One of the idea that is mind boggling is that we wonder about our sustainability on this planet. This planet is not going to be there for ever. Half of its life is gone and half of its life is left. The issues of human population, global warming, food production, energy crisis, and air pollution are just few of the main issues that we are facing to extend our life on this planet. There never was any species on our planet that was as intelligent as us. We are trying to control every aspect of the Earth and to our amazement we are finding out that it is not doable. It is a very fine balance and if you mess with it you will have to pay the price.
What can we do to sustain human life on this planet? What can you do as a person?
Just on a totally different line of thought, do we really have right to extend human life on Earth. I mean if our life means the death of every other species, do we really have the right?
What can we do to sustain human life on this planet? What can you do as a person?
Just on a totally different line of thought, do we really have right to extend human life on Earth. I mean if our life means the death of every other species, do we really have the right?
12 comments:
It is hard to predict what will happen to this earth in the next 50 years. Global Warming is already a huge issue. Human life is beautiful but so are the species around us. Those species are here for a reason. For example, they say that waves from our cellphones are hurting bees. If all the bees in the world were gone. There wouldn't be any natural honey. Also more people would have allergies, since the pollin or pollen from the flowers werent turned into honey. All species were made for our benefit. If we kill them we are only hurting ourselfs and the future generations that are yet to come. In the end its hard to say.
I guess you could say I am a nature freak! I just love everything about the earth. I hate what we as humans are doing to the other lives and creations that inhabit it. I think that we need to get our priorities straight.
Money or the world? Are you kidding?? Why does that question even need to be asked by so many of us?
Today, when Dr. Singh showed us the graph about how much we spend on cosmetics compared to food and the basic needs for countries, I was appalled. Sure we are an advanced species, but sometimes, I really wonder. Where are our morals? How have we grown in such a way that we help eachother and build eachother up? It seems that we have a few more lessons to learn before we will ever get it into our heads...
But by then, it may be too late.
Thanks Demi! I think your generation is going to decide where we go from here. Are we going to mess everything up or are we really a smart species that can take care of this planet!
Humans will sustain themselves regardless. The Earth's resources are meant to be used, air is meant to be breathed, water is to be drank, food is to be grown and eaten, oil and coal are to be used as fuels, and that is just the way it is. The power of humans goes beyond what the Earth naturally provides us with- we have a knowledge unmatched by any species to ever exist on this planet. I have my full faith in our ability to produce any kind of solution to a problem that confronts us now or in the future
The ability to sustain the planet is simply in our hands, but we can sustain this planet and we currently are taking steps to make it possible. Population is by far the number one issue with our sustainability because with the population growing, the resources needed for us to survive increases along with it. The way to solve population issues is first to educate the underprivileged by means of sexual education classes or introduction to birth control. With the poor and uneducated giving birth to more and more people at this rate, the planet will become overran.
Global warming is an issue that is minuscule in comparison to population because it is not widely accepted yet by all scientists.
Food production is a good issue to discuss about sustainability because we rely on livestock and crops to survive, but currently are not at a shortage for the population of the united states. Globally however, many third-world countries do not have the excess of livestock/crops as the developed countries do. To solve this, it would require massive amounts of money to be used for little benefit for our country, in fact, the unbalance of food for them helps regulate the excess number of children they have, and with education of birth control, will actually reduce the birth rate drastically.
For our energy crisis, I believe we need to go away from fossil fuels because they won't be around forever, and that is an accepted fact for our world. The best solution to this is to expand the use of wind energy, solar energy, and water energy. All three of these do not pollute the planet and can produce enormous amounts of power. For example, the Hoover Dam produces 2080 megawatts of electricity, with no use of fossil fuels.
Air pollution is an issue that we have yet to solve because of us still using fossil fuels and energy plants that produce waste, which goes into our atmosphere. As I stated above, I believe we should move away from fossil fuels and to more natural sources of power to solve this.
The issues of human population, global warming, food production, energy crisis, and air pollution
George, although you make good points, some of your ideas won't work. Educating Indians and Indonesians and Chinese won't solve anything. Our population will still increase at an alarming rate. We need an actual solution that involves preventing reproduction for select groups of people for a set time, or a major crisis. Wind, solar, and hydro power are more expensive than most can afford. The Hoover Dam may not require fossil fuels, but think of all the workers that have to drive many miles every day to get to work and back. As long as we keep using resources that aren't biodegradable we will be furthering our problems and inhibiting our sustainability.
Kyle, using those resources and moving away from fossil fuels would also include cars for one, number 2, what is your suggestion to population? Judging from you moving away from non violent actions, I am interested in your solution.
I already stated it. Education is one of the worst methods to solve anything. For example, the War on Drugs (more money in drugs now than ever) and abstinence education (has this really impacted high-school age sex?). There needs to be forced non-reproduction time periods on select groups of people, alternating every few years to maintain a generation balance.
George and Kyle both make good points. I personally think that education would be a good SUPPLIMENTAL application to the problem. The population issue does need to be addressed, because it is at the core of ALL these problems, but how to do it will be a long and difficult road. Short of unleashing a strain of Anthrax to kill off millions of people (genocide and complete decadence of moral and ethics) or limiting child birth, there really aren't any simple answers. Clean energy is part of the solution, but as has been stated, it's not the entire issue. I do, however, think it very arrogant and uninformed to say that we were MEANT to rape the earth...it's similar to thinking that Europeans were MEANT to come to America, kill and steal from the Native Americans countless times, and generally dismiss any other races.
Trevor is right that there is no real solution to population problems (birth rates decline and expand with circumstances even in industrialized nations).
Another problem is that with technological advancements less people are going to be needed for jobs, and then the real problems will set in.
That is an EXCELLENT point that I hadn't even thought of. The increased reliance on robotic technologies would put many menial laborers out of business. I've just heard of a self-tuning piano...this doesn't seem like much, but because tuning a real piano is such an ordeal, there are many businesses devoted to it. This new innovation is going to put all those people out of business...true, it's just a small section of the global market, probably under .5%, but that still doesn't bode well.
Here is an idea: just because the population is increasing at an alarming rate doesn't necessarily mean that we can't support them.
The major problem is waste that people make (pollution, trash, etc) and the resources we use. Of course it is true that the earth has a limit for the amount of people it can support, but why not first worry about decreasing the waste people make and the resources they use. Take away the pollution from transportation and factories with electric everything. Instead of landfills have recycling plants that act as distribution plants to send all "trash" to a recycling center that recycles that kind of trash. Power everything with renewable energy like wind and solar. Build our cities up instead of out to reduce land that is used for development when it could be used for producing food or energy. Why eat meat every day that is so wasteful to produce. Why not change our diets to something more efficient to produce (and probably much healthier). There are so many things that we can do to reduce (and possibly eliminate) our waste. With these things set in place, we will also stop global warming from continuing (no more pollutants heating up the atmosphere).
How about changing our dependence on things we know are hurting us to things we know will help. Why pay a cheap price now for gas and oil and consumer products and then pay for it later in trash and pollution clean up.... and inevitably, human lives.
change our lifestyles, change the world. One problem: people are scared of change.
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