Another way to think about the cosmic calendar:
"… In "Living on Earth: Forests, Corals, Consciousness, and the Making of the World," Peter Godfrey-Smith, a philosopher of science, asks about the relationship between human beings and nature. He starts by considering our place in the broader time line. Scientists often emphasize our belatedness: a biologist might stretch her arms wide, explain that the tip of her left middle finger represents the beginnings of planet Earth, and then say that all of human history could fit into the tip of the opposite finger. "If we stick to our species, then we do rush on in a half-dressed flurry at the very end," Godfrey-Smith concedes. "But suppose we think of 'us' as life as a whole." Earth is four and a half billion years old, and life has existed here for 3.7 billion; meanwhile, the universe is about fourteen billion years old. This means that we've been around for "over a quarter of the total span," Godfrey-Smith writes. From this perspective, we're not freshmen, but seniors…"
Nature is unpredictable, unfair, and competitive. Most natural lifeforms exist in constant competition for survival. I found it interesting how once this competition for life became evident in the summer months, the author found nature a little less enjoyable. Sharing the world with plants and animals can be vexing and this frustration is probably one of the many sources fueling many to not worry so much about protecting the natural world.
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