Through his retirement years, mariner has had more time to sit aside and watch the world go by. What has emerged is awareness that Homo sapiens will have a relatively short, finite time as a member of living things on Mother Earth. For the last five hundred thousand years or so, H. sapiens has used superior skills to garner excessive resources beyond the amount required given the type of animal spawned within its natural environment.
It began when H. sapiens invented the spear. The invention of weapons to hunt game has been used by a few other primates but not with the intellectual capability to leverage weaponry as its own, organized thing.
Humans (AKA H. sapiens et al) elevated hunting with team management and scientific advancements like the atlatl; it was the advantage needed for earliest humans to overhunt environmental resources. Humans still overhunt species today (American Bison, Carrier Pigeon) – or intentionally eliminate them only because they interfere with other prerogatives (estuary and otherwise rare habitat, coral, useless specimen hunting) – from overhunting African wildlife to being, as of today, the cause for the extinction of 50% of all living species – plant and animal. Humans have so decimated the Earth’s biosphere they have added to cataclysmic events by causing the Sixth Great Extinction. The other five were caused by the greater laws of astrophysics.
Humans have extended hunting to the mineral and chemical world, also known today as science and technology, until we accomplished the following effects:
Better weapons for hunting using iron, steel, copper, and unnatural chemicals like Roundup and agent orange to make it easier than weed pulling by hand or landscaping large areas with axes and brushhogs. The primary reasons to impose these aberrations then, would be ‘it’s easier than by hand’ and ‘why not; we can do it.’ Humans pay little note to the infringement on nature’s way of running the biosphere.
Better weapons for destruction using chemicals and metals that have total disregard for ramifications to the biosphere, which, on the good side eliminates some of the dangerously overpopulated species (H sapiens) but on the other hand demonstrates the continuous devastation humans have on the biosphere. Mariner will mention only Hiroshima as an example and let intentional military destruction go at that. Did you know that nuclear warhead testing and use is responsible for Strontium 90 being present in our tobacco and similar broadleaf plants?
The mariner thinks all human abuse on the biosphere can be traced to the thought that it takes idle minds to invent trouble – why aren’t we busy cultivating common weeds into a food source and otherwise weeding them from our gardens by hand? As the ‘intelligent’ creature, why aren’t humans doing their share to help the biosphere for the betterment of all creatures? After all, the biosphere is the perpetual uterus for everything – including humans.
Humans ignore the sophisticated balance of the biosphere – how every living thing has a niche that provides enough to survive but limits its imposition on the balance of nature. 90% of Monarch butterflies are gone. The human impact continues as if humans want them all gone – or at least are indifferent to our unwelcome behavior that sends so many creatures from tree frogs to elephants into extinction in this century. Is this a sign of the apocalypse? If it is, it includes humans.
A conundrum arises if humans reset their attitude: There aren’t enough resources to support seven billion soon to be twelve billion humans who want to drink percolated coffee every morning before each human drives off in its own expensive seashell. [the hermit crab shares our plight] Point made. Not to mention the six hundred-thread bed sheets and Donald’s Mar a Lago. The biosphere will deal with that last one shortly.
Humans are pretending they aren’t aware that anything is wrong. HAH. Why are the following terms worthy of mention in most nations?
Grass fed – No Hormones – Not genetically modified food – Nature’s choice – Naturally caught seafood – No additives – Not commercially owned water source – Not made from ivory – Not manufactured from coal – and on and on. Think of a few on your own.
Accountable to readers for some kind of advice, mariner has the following:
No amount of effort will turn things around. Planet Earth has decided to end this age. Being the boss, Earth neither requires permission nor will accept suggestions.
Within the reader’s own biosphere, assume a lifestyle that respects simplistic, natural habits. Methuselah lived over nine hundred years without airplanes, trains, or automobiles. It took Noah’s flood to kill him off. Many of mariner’s closest friends travel frequently; the mariner admits to a few passage sailing trips. Bon voyage, he says. A simplistic solution may be to set aside a trip every now and then to use the unexpended resources to help our uterus (yes, graphic but the entire subject is contained within).
Remain aware of cultural impact. Many times biosphere issues can help lawmakers and voters decide the better direction for legislation, e.g., too much carbon for the biosphere.
Remain educated on the relationship between humans and the biosphere generally. It helps with awareness. Visit the following website to keep in touch.
http://www.overshootday.org/
Check out Earth Overshoot Day which this year is August 8.
A general news source for interesting and important topics: One article describes a day in the life of an orphaned hippopotamus; the main article headline reads, “Humans Stripping Earth of Its Resources – Global biodiversity has fallen 30 percent in 40 years, the new report says.” See:
http://www.seeker.com/humans-stripping-earth-of-its-resources-1765773906.html#news.discovery. Otherwise, be aware that with a little more human-biocentric awareness, how can you simplify your life without the over-abundant dependence on the “plastic/electronic” aspects of your culture?
Further, definitely assign yourself the responsibility to grow some milkweed for the Monarchs, have a place on your property – if only your fourth story windowsill – to provide water to birds and food in the winter. Like the good Samaritan, don’t pass up opportunities to rescue the plight of any creature including Homo Sapiens.
Today’s comfort and sense of accomplishment is most important now rather than waiting 10,000 years to the end of our age when there will be no Homo sapiens.
Ancient Mariner