Planning for a Sustainable Human Future: Conservation, Population and Economy
(Page 2 of 5)
April/May 2009
By Bryan Welch
It’s recently occurred to me that I don’t hear anyone describing the world in which we want to live 20 years from now. Almost no one, it seems, is visualizing a successful outcome. We’re too busy arguing about where to drill for oil.
RELATED CONTENT
Conservation. Population. Economic reform. It’s time for us to visualize the future we desire. To g...
These are interesting times we’re living in, with the convergence of monumental challenges and awes...
Climbers undertake expedition to climb Mount Everest....
A classic American tree makes a comeback....
100 AMISHMEN BUILD A BARN ... AND A WAY OF LIFE May/June 1978 by HELEN FORREST McKEE It wonders me ...
The Ultimate Riddle
As far as we know, there is only one species in the universe capable of conceptualizing its impact on its habitat. That’s us.
If we are defined by our capacity for objective thought, then we are now living in one of the definitive moments in human history. Our ability to conceptualize our own role in nature helps define us as human beings. Our capacity for creating solutions to complex problems is the primary factor in our success as a species.
Today we face the challenge of solving the definitive human riddle. We are aware that we have an impact on the environment. We are aware that our population has been growing exponentially. We are aware that no species can expand infinitely on this finite planet. With this awareness comes responsibility.
We are capable of moderating our impact on the planet. We are capable of conceptualizing a sustainable human habitat and executing a plan to create that habitat. Yes, we face complex problems. But we’ve solved complex problems before. Perhaps the more vexing puzzle is how to defeat our biological programming — the programming that, in the words of the Judeo-Christian Bible, tells us to “go forth and multiply.” It’s a good thing we enjoy solving puzzles.
A Terrific Time to be Human
Now is the moment when our uniquely objective perspective and our enterprising intellect are engaged in what may be the most important challenge faced by our species so far.
Other species have damaged their habitats or lost them to environmental disaster. The dinosaurs, the saber-toothed tiger and the woolly mammoth died out. Many species routinely go through periods of catastrophic population collapse and reestablish themselves in some new biological equilibrium. Lemmings spring to mind.
Nature has many tools at her disposal that allow her to control species that cause habitat damage. Famine and disease are her most potent weapons — both effective and unpleasant.
We, on the other hand, can conceptualize our effect on the environment and we might, if we wish to, avoid the suffering Nature will inflict.
And we could restore the astonishing garden into which we were born — the Earth. I can’t think of a more inspirational goal.
In one sense, it’s a terrific time to be human. We’re here to meet our biggest challenge so far — bigger than bipedal locomotion; bigger than the domestication of plants and animals; bigger than the invention of the wheel. We’re here to confront our own biology, the essential nature that tells us to keep reproducing and expanding. If you could view the entirety of human experience from the dawn of our evolution to the present, if you could pick the human century you’d like to witness firsthand, you might choose this one. I think I would. I would want to watch us tackle this problem.
Page:
<< Previous 1 | 2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
Next >>
