** Life and Death On Planet Earth ** WILDER Network **

The conceit with which we refer to ourselves as higher animals ought to be moderated by a brief consideration of the ghastly habits, made possible by the abilities generously given to us, that we exhibit to each other and to the natural world. We should only bathe in conceit if the actions driven by our thoughts are purposeful for the benefit of mankind as a species and also benefit the natural world as it exists in our biosphere.

It is our good fortune that the biosphere is quite forgiving of the many harms we do her. In many ways the biosphere can compensate for our thoughtlessness, however the compensation is not always immediate or even soon, it can take centuries or eons. This applies whether we pollute a small stream or decimate planet life with nuclear explosions.

The security of our existence, in respect to meaningful survival as a species, depends in the short run primarily on the supply of the food we eat and the air we breathe. The planet can supply enough food to support a finite number of our species. The population of the world dangerously hovers around or is in excess of that number. With inequality in the availability of food from region to region, those with overabundance and overgenerous appetites, condemn the many not so privileged.

It is interesting that those privileged with overabundance tend to limit the number of children they breed, in a way protecting their supplies, while those in societies with a paucity of food tend to breed almost indiscriminately so worsening their situation. It is a sad state of affairs made worse by the fact that banditry thrives in impoverished societies further hastening the starvation of many.

It is overoptimistic to think the maldistribution of food around the globe can be solved by international cooperation. There are too many barriers thrown up by nationalism, conflicts and insensitive leadership., the situations often aggravated by climatic disasters. It is possible to ship surpluses of one region to others in need but experience has shown that the supplies have a poor chance of been distributed equitably in the areas where most needed. Supplies flowing from other regions for any length of time can discourage traditional methods of producing food locally. This can alter lifestyles making for reliance on non-local diets, spelling disaster when relief supplies cannot be relied on to continue indefinitely.

With a finite food supply, an answer that might provide some chance of a sufficiency is to limit the number of mouths to feed. Unfortunately, the idea and practice of birth control has been tried on a wide scale with limited success. One reason for the lack of success is the ignorance shown by those producing more and more children in an environment of scarcity without any consideration of the resulting burden on the food supply. A dominant reason is the force of the animal instinct for sexual gratification which is poorly controlled in backward societies and in backward groups in societies that should know better.

It is presumptuous to think we can alter sexual behavior sufficiently in backward areas to satisfactorily control a population explosion. Where attempts have been made, the least success has been in the nations in which alteration of sexual behavior is most urgent. It is only in a rigidly controlled society, such as China, that the population growth can be controlled with some, but not full, success. With the huge numbers involved in that nation, any relaxation of the discipline will have disastrous results with a population explosion of disastrous proportions. The political and social changes occurring there make the explosion more than likely.

It does not seem reasonable to make drugs available that enhance sexual performance to those in areas of the world already overpopulated. The divisiveness of the political world and the natural force of the reproductive instinct allows little control over the world's population growth but the natural world has its own way of creating a balance between resources and those depending upon them.

Humans must be seen as in herds when viewed from the vastness of the universe. We appear as specks in the cosmos dependent on the magnanimity of our own biosphere. As herds of animals are culled by starvation, fighting for resources, disease, and by natural phenomena such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods or droughts, so is our own herd. To think this must grate on the sensibilities of individuals, especially those privileged to live in a well-stocked, healthy and peaceful environment.

Fatal fevers and death from bullets are not easily accepted in modern society, but death in conflict is accepted as a sacrifice for a cause. Causes breed hatred and hatreds breed conflicts. Only the starving should be able to speak with authority on starvation but starvation itself dulls understanding.

If infinitely complex reason is attributed to the biosphere, it is apparent that it sees little difference between the culling of one animal and another. Some of the human animals are gifted with the ability to analyze the fate of the race and feel remorse; They also have the ability to turn thought in directions to find comfort, love and pleasure, maybe fleeting thoughts in the timelessness of the history of the stars.

