Originally Posted by Darthtang AW
I just had 75 statements go through my head about this topic. But it is late and don't feel like typing an essay. So I will do this. I refrain from voting because my answer is not on the list of possibilities. Every anser on that list gives human population the blame in some form or another.
I do have a question however. When something "bad" is happening how come people automatically blame humans?
It is pure anthropocentrism. Very ironic...because on the one hand it is all mother nature this and mother nature that...but at the heart of the argument is the belief that humans ARE superior than anything else and can cause and FIX these problems.
I find the views of some environmentalists ironic in this sense, because the term is used on both sides of the argument. Environmentalists in many cases will use it to defend the idea that man's insistence on (effectively) global domination - development, resource usage, etc - is the cause of these problems.
But I see it the other way. That it is truly human - centric to believe that man is superior to earth and can thus cause (and above all FIX) these problems.
IMO, humans are a successful species, that can extensively modify its habitat and impact other species. But we may also be the only one aware of this relationship. We are also plagued by awareness of this success and so think not only can we modify our back yard but that we can fix the planet. This is an excessive sense of superiority, IMO.
Of course your statement of something "bad" is also interesting, because "good" and "bad" are basically human judgements, and frankly didn't exist per se until our awareness. So again, this is ironic. Those days when asteroids hit in the past...we might consider it very bad for a multitude of its effects (climate change, extinction)...but life charged on without fail.
I think that we can "save ourselves" if you will, but I don't believe the "save the planet" argument. I don't think we can even begin to understand the planet, and I think moreover the only thing that will destroy it will be when the sun goes "bam!" Until that time, the earth will continue to change and go through climate shifts as it always has done in the past, with or without humans on its surface.
I am all for advancements in technology, clean air, clean water, and sharing that with all developing countries. These things are "no brainers" as we simply will run out of petroleum reserves in time (though may find they are produced by inorganic means and thus may have advances there). I am sick and tired of every fricken strip mall going up here. But I am not for radical "jump on the wagon" global warming hype, because even the term is just plain wrong.