On Spaceship Earth, worms are more important than people because we need the worms to run the spaceship

The headline above may have caught your attention.

It's taken from a Parley for the Oceans video that likens the Earth to a spaceship with a life-support system.

This system—known as the biosphere—provides human beings with everything they need to live on Spaceship Earth—food, energy, light, and temperature modulation.

"And the biosphere is maintained by a crew of citizens onboard Spaceship Earth," narrator Paul Watson says. "And that crew are all of these myriad of species that share this planet with us."

According to Watson, founder of the Sea Shepherd Society, humans are using up a lot of resources in the first-class section of this ship. And he maintains that this is contributing to the death of important crew members who run the spaceship by providing oxygen and food and regulating the weather.

"The most important are bacteria and plankton and algae, followed up by insects and worms and fish," Watson states. "People get upset when I say worms are more important than people. But on Spaceship Earth, worms are more important than people because we need the worms to run the spaceship."

Watson, a former Georgia Straight reporter in Vancouver, insists that it's the responsibility of passengers, including human beings, to watch out for the well-being of the crew members.

That's because these "engineering species"—bacteria, algae, insects, and fish—are running this life-support system.