Taking care of Humanity

I like to think that all people share a core set of values, the primary one is that we need to take care of our fellow humans. After all, we are all brothers and sisters when you come right down to it. Yes, I understand that in the more immediate period, many of us are trying to better our own individual situation and scarcely think about others. I also understand that a certain percentage of us, either because of an actual mental defect, will never care about anyone but themselves. However, the vast majority will take actions that are in the best interest of all of us.

As you see the natural disasters that seem to be happening more frequently recently, we see a great outpouring of humanity trying to help those immediately impacted. This is one of our greatest qualities and one that is an evolutionary necessity, since none of us could survive on their own.

However, what I don't see are people willing to look at less immediate disasters and focus on our future survival. I don't mean the deficit, because let's get real here, we will find a way to pay it, even if it is via inflation. The ongoing discussion over a economic oddity is hardly the stuff of disasters. However, it does seem clear that we are having an impact on our world that endangers the future well being of our species. What is the saddest part of this is that it is both solvable and reversible. Not easily mind you, but doable.

We emit great amounts of various pollutants into our atmosphere. Ultimately, the atmosphere will adjust, after all every one of these pollutants came from this planet, but these pollutants will impact other areas that may impact us! Now, some will argue that there is doubt about these impacts or that there are other causes for these changes, but the choice isn't about whether we are the only cause of the glaciers melting, but about are we contributing.

Further, it should not be an issue that not spewing noxious gases into the atmosphere is inherently better then spewing those very same gases.

It should also be obvious that there is not going to be a simple magical solution that saves us from the hard work of addressing this problem. Simply put, the more each of us reduces our pollutant contribution, the better the situation is.

Clearly there are big issues such as use of gasoline to fuel our vehicles that probably need to be addressed also. However there is plenty of opportunity for each of us to do something, and I think that has a great potential if we simply take action after action and make choice after choice that improves the situation.

We need to start.