by step hypothetically illustrated what would become
of earth if humans were removed from it.
According to the documentary, 10.000 years from now
it is possible (so Weisman suggests) that all that
may remain as evidence of human kind having inhabited
planet Earth, may be remnants of constructions made from stone.
Are we perhaps to conclude from this that earth would be ''better
off'' without human beings?
Yes? No? Well, how could we know if none of us would be
on earth to observe and record events?
From a human perspective, we have come up with some
cracking ideas and achievements, I mean, the list
is very long indeed, but let us not fool ourselves,
there is also a very long list of catastrophic and
devastatingly damaging ''achievements'' perpetrated
by us.
All our achievements whether good and bad have
come at a cost, and now and then through history
we have been reminded that powerful as we may be,
we are not really in charge of this planet,
we just think we are.
One of those reminders is: Deadly Infectious Diseases.
Deadly infectious diseases such as the Bubonic Plague,
Smallpox, Yellow fever, The Flu, HIV, Ebola, etc. etc.
are serious reminders of how quickly we can be brought
to our knees by an enemy that can only be seen through
a microscope. It does not care about who we are, what
language we speak, what religion or belief system we
adhere to, what our social status or the hue of our skin is.
But worst of all perhaps, is that this enemy is able to
mutate, to transform itself into a new kind of virus (Covid19)
should mankind manage to come up with an ''antidote/vaccine''
that kills the original virus.
We battle on.
Another reminder: Nature.
Bushfires, erupting volcanoes, droughts, floods, cyclones,
tornadoes, earth-quakes, etc. etc.
In as much as we can prepare, follow progress with satellites,
make predictions, assumptions, graphs and so on, we
are not in charge of exactly when and where these events will actually
take place.
On the way home from a gig I was once caught up in a mini-cyclone.
Luckily for me, my small car was full of my music equipment
which made it heavier than usual. The freeway was bumper to bumper
and I was moving forward at snail pace until the traffic stopped
altogether. I had heard somewhere that the thing to do was
to open all windows and let the wind blow through, so
that's what I did. It seemed to work because the car stopped
''hovering'' although it got pretty wet I must say.
Looking through the windscreen I saw trees, and a lot
of debris fly by, actually.... even a caravan!
I can't remember how long I was stuck on the freeway bridge
but I was mighty glad when the mini-cyclone eventually passed.
And another reminder: Space
Solar flares, asteroids, the sun expanding, gamma ray bursts,
super nova explosions, falling space junk, holes in the
ozone layer etc. etc.
These events we have little control over.
We may explore space, but in my view, we are not in charge of it,
ipso facto, we are not really in charge of earth and what happens to it.
Only certain aspects.
''A human being is part of the whole called by us Universe,
a part limited in time and space.
He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something
separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his
consciousness.
This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to
our personal desires and to affection for a few persons
nearest to us.
Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison
by widening our circle of compassion to embrace
all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.''
(Albert Einstein)
about the image: ink pen on paper, edited in Photoshop.
The thought behind it is how the Bubonic Plague was
supposed to be spread by rats, although I did draw a mouse
instead. (I like mice better than rats)
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