Precious life can be made truly precious only by minds that design it to be so. The will of man is unfortunately only too fickle; this must make him of great interest to the rest of the universe.

Although we should have been humbled as regards our significance as we look further and further towards what appears to be a limitless universe, man has shown arrogance when it comes to the care of the health of the biosphere, the planet itself, its precious oceans and its atmosphere.

Of interest are the evolving mores, fashions, arts, entertainments, common interests and attitudes, and the reliance on technology, shown by contemporary societies that accept the term 'advanced' as a valid description. A brief look at the indices listed above can give some idea of the state of societies and the direction they are taking. The corrosion of morals is apparent in the number of children born outside of a marriage union and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. Some crime statistics have shown a decrease in a few areas, partly attributed to an appetite to place criminals in large numbers into cages. Crimes committed by dishonest manipulation of wealth at the individual and corporate level continue to increase. Much of the avalanche of advertising thrust on society is blatantly dishonest or intentionally misleading and soaked up by the recipients judging by its success in persuading them to buy, very often on credit.

To judge contemporary fashion is a confusing exercise when it comes to dress. A younger group tends to accept wear that cannot be described as anything but ugly; coarse un-ironed material, clothes designed for larger bodies than their own, upper wear sporting messages and logos. The point of so many dressing the same way is that they want to belong to the herd, being fearful of being thought of as an outsider. They dress in the uniform of the herd.

Leaving puberty behind, the men tend to dress more conservatively. Not so the women. Their mode of dressing becomes more and more sexually provocative as skirts shorten, exposed more through slits, clefts between breasts become more apparent. If the provocations are successful, the provoked are accused of sexual harassment.

At what is thought to be the top end of the scale of fashion, we are treated to cadaverous-looking young females walking on runways with a provocative, unnatural gait, showing clothing that can only be worn by a privileged few on very few occasions.

It is disquieting that some contemporary artists, judging by some recent exhibitions, think that if they produce something that shocks but that has little artistic talent, they deserve kudos; unlikely to be bestowed on them by those who appreciate works that truly warrant recognition.

Symphony orchestras are still with us and there are tuneful songs to be heard with admirable lyrics but it seems the young seem to prefer crass music with a strong beat to obscure as much as possible any deficiencies in musical talent and they prefer the repetitive use of words that are hardly poetic and often have an antisocial theme. The performances are given at a decibel level which has been proved to be detrimental to hearing acuity. Those performing such music dress flamboyantly, the males have unkempt hair and they insist on gyrating there bodies in provocative ways resembling jungle dances. It is possible these antics are designed to have an audience take notice of them, they being unable to rely on the music to catch its attention.

Computers are now able to compose music and play it. The novelty of it is interesting but in no way can it rival music composed and played in more traditional manners.

In classical ballet, the old well-known favorites continue to charm and please. Modern works come and go, not many enduring. We are presently privileged to be able to see the Cirque du Soleil from Canada performing aerial and stage-level acts with grace and skill. Some of their performances meet the criteria for being ballets.

There are many good films being made but far too many that depict violence and criminality. Those made for television noticeably have a penchant for displaying as much violence as possible, explosions competing with crashes of vehicles and subjects.

One cannot help mentioning television without shuddering when thought is given to the volume of advertising matter shown on it, its banality and deceptions. The doctors depicted are not doctors and all statistics are undeniably suspect. The viewers are being deceived as they are persuaded to buy things they do not need and, in many cases, cannot afford. A daily dose of television is the perfect psychological way to induce gullibility and a lack of discernment.

The young are especially vulnerable in that regard.

It is dangerous enough that viewers are being made stupid, those deciding on what news should be aired seem to think continuously repeated horror stories of school shootings are not harmful. They are in that, those children who feel they warrant recognition are influenced to mimic those who certainly got recognition by killing their fellow students. The same can be said for the reporting of other sorts of mindless crimes.

The TV programmers also feel they must have the viewers mourning for as long as possible after an incident has allowed the showing of people grieving after a tragic incident.

