Global Ecosystems on Sci Fi..... grrrrrrreeeeeeaaaaat..... one

man gave humanity an "F" for the care it has given to the life giving systems of the planet.

We are killing ourselves. This is actually somewhat of a pet peeve of mine, too many people have attitudes of "fuck the enviroment" for money or convienence. The problem is this, enviromentalism has little to NOTHING to do with careing about whether spotted owls have an enviroment to live in, or that forests are clearcut, or that fish have streams to spawn in. What enviromentalism is REALLY about is our survival on this planet as a species. This is no exhaggeration, for well over 5 thousand years, we have had a surprisingly stable climate, that is probably the ONLY reason why civilization arose to begin with, and it could have ended with the mini-ice age that caused a cold snap starting in the 1100s and ending in the Early 19th century.

Our livelhoods, from our agriculture to our cities rely on stable ecosystems and stable climate to be sustainable at all. You destroy the forests and poison the ocean, and the oxygen levels drop. Change the climate and you create droughts, famine, rising sea levels, and also plagues. You kill off a few keystone species in certain ecosystems, and they end up collapsing. This is why enviromentalism is important, not so we can see elephants or lions still in the wild, but so we can SURVIVE at all.

Actually, I probably hold a somewhat controversial opinion on this, and that is that humans being are too short sighted to EVER be good stewarts of the planet's ecosystems. In fact, I think the BEST thing we could do is LEAVE THEM ALONE!

Its not like I'm advocating mass suicide, nothing that drastic, to be honest, I think we should try to minimize as much damage as we have done so far, repair what we can, and then simply leave. Turn the planet into a "global park" if you will, with almost no humans on it, and let nature take its course. Maybe a couple million years from now, another species will take a crack at civilization, who knows, but maybe the best way to ensure our own survival is to simply expand where there ARE no ecosystems to destroy.

I tell my students on the first day of class that the name is a misnomer and that the REAL issue is "human management" -- doing something about OUR attitudes, perceptions, and activities, rather than "managing nature" to suit ourselves. As you say, quite often we end up causing more damage, when we think we can control the situation. Apparently he complained to my department chair, who promptly told him that he agreed with my take on things.

Put a lot of people in a Plexiglas room and tell them the floor, ceiling, walls, represent the outer most parts of our biosphere. After they understand, start pumping in smoke from a local industrial plant. When they start gasping for air, explain "yeah this is a one way deal, to late to stop the change in your environment". Open the door and let em flop on the floor. Tell em in real life there is no door.

13. Prod

Emotions inside us troubling,
The hatred inside us escalating,
The sickness inside us keeps us weak,
The masses inside of us suffering they are bleeding,
The calling inside us sick with greed,
The voices calling to us deafening we're not listening

Cannot receive the obvious
Line up cattle and cut the necks
Swat at the flies omit disgust

The leaders inside us posturing,
The pollution inside of us suffocating me,
The science inside us menacing
The will that's inside of us its dying end is coming

Cannot receive the obvious
Line up cattle and cut the necks
Drain us of life and cleanse the mess

Wash me off inside, wash me off inside

We're killing ourselves killers
Goddamn we fucked up the circumstance,
Too late to save us from ourselves,
Callous minds against trust and confidence,
Too late to give a damn now
Too late to save us from ourselves, too late to make it all go
away,
Too late to beg pardons from the mother, too late to give a damn

Now we'll sit and wait

Wait wait for the coming. of the end
Wait for the coming the killing the ending the plight of man
Deserving no mercy expelling by god's hand,
It's okay the ending it's over no more pain .

Emotion the hatred the sickness the calling

.... a few years ago. They were debating a resolution to ban leaf-blowers, and a couple of activists brought leaf-blowers into the room and started them up. The council immediately saw their point!