Some Knowledge

There’s a lot of talk these days about saving the earth.  People campaign against global warming, pollution, the destruction of habitat for wild animals.  I think people should be more concerned about saving humanity.  The earth will take care of itself.  Even if the atmosphere blows off in some solar catastrophe and the seas all boil away, the earth will still be there as a lifeless husk of a planet like every other planet in the solar system.

So, how can we save humanity from extinction?  The first thing we need to do is implement a logical system of government.  I’m not saying to get rid of all the different countries, just regulate them.  There should be no reason that certain nations are allowed to continue to kill their own people like in Darfur.  Governments should be held accountable to the people of the world for their actions.  A country should not be allowed to invade another country for whatever reason.  Any acts of murder or other antisocial deeds should be prosecuted in an international court of law.

The next thing that needs to be done is that people should develop renewable sources of energy that do not pollute the earth’s atmosphere.  It took billions of years for all the algae of the oceans to create all the free oxygen in the atmosphere that makes respiration possible.  There is no reason that we should burn up all this oxygen without doing something to replace it.  There are a lot of people on planet earth, and they need a lot of energy to survive in comfort.  We need to make it possible for all peoples of the earth to enjoy modern conveniences like dishwashers and cars and computers, while at the same time not be pumping pollution into the air we all breathe.

Something needs to be done about the food supply.  It costs a lot of money to buy food.  Poor people starve to death.  This needs to change.  The farmland that supplies our commodities needs to be cared for and not poisoned with chemicals.  The crops we grow should go to feeding the people of the earth, and not be wasted on unhealthy food production like meat and wasteful things like biofuel production.  We need to supply food to people who would otherwise starve, but this is not possible with certain governments in control of different areas of the earth.

People need to stop wasting resources.  There is no reason to burn gasoline just to go to a show or some other useless pastime.  There is no reason for people to drive around aimlessly just to pass the time.  People need to stop a lot of their pointless expenditures of energy.  People are by nature extravagant, so conservation does not come naturally.  We need to think about what we really need and spend less time just burning fuel for no reason.

Some of the things we can do to save the people of the earth are simple.  We can grow something.  Even one tomato plant that will fit in a bucket on a window will produce a small amount of food from nothing but sunlight, air and water.  Plant a garden instead of a lawn and grow some of your own food.  Find an alternative mode of transportation like a bike or the bus and save some of the expensive gas you would otherwise burn.  It’s not hard to find things that will save energy.  If the programs on TV suck, turn off the set and read something.  There is no reason to waste the resources that will one day disappear.

Society is built on some very selfish principles.  Whoever gets the most of the pie keeps it and people without starve.  Business is built on the principle of getting more for some item than you paid for it.  There is nothing in the social system that gives any benefit to sharing.  People without money starve to death while people with too much money throw food away.  There is nothing about the free market economy that is fair or equitable.  The world of business is a cut-throat place where the winner takes all.  A lot of people are hurting because the system is not fair.

If we want to save the earth we will have to change the way we go about things.  There will have to be fair compensation for good work.  There will need to be opportunities for all people to make a profit in this world.  As it is the rich waste more and the poor go hungry.  There are a lot of people on this planet, and if things keep going the way they are, a lot of them will die needlessly.

Earth Day 2008 is set for April 22.  The celebration will highlight the environmental concerns of climate change, pollution, and the general welfare of the planet we live on.  Already, the Green Apple Festival of concerts is celebrating Earth Day in several cities around the United States.

For an overview of what Earth Day is about you might go to the source and check out the Earth Day Network.  There is also an event finder where you can search for activities to attend on Earth Day based on your zip code.

The first Earth Day was held April 22, 1970.  For a history of the idea for Earth Day see this site.  The purpose of Earth Day is to increase awareness of environmental concerns.  Various schools and organizations schedule displays, park cleanups, and tree-plantings for Earth Day every year.  It is very much a political event, with presentations about various proposed legislation and problems with the environment.