Considering the volume of TV commercials touting drugs, those requiring prescriptions and many over-the-counter drugs, it can hardly be surprising that there is a widespread use of illegal drugs. The users have been brainwashed to think all symptoms, or situations that they think shouldn't be tolerated, can be ameliorated by drugs.

The World Wide Web could be heading for World Wide Woes choking on its unhealthy diet of excesses. There is some good in many advances in technology but little thought is given to possible harms to society or how the good can be manipulated as a social weapon. Revolutionary propaganda can be spread and pornographic material disseminated, lies and abusive barbs permeate the chat rooms, the messages typed in language and grammar that sorrowfully indicate widespread illiteracy. Shopping on line is too easy for the gullible, helping them on the way to insolvency that they think they have prevented by acquiring a second mortgage for an amount which completely takes away any equity in their property.

To avoid distress to many, the influences of disparate religions for good or evil will be omitted from this essay.

It may be asked what the previous opinions have to do with the biosphere and life and death on Planet Earth. The behavior of animals whether warm or cold blooded, fish or fowl, microbe or insect, or of plants whether in the ocean or on the land, have much to do with all the environments and can be harmful or beneficial. The advantageous proportion of oxygen available for us to breathe is decided by activity deep in the oceans, an adverse change in that activity, caused my Man's interference by such methods as mining the very depths, and survival is jeopardized. Should there be a change in the amount of oxygen available to breathe; an excess and all vegetation and everything, including ourselves, will burn up. With too little oxygen humans will not survive.

We think of pollution in terms of organisms, smoke, chemicals or radio activity. An invisible pollution increases in intensity by the minute, the pollution of the atmosphere by radio and microwaves which have the ability to pass through most solids including our brains and nervous systems without us knowing if any harm is being done.

As previously mentioned, the biosphere is remarkably tolerant of harm done to it and, within certain limits, has the ability to compensate and mollify the effects of challenges to its integrity. However, the mollification may never be complete and it may take years, centuries or eons of attempts to compensate for harms already done if it ever can. Most of what had been addressed has concerned life in many aspects. Death needs examination.

Longevity is of little concern for the young but becomes a big concern as decades are added to age. Death by starvation and violence has already been. mentioned Those surviving in 'advanced' societies are being told to expect to live to an older age, maybe 100, because of healthier diets and advanced medical care. That presents a number of problems some of which are already apparent. There would be too many old ones requiring support from relatively fewer younger ones. Advanced age is only kind to some, allowing them to care for themselves and be productive in some way and not be a burden to others. A larger elderly, healthy population would add to the problem of finding adequate sustaining resources.

The method of disposal of bodies after death by burial, if not changed, will further reduce the size of the useful land especially in urban areas. Cremation has two advantages as it reduces the land space needed for burials. Of more importance is the fact that, on cremation, the important molecules and atoms remain to be recycled throughout the biosphere and they get there in a hurry, unlike being delayed while waiting for decomposition in a grave. It is exciting to think that part of one might end up in a plant or animal, peacock or snake, or by the chance of inevitable redistribution, in everything organic and inorganic.

We are naturally endowed with many talents that other animals do not have. This means our responsibility for the health of the biosphere is greater. It does not appear that the degree of responsibility has been widely acknowledged. We will not be here to know how the biosphere survives. We do know that in millions of years it will not. I write 'millions' to be optimistic.

Each generation has influence on setting the clock forwards or backwards. Many of this generation do not show a sincere desire to do their part in nurturing our biosphere. The desire diminishes when we know there is an inconcinnity, technical progress not abating as levels of education of the majority continue to sink, the drop-out rate at high schools and universities increasing, wasting much of the money poured into education.

We should heed the warnings of the last 12 months. An increasing number of natural disasters have occurred; earthquakes, volcanic action, floods and hurricanes in areas not previously hit. The future may hold even more surprises for us. We might prepare for them but more attention should be given to analyzing the root causes for those disasters of the past and learn from them.

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Life and Death on Planet Earth McNeil 1998

Life and Death on Planet Earth
McNeil 1998