of Biodiversity. Helping to save species for future generations. And dare I use the 'S' word: Sustainability.

So the message for today's generation, always look on the bright side of life.
We are indeed one of the luckiest generations to have lived.

And, as a post script, I got home today and a (nameless) bird left his deposit on me....Wildlife 1 GrahamC 0.

Hopefully, none of these will disappear in my lifetime.

Comments?

Best wishes, Graham