Is Man killing the environment??

Um, the dinosaurs wouldn't have eaten all the foliage, they survived millions of years with the plants (which adapt just like the dinos). In fact, all the biggest dinosaurs existed during the Jurassic period, not the Cretaceous (their last period). Also, flowering plants evolved in the late Jurassic or early Cretaceous, and were exploding on the scene, a very adaptive, effective plant type.

And as far as living "savagely", you should check out Thoreau's "Walden," specifically the section "Economy" where he goes into how stupid it is that we work for decades for a home to own (or rent, working our whole lives) when the natives built a wigwam in a few hours that was just as warm. He goes on about our idiotic materialistic lives, and really the whole book is good.

 

i love you lol

i agree
also

 

I believe that we are indeed killing the environment but I'm certainly not ready to leave this Earth yet! I try and do my part to help, and teach my children the importance of respecting and caring for Mother Earth.

 

If we would live like the natives, by hunting for instance, it would not be possible to sustain everybody, we are far to many on this planet. Even the early maori, when they came to new zealand, did extinct a cousin bird of the big emu. It dosen't exist today... So, even native tribes can do harm to nature...
We can't go back to the past,100%, we defenitly can learn and remember some great things, but the situation today is different. But, sure, some of us could live like natives, but not all of us........
The future is not the past.... We can learn some great stuff that can free us from technology: telepathy, living on energy or sunlight or other kind of energy(and not so much on solid food)... and other capacities. Yeah, some of u are thinking "dream on".... but yeah, i'm not thinking about tomorow.... We have passed through many differend ages, from the stone age (to the stoned age??) and learned different skills and used different part of our brains.... Obviously, we need to say bye to the materialistic age, to a more....? it's up to each of us to create a different future....

 

I voted yes.. I think it's sad that we've disregared so much life to satisfy our wants. When I say life I'm talking about things that are alive, but as some people would put it 'not as alive as we are'.

I don't know, there's a hell of a lot I don't like about what we've done to the world, but that's already been mentioned. I don't like what we've done to ourselves. It's not good enough to just be human anymore, to just live, feel, eat and drink. We are slaves to our own concrete-comfort machine, we're born into a system and we have no choice but to dedicate nearly all of our waking lives to it. On the outside it seems like people are more healthy, living longer, are more comfortable.. but the ironic thing is, on a global scale, it does more harm than good to our well-being. We are the lucky few.

Argh... brainmash.

 

Is Man killing the environment??

are we suspecting creatures other than man for pollution and war? Are the ants doing it really and no one told me?

(are we detecting a note of sarcasm yet?)

 

Well said

 

thanks bekka! (apples+oranjes) i LOOve you too!!!

 

haha

I suppose I can't just drop in to say I love PolythenePam and I should post my two cents:

All I can say.... if not us, then WHO IS killing our environment? Just like cerridwen said....

The problem is.... a LOT of humans DON'T want to take the blame for it. Or, they want to continue disbelieving that our earth is dying.

A lot of people just don't like to think, or pay attention to it because it's "easier"

It's bullshit.

I've said this a billion times, elsewhere...but I have to say it again, because it comes to mind everytime I discuss a topic like this....

I was ranting about the way people treat the earth to one of my friends one day.... I was going on about how I'm doing everything I can between reusing bags for groceries, using reusable feminine products... and just not buying anything disposable unless absolutely necessary.... and on the other hand, I would see people walking around town, eating a burger from a fast food joint, and throwing the wrapper behind them as they finish.... As I went on about this... she remained silent.

So I said, "I am boring you, aren't I?"
And she replied, "Well, yeah I guess I just don't really get into this stuff. I mean, I never really think about it...and it just doesn't spark an interest in me"

I was enraged... I went on to say:
"THAT'S THE PROBLEM! THAT PEOPLE JUST DONT THINK! And HOW can it NOT spark an interest in you?! YOU LIVE HERE TOO!!! If the earth dies, YOU die!! Then what?! Everyone FREAKS OUT about the 'end of the world' but yet, no one tries to do anything to stop it!"

Then, she said she had to go... and ended the conversation.

I may have been a little harsh, but it's true... if you don't care, then don't be surprised when the earth dies, and you go along with it.

 

i think our human race will either realize what the hell we're doing to mother nature and start reversing everything or we'll just keep blindly advancing until a huge number of us dies. then, the few remaining will live the tribal ways, which is how it really should be.

 

dude, i need to start being like you. yes...i worry about our environment all the time but i definitely should be doing more than i do to help our planet out

 

Apples+, yeah it sucks, everyone is so apathetic about it. My parents drive to church every sunday (my dad every day), but it's only 2 blocks away! I was ranting to my mom the other day about shit in the news and somehow got around to that; I told her my criticism of how they do that. But today, they've done it again.

