"‘Tis strange—but true; for truth is always strange, Stranger than fiction" Lord Byron

" 'Tis strange—but true; for truth is always strange, Stranger than fiction" - 1823 Lord Byron

The quote is Lord Byron but most of us have experienced this as well. The Google Doodle that was released on 2023 May 21 Celebrating Lake Xochimilco is a good example. That lake near Mexico City is the very last native habitat for critically endangered Ambystoma mexicanum (aka axolotls, Mexican walking fish, water dogs, water dragons, and water monsters) in the whole world.

I have seen axolotls in captivity and they are delightful to watch. (I took the photo below.) These Paedomorphic salamanders are so easy to anthropomorphize with their forever tadpole look (neotenic), their 6 gills framing their face like a child's pigtails, and their upturned mouths ever smiling at us.

But the sad truth is that we're losing them. I made a graph from the data I found on the Axolotl Populations taken from Scientific American website.

I know some people don't get graphs. This one shows me that the wild axolotl population decreased sixtyfold in 10 years and it continues to decrease. 

Axolotl Populations taken from Scientific American November 20, 2017 "Biology's Beloved Amphibian--the Axolotl--Is Racing toward Extinction" by Erik Vance

1998 - 6,000 per square kilometer

2000 - 1,000 per square kilometer

2008 -   100 per square kilometer

2017 -     35 per square kilometer

Losing axolotls is just one problem and there are more than 42,100 species listed as threatened with extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

 I LOVE this 🌎blue marble we live on. I think we can all agree that we (humans) must take care of the earth. I spent some time perusing religious texts to get a feel for what they might say:

BBC - What does Buddhism teach about the environment?	Most Buddhists believe people need to live simply and respect the cycle and balance in nature so everything can continue for future generations.
Bhagavad Gita	Let the human community protect the environment for their own survival and the biodiversity around.
Dalai Lama Quote	“It is our collective and individual responsibility to preserve and tend to the environment in which we all live.”
Midrash Koheleth Rabah 7:13	I created everything for you. Make sure you don't ruin or destroy MY world.
Midrash Sifre 20:19	If not for the trees, human life could not exist.
New Testament Revelation 11:18	The nations were angry; and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your saints and those who reverence your name, both small and great—and for destroying those who destroy the earth.
Old Testament Genesis 1:28 New International Version	28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
Old Testament Genesis 2:15	And the Lord took Adam and placed him the Garden of Eden to work it and guard it.
Old Testament Job 12:7-10	“But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.
Quran 7:31	Allah created a perfectly balanced world on the basis of sustainability and circularity. This balance must be maintained by man acting moderately, thoughtfully and justly. Waste, pollution and destruction are the very qualities that Allah abhors.
Srimad Bhagavatam 3.29:34 Explanation of Devotional Service by Lord Kapila	34 Such a perfect devotee offers respects to every living entity because he is under the firm conviction that the Supreme Personality of Godhead has entered the body of every living entity as the Supersoul, or controller.
Tirukural 324	"You ask, What is the good and perfect way? 'Tis path of him who studies nought to slay." - Good path is that which considers how it may avoid killing any creature.

I am no religious scholar but there are a few examples right there. I don't want to blame or shame. I just want to point out the obvious: 

Religion says - hey you, you have to take care of the earth. 

Science says - hey you, you have to take care of the earth. 

Our children say - hey you, you have to take care of the earth. 

Why aren't we doing anything? Any fictitious story would have had us all joined together decades ago. This is only getting worse. It really can not wait.

I am starting right now. Join me.