Some musings concerning the end of the world as we know it.

Written By: Deacon
Date: 2006-11-04 12:07:34
<a href="/article/20734283-some-musings-concerning-the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it">Article Link</a>

And that is just one thing that causes me concern.

Another is the fact that we are killing our oceans. Never mind the Amazon Rain Forest being the lungs of the planet, the real lungs of the planet are the phytoplankton in our oceans. We can survive without the ARF, but once we lose the plankton, it's game over for oxygen breathers.

Which leads me to my third concern: air pollution. There isn't anywhere left on this blue marble we call home where the air is pure anymore. The very oil that runs our global economy is also slowly choking us. Much as I like my car, if I have to choose between it and living, it's bye bye car.

Sadly, my one car won't make a damn bit of difference. We need some means that will allow for both sustainable local/global economies, and a viable transpotation infrastructure which does NOT depend on oil.

Right now, I don't see anything viable even on the distant horizon that will get the job done.

Sadly, air pollution becomes water pollution when it rains, and all the industrial waste we pump into the air ends up in rivers, lakes, and eventually in the ocean.

More poison for plankton to deal with.

The other point about air pollution that worries me is that phytoplankton thrive best in COLD water oceans, and global warming will warm the seas up as surely as night follows day.

Global warming will also cause sea levels to rise, and cause salinity shifts on all of our oceans due to melting polar caps.

More environmental stressors for phytoplankton to deal with.

Personally, while the submerging of earth's coastal cities would be a disaster, my main concern is the possible extinction of the human race.

Some worry that we will turn Earth into another Venus with 900 C temperatures. That cannot happen here simply because we are 25 million miles further away from the sun than our sister world.

No, far from a molten hell, our end will be a death by slow asphyxiation.

And after the vast majority (if not ALL) of us are gone, Earth will once more begin to heal itself.

Should any remnants of humanity remain, I sincerely hope that they will be far wiser than we have been.

These are the things I have nightmares about, the possible futures that rob me of sleep, and at times almost bring me to dispair.

And when I add to that how we treat our fellow human beings, I sometimes wish I had never been born.

This is the future that my children will inherit, and they deserve far better.

[Proofreader's note: this article was edited for spelling and typos on November 6, 2006]

Please don't despair but keep witnessing to what is right and true. At least you'll know you did what YOU could. Sometimes nothing but faith and lots of prayer can equip us to face what is coming. So please hang in there, Deacon!

There have been more than a few of us who have been to our own hell and back. As one of those who shares your insights to the goings on inthe world i have been both a pariah and vindicated.
Thank you for opening up to the readership Deacon. As you may have guesses I am not a believer in any ofthe BS laid out before me and get into funks from time to time.

The serenity prayer helped.
“…grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.”

I am a single divorced man who is under the shadow of false memory accusations which tore me apart so I have no offspring to be concerned about. I do however grieve fo to-days and the futures youth.

---
Diogenes said:
"I am Diogenes the Dog. I nuzzle the kind, bark at the greedy and bite scoundrels."

<blockquote> Should any remnants of humanity remain, I sincerely hope that they will be far wiser than we have been. </blockquote> Unless we mutate ourselves "out of business", I think the human race will survive. Once we become just one more of the species on this planet, the Earth will begin the healing process. Considering the brevity of our existence, compared to the longevity of the Earth, who knows how many times we've been through this? Perhaps the gods are indeed forgiving in their own "tough love" ways...... --- "Son, if you wanna get ahead in this world, never work for another man as long as you live."

Boy we are into some heavy weight thoughts on this post. Dare I risk
expressing my point of view, even though I am certain some will call me
crazy, unrealistic or....but I will anyway because the only thing that will ever
really matter is that we communicate with each other and try to help each
other on this journey called life. So although I can certainly relate to the
feelings of negativity and the sense of hopelessness, I also see the disaster
coming and the challenges that will exist but

I believe that the earth has had enough and that it is only our arrogance that
prevents us from seeing the signs. Some of us will respect the planet(our
home) and others will not. Those who have lived like parasites off the rest of
us, and the planet are heading for a crash, and those of us who have seen it
coming will be better prepared to accept the changes. I'm not going to say it
won't be difficult, or that some will probably suffer more than they can bear,
but my sense is that the suffering will be relative.

