Posts: 20476
Threads: 447
Joined: June 16, 2014
Reputation:
110
Irresponsible caretakers of Earth
April 2, 2018 at 3:49 am
(This post was last modified: April 2, 2018 at 3:52 am by ignoramus.)
When I think about it in the cold light of day, I cringe and shake my head in disbelief.
We evolved on this planet, we are its native inhabitants.
We evolved high intelligence. We understand well (for all intents and purposes) what we are doing to our planet.
We know it is the only one we have and we are losing it fast. Why aren't we as a species at critical alert? Right now! Not tomorrow.
What is it about us that we just shrug it off and say "yeah, those clever scientists will fix it one day. Oh look, Spotlight has 40% off storewide, get out of my way!"
We've gone beyond the point of no return. We're all on borrowed time ... too late ... We're all to blame.
From driving cars to buying shit on ebay, to not compromising our god given right to live free in a democracy and scoff the junk food! What's not to love, right!
Unfortunately that lifestyle we all love is incompatible with planet earth. Not only have we blown it, but we are in denial of the severity of the situation.
Why is the world still building coal fired stations, driving cars and trucks, pouring chemicals into rivers and oceans, etc
We are so fucked! On so many levels. 
(And Kit feels he should've been born a few thousand years in the future? Kit! What future exactly?)
rant over.
(back to your regular program)
No God, No fear.
Know God, Know fear.
Posts: 29107
Threads: 218
Joined: August 9, 2014
Reputation:
155
RE: Irresponsible caretakers of Earth
April 2, 2018 at 5:19 am
(This post was last modified: April 2, 2018 at 5:20 am by robvalue.)
You're totally right. The support of convenience has been our downfall. I'm as guilty as anyone else. I just try and minimize the harm I do, but I always know I can do better.
Posts: 67380
Threads: 140
Joined: June 28, 2011
Reputation:
161
RE: Irresponsible caretakers of Earth
April 2, 2018 at 8:07 am
(This post was last modified: April 2, 2018 at 8:09 am by The Grand Nudger.)
Because we didn't evolve to be long term planners and have difficulty truly conceptualizing consequences beyond the length of our own lifetimes. Never too late to start living the future you want, though. Go build yourself an environmentally friendly house. Reduce your consumption, and control the remainder for viability. Get involved in the kinds of projects that might help to make the future happen today.
Or curl up in a ball like an animal and die with the rest. 
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
Posts: 33515
Threads: 1422
Joined: March 15, 2013
Reputation:
152
RE: Irresponsible caretakers of Earth
April 2, 2018 at 8:10 am
Where is Hari Seldon when you need him?
"Never trust a fox. Looks like a dog, behaves like a cat."
~ Erin Hunter
Posts: 17382
Threads: 463
Joined: March 29, 2015
Reputation:
30
RE: Irresponsible caretakers of Earth
April 2, 2018 at 9:02 am
(This post was last modified: April 2, 2018 at 9:04 am by Fake Messiah.)
Are humans devastating to the environment by nature? There is such a thing as human technological progress but problem with it is that it's also the most potent changer of human political system. The fact that most of humans today live in democracies owes exclusively to industrial revolutions.
So there is also a question of how much politicians are obstructing technological progress, because of the fear they might lose control? With huge jumps in technology ecological problems could be solved.
Of course all countries under dictatorships are very technologically underdeveloped and in other places you have Trump that want's to go back into the past and Putin that also gets all his power from selling gas... so who knows in the end.
teachings of the Bible are so muddled and self-contradictory that it was possible for Christians to happily burn heretics alive for five long centuries. It was even possible for the most venerated patriarchs of the Church, like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, to conclude that heretics should be tortured (Augustine) or killed outright (Aquinas). Martin Luther and John Calvin advocated the wholesale murder of heretics, apostates, Jews, and witches. - Sam Harris, "Letter To A Christian Nation"
Posts: 67380
Threads: 140
Joined: June 28, 2011
Reputation:
161
RE: Irresponsible caretakers of Earth
April 2, 2018 at 9:10 am
@ by nature
-To a point I think we are. We're fast breeding, long lived, and voraciously predatory omnivores with little in the way of environmental requirements and a biological weapon of mass destruction at our disposal. If that's not a recipe for devastation I don't know what is.
I do want to say that we don't need to wait on a tech for redemption, though. We -could- solve those problems we face with what we have...and in many cases the lowest tech solution is the best solution. There's a bit of complacency involved in pinning our predicament entirely on politicians and a lack of shiny new tech. They could obstruct stewardship by the pussy all day long and we could drive right around it, right over it.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
Posts: 30129
Threads: 304
Joined: April 18, 2014
Reputation:
91
RE: Irresponsible caretakers of Earth
April 2, 2018 at 9:17 am
Last issue of Scientific American has an amazingly grim article on the effects of warming in the arctic. Even pessimistic predictions of a few years ago appear to misstate the rapidity of dire effects by 40 to 60 years. Environmental effects expect around the year 2100 are now predicted for 2040-2060 time frame.
The granting of a pardon is an imputation of guilt, and the acceptance a confession of it.
Posts: 67380
Threads: 140
Joined: June 28, 2011
Reputation:
161
RE: Irresponsible caretakers of Earth
April 2, 2018 at 9:25 am
(This post was last modified: April 2, 2018 at 9:25 am by The Grand Nudger.)
My kids will be growing cacao in kentucky, minus all the small arms fire.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
Posts: 2069
Threads: 30
Joined: May 15, 2016
Reputation:
54
RE: Irresponsible caretakers of Earth
April 2, 2018 at 9:06 pm
Planet Earth was here long before we came along and will be here long after we Homo sapiens have ceased to exist as a species. The "save the earth" campaigns should actually be called "save humans". When we talk about sustainable environmental practices, we're actually talking about sustaining our own existence, not the planet's.
-Teresa
.
Posts: 23918
Threads: 300
Joined: June 25, 2011
Reputation:
150
RE: Irresponsible caretakers of Earth
April 2, 2018 at 9:13 pm
(This post was last modified: April 2, 2018 at 9:22 pm by Whateverist.)
(April 2, 2018 at 9:06 pm)Tres Leches Wrote: Planet Earth was here long before we came along and will be here long after we Homo sapiens have ceased to exist as a species. The "save the earth" campaigns should actually be called "save humans". When we talk about sustainable environmental practices, we're actually talking about sustaining our own existence, not the planet's.
-Teresa
I suspect you are correct, that the planet has a great capacity to rebound. Still I regret the loss of so much bio diversity. I sure hope we're not powerful enough to turn this into a sterile giant astroid. The planet would certainly be better off without us though.
|
