One Apple A Day #1204
One Apple A Day #1204
Waterfalls, Dams, Beavers and Silly Questions
Why is a dam built by a beaver part of nature while one made by men is not?
I honestly feel silly for asking such a question, yet I've been entertaining this thought for days.
It all started at the Cascate Delle Marmore a few days ago. It's a tall and gorgeous waterfall in the middle of Italy. Surrounded by lush nature, the water leaps between rocks, falling for 165 meters.
It's beautiful.
And it's man-made.
It was first made by the Romans over two thousand years ago.
And then that silly question came up.
Why is a dam built by a beaver part of nature while one made by men is not?
According to Wikipedia, "beaver dams or beaver impoundments are dams built by beavers to provide ponds as protection against predators such as coyotes, wolves, and bears, and to provide easy access to food during winter. These buildings modify the natural environment in such a way that the overall ecosystem builds upon the change, making beavers a keystone species and ecosystem engineer."
Beavers engineer their environment to make it more suitable for them in the same way humans do. So, from this perspective, there is no difference.
Sure, size and impact are different. Yet, the largest beaver dam in the world - inside the Wood Buffalo National Park in Canada - is 800 metres long, and it contains about 70,000 cubic metres of water.
So, why is a dam built by a beaver part of nature while one made by men is not?
I guess it's because we see ourselves as separate from nature while the beaver is part of it.
Everything we build is informed by this energy of separation. So, it is less about what we build or how we build it and more about how we perceive ourselves, our consciousness.