Think about the person living on the street now, with no home, no warm bed,
not knowing where the next meal is coming from, compared to the person
who hasn't a clue where money comes from, how the food on their plate
arrived, etc etc. which one will find the crash more difficult?

I think the insanity is going to escalate for a bit and then all the systems
which have been set in place to enslave us. are going to stop working, maybe
not overnight but seemingly. Then we will begin to rebuild using real
common sense. We will begin to see each other as equals and we will share
the small resources that are available to us.

I have a great deal of hope in humanity and I personally believe that the
Universe is guiding us, and those who listen will in fact find their way to
survive and in fact thrive. No we can't keep going the way we are, we are
going to wake up, whether we want to or not and when we do, we'll either
change, adapt and move on, or we will cease to exist. The key here, I believe
is to find people you can depend on for support; family, friends who are
willing to think outside of the box.

---
"aaaah and the whisper of thousands of tiny voices became a mighty deafening roar and they called it 'freedom'!"' Canadians Acting Humanely at home & everywhere

<blockquote> I believe that the earth has had enough and that it is only our arrogance that prevents us from seeing the signs. </blockquote> Cannot help but agree with this. <blockquote> Think about the person living on the street now, with no home, no warm bed, not knowing where the next meal is coming from, compared to the person who hasn't a clue where money comes from, how the food on their plate arrived, etc etc. which one will find the crash more difficult? </blockquote> I think both will......and that who survives will be more of a crapshoot than anything else. <blockquote> I think the insanity is going to escalate for a bit and then all the systems which have been set in place to enslave us. are going to stop working, maybe not overnight but seemingly. </blockquote> Over a period of time, during which the insanity will manifest itself in fighting over dwindling resources. It's only when we become few in numbers and self-reliant that any hope of "seeing the light" might happen. <blockquote> I have a great deal of hope in humanity and I personally believe that the Universe is guiding us </blockquote> Gaia? I think there is something to this, though I don't know if I could extend it to the universe. My brain isn't big enough to grok that........--- "Son, if you wanna get ahead in this world, never work for another man as long as you live."

All very good thoughts on a very difficult subject. I would like to add my agreement to the Serenity Prayer, in the acceptance and knowing of what things we can or cannot change. A wise woman once told me, "we really only have today, tomorrow is not yet here, and yesterday is gone."

No matter what the religion, belief, or non-belief of anyone, I believe that these words, though very simple carry great power. That is.....of Faith, Hope and Love....the greatest of these is Love.

"This is the future that my children will inherit, and they deserve far better."

This is why I've made the difficult choice of not procreating. Most of us posting here today won't live to witness the REALLY hard times. It's unfortunate that the up coming generation is so mind-controlled and out of step with reality. They and their offspring will truly suffer but hopefully endure. May they see a brighter day.

I believe my parents lived in what were probably the best of times. Although, their early years were very difficult. "Canada is the best country in the world and we are so lucky to live here" is what my father recently reminded me of. At least they enjoyed their retirement. I don't believe mine will mirror theirs.

Thanks guys

I completely forgot about the Serenity Prayer, thanks for reminding me that it existed. Best I relearn it like I did when I was 16.

I'm not often that down, but sometimes it all comes together and when it does, the result is along the lines of what I submitted above.

Not that I'm entirely without hope, but the ignorance and arrogance of the leadership currently in charge globally taxes it greatly.

Harper's dodging the European leaders, for example, simply both amazes me and infuriates me.

He does something against a signed accord, and then does a wussout when faced with the repercussions of his actions.

Stephen Harper isn't fit to lead water down a hill, let alone Canada.

This, from an alledgedly "intelligent" man.

I guess, simply put, we as people have force a change in the politics; regardless of what the vested interests want. If the politicians don't care, then we damn well have to MAKE them care.