We're so fucking lazy, as a species. The waste we create, out of laziness and greed and apathy astounds me, and it's almost impossible to escape. I realize I'm a hypocrite too, with my computer and magazine subscriptions and tons and tons of other things I don't need. It's all so much garbage. Thoreau says all that a man owns he should be able to carry on his back, and that even that is probably still too much. I'm working towards that but it's hard. (really, Thoreau's "Walden" is a great inspiration and I cannot recommend it too much). I do stupid things like yesterday, not watching any TV or using the computer at all (I'm an internet junkie, and when I don't use that, I'm just zoned out in front of the idiot box). I'm sort of weaning myself off of it, because I really want to stop being a hypocrite anymore. I find I'm just as happy, if not happier, without these things. Because I'd decided not to watch TV or go online, I found it so much easier to meditate. And really, which is better for me, and for the world?

And ChinaCat, you're spot on with your post, though I think our population is going to take a major decrease whether we prepare or not, once Peak Oil really hits, since we are overpopulated thanks to our petro-farming and other oil-supported lifestyle issues. Those who prepare will be more likely to survive, so don't be discouraged

 

I know how that goes... that's the one issue I have though, is driving... I have to do it more often than I'd like to, because we don't have good sidewalks, trails, or public transportation around here. And, I live in a fairly rural area, so nothing is just two blocks away from my house :&

I wouldn't mind walking miles here or there, if there were decent walk ways though. But, everytime I walked to work this summer, I nearly got rammed by a semi-truck.

It's understandable if there are some things that you just CAN'T really work around... but then, I say do whatever you can in other ways.

The least people can do is recycle, and not litter. That's all I really ask of anyone.

 

Heh, I feel the same way though. I never feel like I'm doing enough.

I'm always trying to improve something, like everyday, because I just always feel like I can be doing MORE.

 

You can always ride a bike. Learn the ways of bicycle commuting. You have a right to the road on a bike that you don't have while walking (just follow rules like a car). It's fast too, you can do 10 miles in probably an hour, at the most (I generally do 13 miles/hour). I guess it depends on how far you're going and all that, but you should seriously look into it. The funny thing is, being environmentally friendly is most of the time more economical for you; biking means less gas and if you convert totally (as I'm about to do), it means no more insurance, oil changes, maintenance, etc... PLUS you're helping the earth! PLUS you're bettering your health (mental and physical)!!!

What I'm saying is, are you REALLY sure you CAN'T work around driving? Are we REALLY sure we CAN'T work around our lifestyles of excess waste? I say, there are always alternatives, you just have to look for them. Many would say, well, biking isn't as fast. But it saves you time, because cars are expensive, and most of us sell our time for wages. Don't have a car? That's a ton less work you have to do (or a ton more money you'll have). Plus, you won't need to spend an hour a day at the gym, because that time was you're bike commute. You'll also be happier and more relaxed and and physically healthier, meaning you won't need so much therapy (not that YOU specifically need it) or doctor's visit...all of which need to be paid for and thus worked for. Plus, it's fun

Ok, I'm a bit of a bike evangelist, sorry. But it's a good example of finding alternatives. We may need to restructure our lifes a bit, like making solar-heated homes, living closer to food sources and work and shopping, but it's something we CAN do.

Really, that's my problem with this thread's original premise. "Is the earth better off without humans?" It's too negetive, and plus, it's a worthless question that wastes our time. The fact is, we ARE here and I doubt anyone's gonna line up for an extermination. So beyond the initial acknowledgement that we are polluting, I believe it's time to get right to "what can we do?" No more of this dreary "the world is dying" stuff. We need positive, can-do attitudes. And yeah, we're up against a lot, but "think global, act local" is a great motto. We can't all at once stop big industy from polluting (though we can and should work towards it), but we can stop polluting ourselves by not supporting those industries. Stop driving. Reduce your consumption, reuse what you buy, recycle what you can (in that order). Grow a garden if you can for your own local, organic vegetables. It may require a sort of "unplugging" from the system as it is, but that's good, because THIS system is screwed up, unsustainable, and doomed.

 

i would like to ride my bike to school but i'm a small guy and my backpack might weigh me down. i don't know, i'll have to try to see if i can do it.

 

I honestly dont even have a bike!! I want one...

 

trippinBTM man that was totally cool and inspiring....I do try and make sure that I do things the right way and make the right choices when it comes to greener choices....but there really is so much more I can do and fuirther I can go to continue on this path....thanks for the great post

 

I admit that I have not thrown garbage out before. I'm a bad person, but the person two posts up is pretty cute.

 

If you don't like the way earth is being treated, then treat it another way