Re: Life Duty Death & Denial
Javilk (javilk@shell1.best.com)
18 Sep 1995 08:28:11 GMT
Marty G. Price (mprice@Ra.MsState.Edu) wrote:
: From your analogy, this librarian is inclined to ask, "But have the
: attendants gone mad? Are they casting out unique first editions to make
: way for dozens and dozens of identical copies of the latest best-sellers,
: books which will be nearly worthless in six months?"
The first editions have not proven themselves. nature has to try a
lot of mistakes. After all, crocodiles have Much, Much stabler DNA than
we do. Our ancestors simply made more mistakes.
: My concern is that we are a species out of equilibrium with our
: environment---"a plague of locusts"---whose burdgeoning population and
: whose unique capacity to create various poisons (industry) does not bode
: well for our own continued quality of life. Our actions affect, first,
: our own species. The Earth will live on, responding creatively to
: whatever conditions we leave behind.
There is no question that we are harming ourselves through our own
idiocity. but we too, have to make mistakes for our abilities to
evolve. It is thorough our discussions and arbuments, that we come up
with many of our new ideas. For example, I had not thought much about
the glacial cycles and their effects untill I started writing for this
thread. Then wammo! Ther's one of nature's biggest cycles staring me in
the face!
: We are part of the cycle; given the choice I would much rather be part
of: a well-nourished stable species than a boom-and-bust one.
That's just it, we are not given the choice. Not till we can tame the
polar climates and prevent the global catastrophy of the ice ages. I
seriously doubt we will be able to do that! And once it starts, we will
try all too belatedly, to throw up as many greenhouse gasses as we can!
A recent article in Science News (?) suggested that as the ice
advances, it grinds up and throws so many nutrients into the seas that
the sea blooms -- greenhouse gasses are reduced, further lowering global
temperatures. Another article in Science News tells that the latest
effort to see if putting iron dust into the sea to improve oxygen
generation was quite successful.
But... there are a few volcanoes beneath the South Polar ice cap...
(reported in the past few years in Discovery? Scientific American? and
Science News.) And if one of them really belches... The southern polar
ice age could begin. I do recall that they were not always
simultaneous, north and south...
I do not know the answers! I only know a few vague questions...
-J- (Javilk@best.com)------------------------------------------------
Think Manageable, Think Personal, Think Responsible, Think Pagan. ---
Then take what actions may help all, and hurt none. -----------------
But sometimes, it is not so clear when helping is harming...
For warnings not heeded, lessons not learned, forbode disasters.
Which may, in turn, save more lives through the lessons taught...
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