Do you really have to think about this again . . . ?
Facing reality is not always an easy thing to do. Over the centuries mankind has moved in a direction that has not always been beneficial to the longevity of the race. We attempt to distinguish ourselves from the animals, and yet we behave like them in so many ways and unlike them in so many other ways. Only the strong survive the onslaught of dominant groups of people who wield that larger swords, sharper teeth, bigger bank accounts, and longer horns. When it comes down to survival, we let few things get in our way. When it comes to maintaining power, we do so at all costs. We struggle to gain everything and strive to lose nothing. It is a game of collecting and once we have possession of the game pieces, it is our aim to keep them in our box at all costs. This is the way of the world.
I once mentioned to a group of male acquaintances the possibly realities and effects of global warming. The overwhelming response from this small group was “that it was not really affecting them”. Basically, they did not even want to waste a second of time contemplating something that did not directly affect them at that moment in time. This automatically relegated the problem to others as it was not their problem at the time. This seems to be the prevailing attitude held by many and this sense of the world “not being my responsibility” is one of the major factors that allows the destruction of the planet to continue. Most people are concerned with the reality of their own personal survival and their immediate needs and surroundings. Tomorrow never comes, it is always today. It actually makes sense in a limited way, yet it is part of what is allowing all of us to continue down a road of destruction. It’s called apathy.
We were born into the post industrial revolution period in time. We are the telephone, television, and computer generations. We are now the wireless generation which is highly connected and yet physically disconnected. We have increased out consumption of electrical energy be it alternating current from a wall outlet or direct current derived from batteries. This demand, along with increased population and progression of less modern countries toward technological implementation, has propelled us into an age where even the basic resources always taken for granted like clean air and water are fast becoming precious commodities that will soon be of costly value.
Fossil fuels like petroleum and oil have become a necessity for much of the world today. They make our lights come on, our cars run. They make up the multitide of plastic items that we use once and bury in the ground. They also poison our planet to an extent that a great deal of life is being threatened by it. Yet, we continue using it because it is difficult, if not near impossible, to wean off of it in a short period of time. After all, we have been using it for a hundred years. This is not a lot of time in the history of the world, but to the living, it is a long time. It is not easy to move to an entirely new way of transport and community power. Huge infrastructures have been developed and maintained for many years to foster our current enery supply and demand. It cannot be changed overnight. Unless there is a catastrophe of major proportions, this will continue unimpeded for some time to come. Moving to a new way of energy supply and use is very costly. Given the current economic situation around the globe, the transition will be even slower. It seems that we will continue with the status quo until we reach a point where we are forced to change the way we develop, supply, and utilize energy and other vital resources needed to maintain our life on this, our only planet.
