Life, as our species has known it, has been a grand balance between and within ecosystems, and these systems are severely unbalanced at the moment due to human alterations. When a system at equilibrium gets out of balance, the system will “right itself†in order to restore the equilibrium conditions. It’s like an equilibrium reaction equation between A and B. When things are balanced, in equilibrium, both the reactants and their product (see rudimentary equation below) are present in steady ratios. But when too much of A and B are present, the system is unbalanced and will then try to restore equilibrium. More of product C will form from the excess reactants so the initial ratio between products and reactants is achieved. If there is too much of product C hanging around, the reaction will shift to the left and more reactants will form from the dissolution of product C until equilibrium is reached. A + B <——> C This basic concept, with which all chemistry lovers are rather intimate with, is how I look at our species’ existence on earth. In an utterly over simplistic comparison, people could be reactant A, the rest of the world reactant B, and product C the complex global ecosystem. The drawback to this comparison is that I have no idea what is considered a “natural†balance between our sedulous species and our home planet. Homo sapiens sapiens has been altering the ecosystems around it since we first climbed down out of the cool shade of the treetops and emerged blinking blearily onto the hot savanna. That’s just what we do, what we have always done. We adapt to and alter the conditions around us; otherwise, we die in our soft, relatively hairless, unprotected bodies. We carry around these melons of gray and white matter in our skulls for a reason, so let’s use them. Complete eradication of the current way of life, of unsustainable consumption and commercialism, is unrealistic. You can personally achieve that change, which is awesome, but does one person really, truly, make a difference when we are talking about globalization? Someday, perhaps, the industrialized world will be forced to live without our current amenities, but why wait for a crash resulting from unsustainable practices?  Here’s where that balance thing comes in. I truly believe we need to strike a sustainable balance between an agrarian and an industrialized society and help to increase everyone’s quality of life. There will always be urbanites, yokels, and those individuals who fall in between those extremes. So rather than estranging each group from the other by dealing in reactionary statements and causes, start using your brain. Help our species find a sustainable balance to our perch in life. Because, in all honesty, the universe doesn’t need us, and if we wipe ourselves out, who will care? There have been mass extinctions in the past; there will be mass extinctions in the future. That’s a perfect example of a reactionary statement, by the way. Unless we annihilate ourselves via the eerily beautiful, brutal force of fission, the worst havoc our species will wreak upon itself is a global Dark Age or just a die off of anyone too impoverished to adapt to the changing climate.
This is a really exciting time when we can cast off our Luddite fears and tap the enormous store of potential energy within us. Use that amazing electrochemical brain power to help develop new ways to adapt. It’s what our species is good at. Rather than ranting and protesting against imperialism and industrialization, let’s come up with sustainable ways to help our local communities. Stop being reactionary and start being proactive. Technology and cooperation can help us to attain a sustainable, cleaner future, but we won’t convince anyone of its benefits if we don’t start thinking of economically viable ways to bring this change about. If enough people demand it, we’ll soon see change occur. But let’s not demand it in a reactionary way. Let’s become informed, intellectual individuals who make critical decisions and weigh all options. Let’s think quantitatively and conscientiously—you can help further a realistic, cooperative environmental movement.
Last update: February 25, 2009
07:29 am
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