[Leps-l] Potential loss of...the whole damn thing?!

JPPelham zapjammer at frontier.com
Sun Feb 17 09:14:53 EST 2013


Ahhh Sоuky,

First of all, if I got your name right, it is a totally cool name.

Souky: A word used to express extreme happiness.

Yes, we (humans) have been sold a bill of goods. Several to many in fact. We believe, adhere, hope, aspire...according to parameters established by Culture, Religion, and Politics (CPR).

The lyrics to a popular song from the past, but utilized widely in commercial advertising more recently, tells at least part of the story:

When you believe in things that you don't understand,
Then you suffer,
Superstition ain't the way

I am 62 years on this earth and have learned to be pretty dubious about any concept introduced with the words 'the coming...' The alarmist tradition probably predates American history, but nearly instantaneous media has made it an attractive centerpiece for people trying to sell you stuff today. Make no mistake, the media is an enterprise and is invested in viewership. That is how they make a living. It appears that we (humans) are predisposed to being vulnerable to 'Danger, Will Robinson!' That being so, we are also vulnerable to being sold a bill of goods.

If you will, recall the 'Red Scare' in post war America and its consequent avatars today. The anticommunist hysteria was fueled by the same lack of rigor that prevails today. Of course, there was something 'real' in the threat, but much was hype. The same is true in the various manifestations of the climate controversy, Islamist dominion, extraterrestrial impact...etc.

Here is something that is not hype. We recently passed the 7 billion millstone (not a misspelling) in human population. It is estimated that, at the current pace, we will 'achieve' 8 bill by 2025 and 9 bill by 2043. I do not trust what anybody says about the carrying capacity of the planet, but can say with absolute certainty that it is under 100 billion people! Do the math; figure it out.

I find your notion that we can leave our planet of origin an ecologically burnt out cinder floating in space and expand into the Cosmos almost frightening! I wonder if any of our 'neighbors' would allow that! It is true that we seem totally incapable of controlling our population growth but the upside is that we needn't concern ourselves with it too much. That problem will take care of itself. Yes, we should have tried to minimize our impact, but we did not and are in no position to do anything about it now. Oh, well!

So, yes, I guess I would have to agree that we are DOOMED if we don't get our species off planet. Som how are those preparations going?

'...if we need to make this planet "Trantor" to get off of it - then so be it.  If we need to raze EVERY mountain, drain every ocean, and kill EVERY species to do so, then THAT is what you do.'

'Never forget the purpose of the game - save the species - US.'

Yes, every living thing has as its first biological imperative to stay alive. The second is to breed. Can't do the second without the first! In the matter of human development on planet earth, these conflict. A squirrel or peacock does not worry about anything but itself and its surroundings. Same goes for a butterfly or cockroach. They, supposedly, lack what we, supposedly, possess: Consciousness, especially self awareness.

That said, we (humans) collectively continue to operate according to our primal imperatives, apparently lacking even the pretense of self consciousness. We, Us, Me. How different are we from Amoebae in this regard? What do we REALLY control, if anything?

What a piece of work is a man! how noble in reason!
how infinite in faculty! in form and moving how
express and admirable! in action how like an angel!
in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the
world! the paragon of animals! And yet, to me,
what is this quintessence of dust?
Hamlet - Act 2, Scene 2 

Yers,

Jonathan P. Pelham


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