Environmental concerns are high on everyone's list in these uncertain and troubling times. Obviously, none of our issues will be issues, if we don't have a place to have the issues in, and that certainly makes our impact on Mother Earth a deep concern worldwide. Yet, this becomes quite the debate, the further we dive into it. Once again, it becomes difficult to discern the truth in our search. One side argues that one would have to be incredibly blind and ignorant not to see the impact of humans on the planet, while the other side argues a much different story.
Statistics and information are all over the internet, coming from both sides, and one can become lost in trying to sort it all out. Even factual statistics and numbers from reputable sources can be debated, and so then the question of who can be trusted surfaces. The truth is that agendas are everywhere, and those agendas are driven by different people with different reasons and for different reasons. What matters to one, won't matter to the other, however, all those matters should matter, as all matters, in fact, matter. Unfortunately, we can see the division of the race unfolding in another all too important aspect of our lives. One would think that when it comes to our quality of life, the quality of our environment and the quality of our futures, we could come together and stand united. Unfortunately, we're gonna have to work on that.
In order for us to make progress as a species, we're gonna have to review yet another situation which threatens our lives, and start making better choices for a better future. So, how do we discover truth in our observation process? How do we determine fact from fiction, separate truth from lies and know who and what information to trust? The answers exist within all of us, and we discover those answers the same way we discover truth as it relates to every aspect of our lives. Doesn't matter if we're talking about government, conspiracy, human rights etc., or even the environment we all live in, we have to apply the same formula here. The search for truth is in and of itself, a search.
Along the way, we must not only challenge the message or the messengers, the single most important factor, is that we challenge ourselves. The truth is that we may never discover the whole truth, but that should not lay the foundation for us to create an excuse to, in fact, not search for it. We live in a world of physical law and it would be foolish for us to ignore the law of cause and effect. All of our actions affect the world we live in, no matter how big or how small, and that is truth. Those that choose to do nothing, are in fact, still doing something. We can choose to ignore these issues, and we can choose to think they don't affect our lives, but the opposite holds true.
The time has come to face that which faces us- the future, and we don't accomplish that without facing the past or facing our present either. So, in order to see our future, we're gonna have to review our past and see how that relates to our present... Our planet, is no stranger to disaster. Disaster is part of Mother Earth's system of checks and balances. We can all agree that entire species have been extinguished and wiped off the face of the planet in the past. Common sense would tell us that the same can happen to us as well. We, as humans, tend to look at the here and now, and quite often forget about the big picture. We are only a small part of this universe, and we are not as grand a species as we so foolishly believe. Our lives are nothing more than a blink of the eye when it comes to the subject of time and space.
There are forces at work, which one can be more than sure, which we are not aware of, and it would be ridiculous to think, that we as a species, can control those forces. We have only begun to study this world of our existence, and we have much, much more to learn. After all, it wasn't that long ago, the earth was flat. That being said, common sense would dictate that we don't really know that much to begin with, and that perhaps we should embrace a spirit of humility as we examine our current state of affairs. Even Einstein, stated that he was simply "marveled" at all, and that there are only two things in life which are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and he wasn't sure about the former. So before we get all "high and mighty" and impressed with ourselves, perhaps we should examine how fragile our lives really are.
No man, is mightier than Mother Nature herself. Disaster strikes everywhere and no one is exempt from her hand. There are avalanches, earthquakes, volcanoes, blizzards, floods, Tsunamis, hurricanes, tornadoes, heat waves, droughts, wildfires, epidemics, impact events and solar flares etc., which have claimed countless lives in the past. I'm pretty sure that each and every one of these disasters will continue to happen, and continue to claim countless lives in our futures as well. And one should realize that this is only a short list of "natural disasters." Let's not forget "man-made disasters", such as agricultural, biodiversity, human health, industrial, nuclear disasters etc., and their effect on our environment as it relates to the air we breath, the land we live on, and the water we drink. Humans have been responsible for more than their fair share of disasters, which claim lives, since our humble beginnings.
Common sense would dictate, that in the case of man-made disasters, they too will continue. Hind sight is 20/20 we say. What was not evident to us then, will certainly be evidenced later. We can debate, discuss and argue all we want, but the results of our actions will ultimately be revealed. I firmly believe that in our search, we can reasonably deduce that man is in fact, making poor decisions right now, which will have negative impacts later. With all the natural disasters which have happened and continue to happen, one would have to agree that humans definitely should be working towards decreasing the number of man-made disasters, in an effort to offset the number of deaths associated with the one's which already exist outside of our control.