Technologically, we can adapt to make our environmental footprint a lot smaller than it is currently. We have the means, and the brainpower to make it work.

But without the political will to do it, all the ideas in the world won't get the job done.

When it comes down to the bottom line, we can either voluntarily change our way of life, or have that change thrust upon us in a manner we can not alter at a time not of our choosing.

And thanks again for letting me know I'm not alone.

Deacon

---
"and the knowledge they fear is a weapon to be used against them"

"The Weapon" - Rush

"If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stomping on a human face -- forever."

Seems to me that Orwell's pragmatic "prediction" is a direct function of population -- the more of us there are, the more dependent we are, and the more control may be exerted.

Of course, this may beg the question: Just what IS the "natural state" of the human race anyway? Seems that we know quite a bit about other species, but precious little of our own........

---
"Son, if you wanna get ahead in this world, never work for another man as long as you live."

I hear you Deacon, and if it's all a tempest in a teapot as the naysayers claim then why do we keep giving ground? When my Mom was a child she would walk back through to the marsh on any given evening and watch as many as twenty moose gathered. You could put a line in any stream or lake and pull out trout, and you had work real hard to sunburn. The sun was not our enemy, neither was the water, the air or the food we ate. It's sad to fear the things we need to sustain us.

I also think that we were trained to believe that we each can make it on our
own, and that the best and most successful people do so because they are
smarter and work harder than the rest...that is utter b.s. , but that is the way
we've been trained. As the chaos increases we are going to begin to reach out
to our fellow humans and start connecting and learning to depend on each
other, as it was meant to be. If we were meant to be alone, we would be.
Nobody is really a self-made person, everyone in our lives teaches us
something, good or bad, and we use the systems build by others to move our
ideas forward. Today's inventions were created with yesterdays inventions
and so on. Tomorrow's solutions will be founded in yesterdays technology
and awareness.

Clearly many of us are realizing that we do need each other, even if only for
emotional support. It is funny though, the elite always promote not having
social programs for the population, yet they have a huge network and safety
net for themselves. I think we would serve each other better to create our
social programs and networks so that we can thrive as we were meant to, and
not be the slaves for the rich. There is a great deal of hope in humanity and
our ability to evolve. Some of the posts here are a great example of support
and concern for each other, and someone above said, we need to lead and I
believe that is what democracy really is....our representatives take their
orders from us, not the other way around.

---
"aaaah and the whisper of thousands of tiny voices became a mighty deafening roar and they called it 'freedom'!"' Canadians Acting Humanely at home & everywhere

We do need each other. "Successful" people do often have contempt for their fellow man and take sole ownership of their success as if the good wages, safer working conditions, or medicare or other fruits of our society weren't the legacy given us by the very types of individuals they enjoy disparaging so much. They preach the betterment of the individual but fail to say who will take the minimum wage jobs once we all reach professional nirvana, totally in denial that they leach off the captivity of those who work in job ghettos.

If we were meant to live alone, we wouldn't be the sexual creatures we are. We are prolific because, in the beginning of things, our mortality rate was very high, and we had to outbreed death. Now we are smothering the Earth, tribble-like: ( <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribble">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribble</a> )--- "Son, if you wanna get ahead in this world, never work for another man as long as you live."

The human spectacle is not something to invest emotionally into.
Humanity will hoist itself on it's own petard soon enough, and rightly so.
Best thing that can happen, the ONLY thing that can happen.
Hopefully, we will cut our own throats before ensuring that even the meekest
of beings will never inherit the Earth, but I'm not holding my breath.
The best one can do is accept one's fate, sit back, and enjoy the comical
looks on the faces of Mr. and Mrs. Whitebread Suburbanite as everything they
considered their immutable birthright turns to shit in their hands.
" If I may put forth a slice of personal philosophy, I feel that man has ruled
this world as a Stumbling Demented Child-King, LONG ENOUGH!
And as his empire crumbles, my precious Black Widow shall rise as his most
fitting successor!" - Vincent Price, 'Welcome to my Nightmare'
Now have a nice day.