最近的一项科学、经济和政治研究表明，粮食的供求曲线最迟再过六十年就要相交。到那时，人口过剩、污染日趋严重和粮食供应减少等问题就可能预示着人类在这颗行星上的生存面临行将告终的危险。我深知这项研究的含义，不禁想知道人类能采取些什么措施来保证自己的生存。例如，人类能否向各种动物学习一些可以帮助其免于灭绝的节制生育、处理生物间的相互关系或精神感应方面的东西呢？
一般而言，此类冥思苦想所产生的第一反应是震惊。上述那个问题本身就作了说明。人类，作为动物群中进化得最高级的物种，能向较为低级的动物学到些说明呢？对这个问题感到震惊本身就代表了一个起点。也许人类有必要恢复谦卑精神和全面观察事物的能力。也许它应该把自己看成仅仅是大自然的另一项试验而已，本质上和在我们这颗行星上演化的其他成千上万个物种一样没有什么了不起，人类毕竟只是近期发展起来的。他在地球上至今只生存了一百七十万年，与某些有四亿年历史的动物相比，时间不算很长。
（机译和原文，一概不选）

Some recent scientific,economic,and political research suggests the curves for food demand and food supply will cross in a maximum of 60 years. By then,man’s overpopulation,increasing pollution,and the deminishing food supply could threaten to end human life on our planet.Being aware of this research,I could not help wondering what steps man could take to ensure his survival.Could he, for instance, learn from animals something about birth control,intercreature relationships,or thought communication that would help him avoid exstinction ?
Generally, the first reaction to such musings is one of astonishment. The question phrases itself. What can man, the most highly evolved species of animal life, learn from less developed creatures ? Astonishment at this question itself suggests a starting point. Perhaps man needs to regain his humility and his sence of perspective. Perhaps he should look at himself as just another experiment of nature, no more important intrinsically than the thousands of other species evolved on our planet. Man is, after all,a fairly recent development. He has lived on earth only 1.7 million years---not a very long time compared with the 400 million years of some creatures.