Living For The Future

Have you given some thought to the world we live in? Our earth is a happy accident, close enough to our sun to give us warmth in the summer, some chills in the winter, but far enough so that we kept our atmosphere and are shielded from toxic rays emitted by that body. Everywhere we have looked in our system we have not found another place where humans are viable. The last paroxysm our planet faced only made our supremacy more possible, more likely.

What have we done with our heritage? Many of those who comment on that issue keep giving us a failing mark. I don’t see it that way. What was life like for humans five hundred, one thousand, years ago? The mere fact that we are now almost eight billion souls today, compared with the past, gives us the evidence that humans are flourishing on this spot in the universe. It may be that we will reach a point that population will stabilize, birth rates reach a balance with death rates when standards of living rise. But the countries where standards of living are lowest are growing their populations rapidly. *And will we eventually find the means to populate the galaxies with our more adventurous offspring?

We worry about the impact our numbers have on the environment we have inhabited. We have recognized that this impact is real. We know that our sun will one day explode and consume everything that occupies our neighboring spatial environment. That time is eons away into the future. We worry that the fine balance that has evolved on our planet will be fatally disturbed by the sum total of human activity, on an imminent time frame, that could make life on earth intolerable as soon as the era our grandchildren inherit. Some I know have despaired that we will fail to meet the challenge.

The world we live in evolves on its own account regardless of what we do. It has done that in the past and will continue to do that. The overall impact of homo sapiens is proving to be as powerful as the environmental forces we have always taken for granted. These prospects are truly concerning. Will we exhaust the world’s resources that we depend on? Will our efforts to achieve a green future come to realization in time?

When we examine the astoundingly rapid rate at which human‘s technology is impacting the lives we lead, we cannot but wonder if we will not find answers soon enough to mitigate the damages we are inflicting on our environment. I cannot help to feel myself hopeful. Are you hopeful too?

Many of us have aspirations for humanity. We want all of us to do the right things all the time. Many of us want the human race to behave as if all of us are motivated by our better angels. Human history is littered with our failures in that respect.

We have reached a point in human history when actions by humans can annihilate the planet. But we may be able to avoid suicidal actions just because most of us want to survive. Living things strive to continue to live. Won’t we be driven to do the things we have to do to make that happen? Don’t we want to ensure the survival of our children?

We have seen proof of the infinite ingenuity of man? Aren’t we, human creatures, creating unbelievable marvels every day? Won’t we be able to learn to match the natural wonders of the world we live in and fix things as required? Don’t we believe in a future?

Now I have to get back to my gardening, my flower bed. I have new batch of flowers to plant in the containers that have been just waiting for them now that my tulips have completed their assigned challenges.

I’m living for my future. Soon I will get to see my great-grand-daughter.

*Projections are for very sharp declines in the population of populous countries like China and Russia because aging population death rates will far exceed new births there over the next two decades. India has surpassed China’s population. Rapid population growth is expected in Africa. Many countries in the West are depending on high levels of immigration to maintain growth in their economies. Projections are that we will reach a world population of over 10 billion by 2050.

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