All,
I think that what Dan is saying is that no matter what man does, it
impacts the environment. This, of course, is true of all species. In
man’s case, the impact is far greater because we are not unlike a
metasticizing cancer. We are feverishly replicating, not just in
terms of population expansion, but more importantly, in impact on
environment, devastation of resources and degradation of environment.
We worship at the altar of "growth is good, growth is progress "
whereas, in reality, it may, indeed, be lethal. Nuclear
proliferation is a good example. My view of responsibility is that we
should do everything possible to thwart rampant, mindless expansion
until we can get a handle on what our impact might be. Scientists are
already talking about the point of no return; ergo the irreversible
threshold !
As I have said before, nature corrects her mistakes…things that
don’t function properly don’t evolve, and, if they don’t fit into the
grand scheme of things and if they are ecosystem incompatible, they
become extinct. In this case we are talking about how a given
organism fits into the overall scheme of things.In the case of man,
there is little to support his ecological compatibility.
If I had to single out man’s most significant failing it would be
that he has come to think of himself as being a God. Certainly he
has come to associate himself with deities because of anthropomorphic
deification…we see god in our own form. In reality we are such a
microscopic entity in the overall scheme of things that we would
better serve our sense of reality by thinking of ourselves as
microbes. Somehow, I think that we are not going to give up our
delusions until we experience a catastrophic event. We are too
comfortable with our fantasies, assumptions and creature comforts.
I know that what I have been venting about is only distantly related
to our mundane daily endeavours. On the other hand, if any of us
sense that things are not quite what they should be, they should be
entertaining the possibility that a wider viewpoint should be
encompassed. I am not advocating involvement in a “movement”. I
merely suggest that we should not become so complacent about the
status quo that we are lulled into a state of
semi-conciousness…after all, Costco, Walmart nor Home Depot will
not save us if things go bad !
I know that a lot of you will find all this talk boring and
irrelevant, but whatever happened to the inquiring mind.?..Ron
Mills, Mills Gem Co. Los Osos, Ca