In the Galaxy the Milky Way, eight planets circle a single sun. Three are barren rocky masses, either too hot or to cold to hold even a drop of liquid water. Four are giant balls of gas, with no firm ground or distinguishable surface whatsoever. But there is one, blue and shining, a singular oasis capable not only of supporting life but allowing it to flourish. On this planet, 3 billion years ago life burst forth and has continued to progress despite several bumps in the road. 250 million years ago 95 percent of all life was extinguished, likely brought on by climate change caused by volcanic eruptions and sudden changes in ocean chemistry. 65 million years ago the planet was struck by an asteroid, again causing massive climate change and killing off the ruling species of the time, the dinosaurs. Today the world is beginning a new change in climate, this time not brought on by natural events or a foreign object of destruction, but created by the one species that has the most to lose. The human race has longed viewed its survival and judged its progress by the extent to which it has been able to shape the world in its own image. In order to carry on, society must now experience a paradigm shift about the way it understands and interacts with the world. To continue with the same mind set is to allow the creation of a cycle that will again change the face of the world, and the planet will again see its most powerful species vanish from existence.
Anthropologists estimate that the first beings recognizable as human roamed the earth from between three and four million years ago. Evidence suggests that they were primarily nomadic hunter/gatherers that used simple tools. They spread from centralAfrica throughout the world, likely driven by an expanding population that caused a shortage of resources such as easily attainable food.
As populations grew it became harder to sustain their numbers through finding food and people began to organize so that they could control their food supply. This shift, known as the Neolithic Revolution, was one of the most dramatic changes in human history.
With the shift to producing food the human adaptive system was fundamentally changed. Settlement mobility, population stability, conservation of resources, low energy requirements and general system equilibrium were replaced by settlement permanence, population growth, intensified exploitation of resources, escalation of energy needs and general system disequilibrium. (Henry 3)
In other words, the way that humanity understood and interacted in the world changed dramatically, something known as a paradigm shift. The power to organize went beyond simply bringing resources together and included actually creating new ones. Early societies created new breeds of animals to take on the labor burdens that cultivating land requires. They created hybrids of plants to bare them more fruitful crops. They carved out the earth to bring water into arid landscapes. In essence, humanity went from a participant in the world to a creator of it. For millions of years evolution dictated that different species evolve in harmony, suddenly one of these animals took it upon themselves to change things as they saw fit.
This new archetype proved quite prosperous for Homo Sapiens. They went on to occupy every corner of the Earth and increased in population at a steady rate. However, expanding populations tended to stick closer to the previous model of hunting and gathering, a method of sustenance that can actually be more preferable if adequate natural resources exist. Populations that remained stationary were forced to become more innovative and create technology to make more efficient use of limited space.
When Europe happened upon America in 1492 not only did two different peoples confront each other, but two different ways of understanding the world. Columbus carried with him a command from the Christian faith, "God blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it." (Genesis 1:27) This quote explains western thought with terrifying simplicity. Columbus and the inheritors of his legacy believe that God wants them to conquer the world. The people native to the American continent had no such proclamation from their deities and instead were simply seeking to coexist in a world full of life that was just as sacred as their own. Western thought was already finely tuned to dominate the world. When it encountered a less sophisticated methodology there was only one answer, assimilate or die.
By the year 1760 humankind had once again begun to face the problem of an expanding population and diminishing resources. Even the horse and the ox were showing the limits of their productivity and a new source of power would need to be harnessed so that society could continue to thrive. The answer this time would again be found in the structure of society as well as the unlocking of new resources.
Times of great struggle often end in revolution. The nation of Great Britain found a solution for the world in innovations of organization that would come to be known as the Industrial Revolution. It began with the English Government consolidating farms into larger collectives that could be worked by fewer people (Hooker). Efficiency in agriculture also arose from new knowledge that the fertility of land could be replenished by alternating crops (Montagna). The newly displaced work force was forced from the country side into newly founded urban centers powered by large factories. Previously the economy had been based around the family unit, with families either farming or specializing in a specific trade such as wagon wheel making (Hooker).
The Industrial Revolution brought about changes in social structure, technological innovations and a new economic system, capitalism, which created a chain reaction leading to massive population growth. In a family based economy people are only motivated to produce enough to maintain their quality of life, but in an industrial economy a person must create more than they use. This surplus is what provides a profit for the business owners and allows for growth. Capitalism demands growth, an ideal that humanity has long treasured. With the dawning of this new age humanity was finally able to enlarge its population to heights previously unimagined and fulfill its destiny as commanded by God to "fill the Earth and subdue it."
The population of the planet hit the one billion mark sometime in the 19th century. By the year 2000 that mark had increased over six fold. During the Industrial Revolution society had learned to harness new resources in order to meet its expanding energy needs.
