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People have been on earth in our present form for only about 100,000 years, and in so many ways we__e still ironing out our kinks. These turtles we__e been traveling with, they outrank us in longevity, having earned three more zeros than we. They__e got one hundred million years of success on their resume, and they__e learned something about how to survive in the world. And this, I think, is part of it: they have settled upon peaceful career paths, with a stable rhythm. If humans could survive another one hundred million years, I expect we would no longer find ourselves riding bulls. It__ not so much that I think animals have rights; it__ more that I believe humans have hearts and minds- though I__e yet to see consistent, convincing proof of either. Turtles may seem to lack sense, but they don__ do senseless things. They__e not terribly energetic, yet they do not waste energy_ turtles cannot consider what might happen yet nothing turtles do threatens anyone__ future. Turtles don__ think about the next generation, but they risk and provide all they can to ensure that there will be one. Meanwhile, we profess to love our own offspring above all else, yet above all else it is they from whom we daily steal. We cannot learn to be more like turtles, but from turtles we could learn to be more human. That is the wisdom carried within one hundred million years of survival. What turtles could learn from us, I can__ quite imagine.
Carl Safina Voyage of the Turtle: In Pursuit of the Earth's Last Dinosaur
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People have been on earth in our present form for only about 100,000 years, and in so many ways we__e still ironing out our kinks. These turtles we__e been traveling with, they outrank us in longevity, having earned three more zeros than we. They__e got one hundred million years of success on their resume, and they__e learned something about how to survive in the world. And this, I think, is part of it: they have settled upon peaceful career paths, with a stable rhythm. If humans could survive another one hundred million years, I expect we would no longer find ourselves riding bulls. It__ not so much that I think animals have rights; it__ more that I believe humans have hearts and minds- though I__e yet to see consistent, convincing proof of either. Turtles may seem to lack sense, but they don__ do senseless things. They__e not terribly energetic, yet they do not waste energy_ turtles cannot consider what might happen yet nothing turtles do threatens anyone__ future. Turtles don__ think about the next generation, but they risk and provide all they can to ensure that there will be one. Meanwhile, we profess to love our own offspring above all else, yet above all else it is they from whom we daily steal. We cannot learn to be more like turtles, but from turtles we could learn to be more human. That is the wisdom carried within one hundred million years of survival. What turtles could learn from us, I can__ quite imagine.
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Carl Safina

Voyage of the Turtle: In Pursuit of the Earth's Last Dinosaur

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