"Just Waiting to Die" is how I reply to "how ya doin'?". People look at me like I've got two heads. Now that I have their attention...
One of my favorite Images by Mario anchez Nevado @http://aegis-strife.net Mario depicts a very accurate view of our planet's condition, complete with how & who is doing it.
You can blame this article for this rant,
North America has lost 3 billion birds since 1970, it somehow motivated me to put my thoughts down digitally.
Upon reading it jogged my memory of other depressing articles & studies & websites I've read/visited over the past few years listed below. All of which is common knowledge. But what set me off today is I realized the whole planet is Just Waiting to Die.
Nobody seems to be doing anything about it.
Well at least our leaders or anyone with the power to actually take the needed action to effectively combat the problems. And boy are there problems. So many in fact it's estimated that the effort needed to keep the average temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius it will take an effort like the mobilization for WWII. I just don't see that happening or even talked about by our illustrious leaders.
So Many Problems
CO2 emissions
Pesticides
Herbicides
Ocean acidification
Ocean Warming
Coral Reef Bleaching
Collapsing Fisheries
Over Population
Ocean Dead Zones
75% decline of Insects
29% decline of Birds in North America
Polar Ice Melting
Glacier melting world wide
Ocean Sea Level Rise
Deforestation
Large parts of world becoming to hot for habitation
Fresh water shortages
climate migration
plastic pollution
pharmaceutical pollution
Methane melting from arctic
And these are just a few. For a complete list go wikipedia's list
We have so many problems, which most if not all, can be attributed to Capitalism and the concept of Dominionism. Dominionism is the notion that God gave man dominion of the whole planet and everything in it to do with as he wished. Somewhat arrogant in my view. To me this was the seed that motivated western Europeans to colonize the world. Modern Imperialism is born. So in a nut shell, the current state of the planet is what you get when you allow Imperial Capitalists who believe they own everything run the place for two or three centuries.
Outrageous you say? Maybe but I've come across some pretty good evidence to that affect. I think one of the best arguments for this is by Naomi Kline. Author & writer over at the Intercept wrote a book called "This
Changes Everything". She argues, very convincingly I might add, that Capitalism is the root of all these problems.
David Attenborough said, "Anyone who believes in indefinite growth on a physically finite planet is either mad or an economist."
Apparently we must all be mad economists judging by the number and the urgency of our problems. Why else would we be doing nothing except pouring salt on the open wound of the planet? We must be mad.
In his book "Silk Roads" - Peter Frankopan discusses the currencies that greased the palms of those travelling the Silk Roads over the ages. First the currency was spices & silk. Then the next big money maker was the slave trade. Then in the 19th Century the currency changed to energy. The currency the Silk Road Capitalism is now using is oil.
Our leaders are failing Us and the Planet. Their lack of action is evidence they would rather succumb to greed and corruption of our debt based oil economy than save Us and the Planet. Again this is crazy.
Dominionism and empire run deep in our current leader's set of values and is what's hindering our leaders from solving the environmental problems. The Capitalist system, where the only goal is monetary profits, is no help any either. Our economic system needs change if we are to fix the environment. Problem is we are quickly running out of time while Capitalism is locked and loaded.
Finally
I guess my smart ass response to "How ya doin'?" is my way of bringing some awareness to the problem. It's OK if people think I'm a bit loony as it might make them remember and have a thought about it. Responding this way often opens a dialog on the issue. It's a small thing but it's something.
We need a lot of somethings.
Here is my relevant reading/viewing list that would defend waiting to die.
North America has lost 3 billion birds since 1970
Germany's Insects Are Disappearing
No Is Not Enough - Naomi Klein
Climate Scientist Paul Beckwith's Youtube Channel
The Silk Roads - Peter Frankopan