Eons ago plant life died and became trapped beneath the surface of the earth. Normally the carbon dioxide in these materials would be released gradually into the atmosphere through a cycle that has been honed by the forces of nature. Mankind assumes instead that these resources exist purely for its own exploitation and has not hesitated to release them as the will of capitalism sees fit. Judging right and wrong by the standard of economic progress, the world is now being transformed in ways that go beyond the control of life and death and have grown to encompass the renovation of the entire ecosystem. It would seem that humanity's penchant for understanding the ways in which it can change the world has outpaced its ability to fully understand the consequences of these changes.
Fortunately, society is not entirely blind to the changes that the planet is experiencing. The mean temperature of the surface of the Earth has increased 1˚F in the last 40 years (EPA). While this may not seem like much the temperature it can be better understood as a metaphor in the human body. A change of 1˚F will leave a person feeling quite sick, two or three will send them to the hospital. This is partly to blame from an accumulation of green house gasses in the atmosphere. Using ice core samples scientists have been able to determine increases in several specific gasses from pre-industrial times. Carbon Dioxide has increased 36% and is continuing to rise (EPA). Methane has increased 148% and is at levels in the atmosphere that the Earth has not seen in 650,000 years (EPA). Nitrous Oxide has gone up 18% in the last 200 years, a chemical that has varied only slightly in the 11,500 years preceding this (EPA). While it remains unclear what all of these changes will lead to humanity is beginning to realize that it is having a much more profound impact on the planet than was previously considered.
Since world war two America has lead the way in consumption and it is only now seeing this change as "China has now overtakenAmerica as the world's leading resource consumer." (Brown) However, this is only an assessment of China's current gross consumption. If economic growth allows China to reach per capita consumption equal to the U.S., China will consume two thirds of the world's current grain output and double the current world wide paper production by 2031.(Brown) In the past economic growth has been fueled by increasing production from natural resources. As the population grows at what point will the earth no longer be able to provide enough of the raw resources necessary to accommodate modern living?
The answer to this is the Earth's carrying capacity, or "The maximum number of individuals of a given species that can be supported...on a sustainable basis"(McConeghy). There are varying estimates of the earth's carrying capacity for Homo Sapiens. If all people lived the same lifestyle as the average American then the earth could support between 2 billion to 4 billion people (McConeghy). This presents a startling problem. Global communication has circulated the "American Dream" throughout the entire world, but it is impossible for everyone to actually live this out. As people live with the knowledge that someone else out there lives a markedly better life, resentment is bound to grow and conflict will be the natural result.
There are only a limited number of solutions to this. The first is to sustain the status quo as closely as possible. This would mean keeping nations such as China as poor as possible, leaving the resources that they would consume available to the west. However, even with things the way they are the environment is being taxed at levels that aren't sustainable. Another solution is for the west to sacrifice its current way of life as unfair to the rest of the world and therefore unethical. Of course this is about as likely as having everyone in America share a bedroom with an immigrant just because they felt sorry for them. The most idealistic solution would be for the world populace to limit itself. However, it is almost exclusively in developed nations where this is even reasonable and only 15 percent of the world comes close to meeting that requirement.
Optimists believe that the human race will find an answer to these problems through technological innovation and adaptation. After all humanity has made such dramatic strides in the last 100 years that there is a track record of success. After observing my brethren for the last 28 years I have come to the conclusion that our growth in technology has outpaced our expansion of philosophy and this will lead to a very painful right of passage for the human race.
People have learned to exploit every resource on the face of this planet including ourselves. Selfishness without regard for human life was a founding principle of the United States in the institution of slavery. While the nation opened its eyes to the depravity of this situation we did not end it. Instead we exported it to foreign countries so that we would no longer be forced to bare the moral burden of its practice before our eyes. We shipped the low paying jobs to nations without laws to protect the poor and meek, so that they could put their children to work and allow their men and women to rot for wages barely enough to fill their bellies and put rags on their shoulders. And we called this progress and fair competition in the name of capitalism.
We have rushed out to rip every drop of oil and coal from the crust of the earth, things we know that when released will only put the world in greater peril. When some ask for conservation of wild lands in Alaska even more scream back "drill baby drill!" to hell with the moose and the caribou, this land is ours.
Ours? The next revolution must be one of the spirit. People must look out and see a world that needs to be cared for, not conquered. We must see that our neighbors are the people who live in the continents around us not just the ones who live next door. We must grasp that all of the life on this planet is a sacred treasure. But most of all we must come to the sobering realization that we live on a small and lonely planet, a singular oasis in a universe that holds no other options.
Works Cited and Consulted
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Henery, Donald O. From Foraging to Agriculture. University ofPennsylvania Press, 1989.
"Industrial Revolution," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2008 © 1997-2008 Microsoft Corporation.
Quinn, Daniel. Ishmael. New York: Bantam Books (1992)
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