We should also realize that, all of our actions, also contribute to natural disasters as well. We only represent a fraction of this world, but we are part of it, and it would be backward thinking to suggest we don't have an influence on it. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction we have determined, and we should determine how that relates to our own lives and the lives of others. Anybody who has studied mathematics, knows that every factor plays a role in determining the outcome of a problem, or the balance of an equation, no matter how small that factor is. Our planet is starting to show us that there are some factors that we need to re-examine, as it is unbalancing the equation and presenting some serious problems.
One can study any number of topics relating to our environment, and it will consume the rest of their life. Change is needed now. Not only do we need to take our environment seriously, we need to take our education of it seriously as well. All of us can begin taking action at improving things immediately. Becoming aware is a process. Waking up is a process. Searching for truth is a process. Change is a process. It took us awhile to get to this point, and it will take us a while to get to the next point. The truth of the matter, is that we cannot continue on the same path, or we will get to where we are headed. It is up to us to change direction and set the course for our own lives first. As we create positive change in our own lives, we will inspire positive change in others.
We should watch pointing fingers and making excuses. The larger issues at hand, are in fact, driven by our decisions. If the whole world decided to stop driving their pollution creating vehicles and machines, obviously there would be some serious change in government and industry. If there was no need for fossil fuels, obviously a few agendas might just disappear and change. If we refused to buy certain chemicals, obviously companies producing those chemicals, might just have to rethink their business approaches and products. If we changed our eating habits and where and how we purchased our food, obviously that would affect the whole world. We stop what we want to stop. Governments, industries, corporations and all the conspiracies that go with them, are fueled by us. They can not exist without us. We are part of the equation, and therefore, determine said outcome of the equation. There has never been a time in history, when there was more of us. With the advances in technology and communication, we have the advantage over each and every civilization that has come before us. Never before has history provided better opportunities for all of us to band together and take a stand, united as one, to create positive change. We have the power. All we have to do is accept it, or this world will self destruct in 3... 2... 1...
-The current estimation of the world's population is just over 7 Billion.
-The Central China Floods (1931) claimed over 4 Million lives.
-The Bhola Cyclone (1970) claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, and is considered to be the worst tropical storm ever recorded.
-The Haiti Earthquake (2010) claimed over 250,000 lives, left the same amount injured, and left over a million homeless.
-The Indian Ocean Tsunami (2004) slammed into 15 countries in the region, with waves over 30 meters high, it is estimated to have claimed close to 300,000 lives.
-The Japan Earthquake (2011) caused a massive amount of damage, in several countries, including nuclear radiation leaks which effects are still being studied and determined.
-Hurricane Katrina (2005) was one of the worst disasters to ever hit the U.S. It caused an economy loss of over 80 Billion Dollars and is considered to be the most expensive disaster in the world.
-The "Dust Bowl" (1930-1940) was one of the worst man made disasters in the history of the U.S. Depleted farmland and drought created a dust storm, reaching 10,000 feet in the air, called the "Black Blizzards." It displaced over 2.5 Million people.
-Chernobyl (1986) is considered to be one of the worst nuclear meltdowns in history, causing thousands of deaths from cancer.
-The Exxon/Valdez spill of 11 Million gallons of oil is far from the record- The Gulf War spill takes the record of 160 Million gallons of oil in 1991.
-To date, the worst man made disaster to claim more lives than any other disaster known to man, is war.
All over the world, lakes are drying up and becoming desserts, glaciers are melting, species are dying, greenhouse gas levels are rising and the statistics more than show us that since 1963 (the first global change conference), we have actually made things much, much worse. The scientists that have been raising and waving the red flags, estimated there will be no life even possible here on earth in just 200 years, yet we cut down 51 acres of tropical forest, consume 35,000 barrels of oil and add 12,000 tons of carbon dioxide to the earth's atmosphere EVERY MINUTE. EVERY HOUR, 25,000 people die from water contamination and shortage, 10 tons of nuclear waste are produced and 5 species of life become extinct. These statistics don't even break the surface of the ice and should not be considered a hint at anything. They represent a call to action or this world will self destruct in 3... 2... 1...
Sources:
www.wikipedia.org
www.unstats.un.org
www.buzzle.com
www.truthout.org
We are the variable not a constant!
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