Global warming discussions are everywhere. There are those that believe it doesn’t exist. There are those that believe it exists but that it isn’t due to humans. There are those that believe if we change our output of dangerous gases, we can alter the atmosphere to such a degree that we can reverse the damage. There are those who believe that probably, there is nothing we can do.
Is it wrong for me to think that it might be a tad on the egotistical side to think that us humans 1.) are the major cause and 2.) can stop or reverse it? It reminds me of when people say there must not be life in outer space because we haven’t seen it, as if we, the humans on earth, are the most important and smartest beings in the universe.
Maybe the earth is just going through the cycle it’s supposed to go through. Maybe humans are meant to be here for a finite amount of time. Maybe we as a people are careless and hurt Mother Earth and use our resources too quickly but maybe it won’t make a difference if we don’t. I don’t think the dinosaurs were concerned with what crop they would be eating in 10 years. They woke up, lived their day and did the things that were natural for them to do which included eating what they found and living where it made sense to live. And maybe that’s us: we wake up, improve our lives, explore science and new technology and output whatever that entails and keep living our lives the way that makes sense. When you put us all together, we are a living, breathing organism on the face of the earth, causing whatever damage we cause in an effort to sustain life. And when earth no longer affords life, we won’t live.
Nihilistic? Not really. I do believe we have value and contribute to whatever the greater good is. And I definitely think there are ways to slow the impact of what is happening to our earth by shopping and eating locally, reusing and recycling and the like. I definitely think we should all be living conscientiously and trying our best to be good stewards over what we have been given. But I must admit that I have little to no faith that any changes will occur to the degree and with the timing that would be necessary to stop global warming and the greenhouse effect. There was nothing we could do to hurry our turn to live here and I don’t think there is much we can do to prolong our stay.
Good post…and good philosophy…
Amen. Always with the voice of reason, You.
I think there is a lot we could do. I’m more skeptical about whether we will. There are sustainable ways of living but what we have is a problem of collective action–we work against each other even when we don’t want to.
I think we have to try. Whether it works or not we have to try.
i’ve lived in new england all my life, and as such have come accustomed to blaming everything on, and coming to expect “that crazy weather.” after all we are fond of saying “if you don’t like the weather, just wait a minute.”
but at this point in time, over here we’re all ready to admit we can’t use that excuse any longer, it is something bigger than that.
i’m sure we *could* do something about it [i don’t think “fix” but possibly “improve”] but like ozma, it’s just a matter of what will actually take place, which, pessimistic or not, i don’t think is much. i don’t know, to me it’s like the people who think if they do enough advertising with scare and gross-out tactics, eventually humans will be vegan. for me, i just think “that’s nice, but it ain’t gonna happen.”
you know? i mean, there’s just always going to be that asshole that wants to drive a hummer and can’t be bothered to recycle anything. and to improve upon something like global warming, or the state of the earth as it is, i really believe that to make much of a difference it would require every individual’s participation.
We do “contribute to whatever the greater good is” — we just do it so slowly it causes us pain. Think of segregation, women’s right, or any other type of progress.
Interesting…as I am watching An Inconvenient Truth as I read this…
I don’t know what the proper response is other than I’m sure it’s inevitable and that you’re right in saying that there probably isn’t much we can do to prolong our stay here. Scary, but true.
You’re such a Deist.