All
of our eggs are in one basket, I have said it before.
We
live here, all of us-all-together and we have no place else to go.
The
world is a big place and it can take a lot of damage, but the ecosystems we
depend on are specialized and fragile. The world itself will survive many
things that we individually and our bio-systems collectively cannot.
We
are in peril.
We
are responsible for the care of this world. It is a sacred obligation, we have
been charged with its care by our holy books, and more importantly under the
aegis of common sense.
The
care of this world is a categorical imperative; if we do not care for it, the
world may just shrug us off, or shrug just enough that a calamity will ensue that
will alter us forever, changing our cultures, our languages, even our DNA.
Listen!
There
are natural disasters pending, they are built into the structure of the planet,
into the thinness of the mantle, caused by the heat emanating from deep within our
planet’s core. There are massive volcanoes, and there is continental drift, the
geological forces at work in these could easily destroy us all.
If
we allow it.
There
are calamities heading our way from outer-space, celestial bodies sailing
through the void. They are already on a collision course with Earth. There are
asteroids and comments that we will collide with us, if we are unable to work
cooperatively to change their course, these eventualities will overwhelm us..
These
are baked in, such disasters are existential threats.
Foreseeable
events also represent opportunities for the advancement of science, and the unification
of humanity. Given enough time, it is possible that we could even harness the
power of the greatest volcanoes, turn their destructive energies to the benefit
of humankind, or move the near Earth objects that threaten us from our path,
capture them for their mineral wealth.
We
need time, more than that we need a willingness to rise to the challenges.
We
face other threats right now, immediate threats, threats of our own making.
We
are changing the climate, the planet is warming.
Our
oceans are becoming acidic, we are changing their salinity.
We
are filling our atmosphere with toxins.
Glaciers
are melting, sea levels are rising
We
are polluting our freshwater lakes, rivers, and streams.
We
are losing topsoil, our forests and our coral reefs.
Our
stewardship is failing.
We
are divided, against each other…by greed which drives a short sighted political
mindset, seeking and succeeding at turning people against their long-term
interests.
Politicians
and their wealthy patrons, silence and undermine our scientists, they cast
doubt on any field of inquiry which might lead to a curtailment of their
industrial enterprises, or their short-term profits.
They
treat the Earth and all of its resources like it is a grab-bag full of goodies,
opened for them to plunder, like children with a big stick whacking at a
piƱata.
Our
stewardship is failing.
We
are failing.
It
is Earth Day 2019, and all of our eggs are in one basket, the basket is fragile,
and there is no other.
Earth
Day is my Birthday.
04.22.2019
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