Genesis 1:20 On the fourth day of creating Earth God said, "Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.
Genesis 1:23 and 1:24 On the fifth day God said, "Let the earth bring forth the living creatures according to its kind."
God then said "Let man have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. Fill the earth and subdue it."
God gave Adam and Eve dominion over Earth but what does this mean? Are we allowed to eat as much fish, meat and plant as we want? Can we kill for fun or only for food? Control the land to our will and make it do what we prefer it to do? Maybe first we should learn what dominion and subdue mean. Dominion means
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ruling power or control
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land governed by a ruler
Subdue means
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to bring somebody under forcible control
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to soften something or make something less intense

These two words have been used many times in our history; kings and queens ruling over their lands, subduing their enemies to give up land, homes, and their life. The English and Spaniards subduing the Natives of the Americas, bringing Africans to new lands being ruled by a demanding ruler. Aztecs attacking the Mayans and the Mayans attacking the Aztecs, the Tutsi and Hutu fighting for dominion over Rwanda.

All the cultures in the world have subdued or ruled each other at least one time in their history, but we do not want pain or anger, fear and death spreading like a disease. Why would the Almighty One tell us to control each other? Maybe it was not a control that strangled us like a python does with its prey; it may have been a control in order to keep things good and prosperous. A dominion with a kind but firm hand, subduing war and battles. The One may have meant for Adam to watch and protect the animals, making sure they did not harm others unless it was for food, and to make sure they too prospered on the land as Adam and Eve prospered in their lives.
The waters thriving with fish and animals that dominate the waters, the land rich with the lives of animals and plants that roam it, the skies clear and clean for birds of all sizes.
So we-the human race of today- are just as responsible for taking care of all living forms on this Earth. We need to work at getting all the endangered animals off the endangered list ,forever, because they are important to us living on this earth just as we are as important in helping them live. They make up the majority of the food chain, a chain that is very delicate. Though the first in the food chain is plants what starts our food chain is the zooplankton, it is eaten by fish which are eaten by large fish, birds, mammals, or us. We are at the top of the food chain and are highly intelligent but that chain will break if we ignore the destruction we've done to the creatures of this world. We are the only ones who can protect this world.

But is there not already laws protecting animals? There are but there is a distinction between the threatened and endangered. Endangered species is considered as "any species which is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range." The ESA defines a threatened species as "any species which is likely to become an endangered species within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range."
There is a wide range of animals on both list. On the Endangered List there are Acadian Whitefish, hundreds of Coral, the Agile Gibbon, the brown Hyena, and the tiger which used to have nine subspecies but only four are alive and only 500 to 2,000 of them are fighting to not become extinct like the others.
On the Threatened lists Mekong Herring, the Leopard Ray, Water Hyacinth, and the King Cobra have been listed as vulnerable do to hunting, overfishing, or lost of habitat. In Colorado alone there are 10 endangered species and 7 threatened species of animal.

But how did they get onto the lists? Tales from Native Americans, Vikings, English, and Chinese said that the waters used to overflow with fish and buffalos covered the Great Plains. And even before then there were a great many of animals; creatures such as the Mammoths lived in mighty herds, even their possible descendants the Asian and African elephants used to live in mighty herds too, until man started to hunt not for food but for sport.
Man in the olden days would hunt for food, clothing, and shelter. Native Americans such as the Plains Natives would hunt buffalo but when the white man began to build the Railroad across America the men shot the bison out of their way just so they could build metal into the land. They did not kill solely to keep their families feed or to keep them warm during the harsh winters, instead they killed for a metal machine. This massacre on the bison left its number down to less than 1,000 out of a possible number of
30,000,000 to 75,000,000 left in the United States. But it was not only the bison whose number dropped in America, the beaver and mink were hunted for their pelts. The grizzly and grey wolf hunted out of fear of them killing human children or killing the livestock, and this brings another reason as to why the animals began to fall to extinction.











Fear.

Fear and anger are very powerful and can affect people unlike any other emotion. When Jaws came out in changed peoples view on all sharks. Because to the frightening and false lies about sharks the film had in it people became more fearful of the top predator of the ocean. "The film's key mistake was portraying great white sharks as vengeful predators that could remember specific human beings and go after them to settle a grudge." As a consequence shark killing tournaments blossomed over night, anyone could kill the great shark, there was no remorse for had the film showed that the shark was a man-killer. In the waters off the U.S. eastern seaboard, populations of many species of sharks have dropped by 50 percent and some have fallen by as much as 90 percent.
Now days though research has shown us how important these sharks are to our ecosystem, and we have learnt about and come to understand the animals of this world. Several programs have come alive to protect these creatures and to learn more in order to bring them back, away from becoming extinct. The World Wildlife Fund helps by teaching people about animals, fighting against laws that make it legal to hunt endangered animals, putting laws in place to protect the animals, and to put those who hunt them into jail. You can even help by donating money to help an animal that you can choose to help, the WWF will then send you a package about the species and how you are helping that specie; why you might even get a stuff animal of that creature. (Pull out my cheetah.)
The WWF has been around for 51 years, the San Diego Zoo has been helping animals since 1916, but it still isn't enough. They can't do it themselves. We all know this but why are we just sitting here thinking oh there will always be plenty, but there will not be plenty! Oh come now we all know the world will end anyways. Is that what you really want to just wait and not do something? Yes, the world will end but that doesn't mean we give up on life, and we can't give up on those who help us live as we need them as much as they need us. How is it that you can care more for you dogs, cats, or pet birds than the very creatures of whom they have descended from? Don't you realize your dog has the wild heart of a wolf, or that your little cat has cousins that bigger than a pony? Or that your bird or reptile could have been caged in and ship from it's true home?
We may not be able to play with the wild ones like we do with their tamed brothers and sisters, but that does not mean we can not understand each other. Man and beast were never meant to fight for control, neither to dominate each other but to walk side by side. There are times when we will not understand each other yet we should not start a war over such times, is that not what we want from each other. For all people to not judge on color, preferences, or looks, and no more pain from fighting over such a simple thing. So why don't we feel this way towards the animals, to want to stop all the pain and death.
First thing you can easily do is to recycle, yes there are some who do not know where or live near a recycling place, but the schools now are recycling so there is a way to help. Second you can learn more about the problems the animals are facing and tell others at lunch or when you're texting them. Instead of talking about a false tale about someone talk about something that is true and real; just try because trying is better than just sitting there waiting for your death. Go get up and go, go save the world one step at a time, no matter hard it is at first it'll get better and easier.
My dream is not for world peace, a cure for cancer, or for all to stop judging, it is to protect my world. I do not want to be like Martin Luther King Jr. to die before I can see my dream become reality, I will fight with every breath to see my world become healthier, for understanding amongst many. I know many will not agree with my view on the world but I hope that there will be many more who understand or will try to understand me and maybe just maybe I won't be the only one wanting to heal the planet.