matas
Great! We totally f**k up our OWN planet, then go off looking for MORE planets to f**k up?
I hear you, there's good logic in the baseline argument, but shouldn't we fix the problems we ALREADY have before we begin exporting them off-planet???
That, would, indeed, be extraordinary.
As in, "extra-ordinary", like, not-ordinary, as in, unusual. I won't go so far as to say "unlikely", much yet "impossible", but given the reactions of the bulk of the developed nations' populations to the necessity to reduce consumption, create less waste, and live more harmoniously with the ecosystem that sustains ALL of us, I'm not so confident.
The human organism is the greatest parasite on the face of the planet. Like a paralysis tick feeding on a sacred cow, we are slowly sucking the life out of the planetary ecosystem and may ultimately paralyse it, to our own detriment.
Hopefully, if this happens, it will wipe out humanity, and the planet may in fact recover. In time.
Remember, for all our 'magnificence', we humans have only been around for a fly speck of geological time.
A million years or so should enable the planet to recover from it's current infestation.
Either we have faith that humanity can redress the wrongs already committed, or we don't.
Despite the sometimes desperate efforts of those who CAN see the problem, accept the moral imperative that we need to act, and are pressing to do so, the vast majority it appears could not care less.
As Geno points out, at the moment, the average Indian's global footprint is about 1/10th of ours. Note that phrase 'at the moment'.
Because once they are aware of what WE have they all want it too. Just like the simlarly sized population in China, and a similar number of people in the rest of the developing world - Africa and the Americas.
Currently only 1 billion people live the decadent, profligate, wasteful lifestyles of we in the West (as in 'we the average person', not 'we the ata membership') enjoy.
But the funniest part about it is, increasingly, psychological studies are showing that we are NOT enjoying it. Sure, we have all the fruit, but we aren't happy.
So, eventually, if things continue as they are, we will have 6 billion MORE people polluting, wastefully consuming, and being unhappy as a result.
I suspect, in fact, we aren't asking the right questions. We don't need just 'alternative technologies', we need an 'alternative lifestyle'.
Even if we solve the 'energy question' (which is largely the cause of the whole MMCC issue) then we wil still face the ultimate end of resource stocks of other kinds - minerals etc.
As matas suggests, we may be able to assuage this by off-planet exploration for minerals, if not for colonisation, but if we haven't first fixed our profligacy, then I suspect even that is eventually doomed to failure.
Read Asimov's 'Foundation' trilogy if you want to get an idea of what such a society might look like.
Considering the series was first published in 1951, long before Sputnik, Soyuz, Saturn V or Apollo 11, his description of the collapse of the Galactic Empire has overtones of the Roman Empire's collapse.
Self-destruction based on over-exploitation of resources, abuse of power, and basic human moral failings.
Anything sound familiar?
Posted Wednesday 13 Oct 2010 @ 1:41:15 am from IP
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