I just returned home after a conversation where the the following statements were made. "Why do I care what happens in 200 years? I want to make money now!". Shortly after this was followed by "Why bother wasting money on space exploration? There's nothing out there anyways.".
Is anyone else disturbed by this mentality? Is anyone else mortified by the implications of this thought process? By the impact of this? By the sheer number of people who identify with this individual? By the cyclical nature and relationship of the two statements?
I know you're out there. And I am afraid because of this knowledge. And the problem is there is no way to convince you otherwise. I can go on and on about the industries that would be created and the jobs that would be available with a switch from current methods and resources. It is not like a switch from coal or crude will somehow eliminate the need for energy production. If there is a need, there will be industry to support the need. It may look different, act different and feel different but it will provide the same opportunities as the current industries. We will need people to work the industry. To excel in the industry. To innovate and to labor in the industry, whatever it may be. If you are afraid or unwilling to apply your skills to something different then how can industry evolve? We should still be stuck with only the spinning jenny with this mentality. Rocks and sticks, more likely.
How narrow does your vision need to be to believe that everything exists here. Especially with the current course we are set upon space exploration is never a wasted effort, in my opinion anyways. I'll ignore global warming and damages by pipelines or oil spills as, somehow, those are in debate. If you are honest, you cannot disagree that non renewable resources are not infinite. You cannot debate that we rely on these resources and that these resources will, one day, run dry. So, on the current course, how long do you figure until this planet cannot give us what we need?
Guess it doesn't matter if you are not concerned about future generations.
I know I can argue and debate and plead until I'm blue in the face and some people will not change their views. I have to accept that. So I plead with the rest of you, those who are willing to reason and think for yourself and with the confidence to listen openly and honestly determine your own opinions, your own conclusions.
I know that we as a species will one day make the right choices. I'm not completely jaded with the human race. I just doubt as to whether or not we reach that day soon enough to matter.
9 comments:
Nope. I too think a majority of priorities are really messed up and very short sighted. I often wonder if a large majority of mental illnesses (including mine) attribute to this.
Everyone seems to be becoming more self centered. You can see it everywhere. You can't even rely on your fellow man to use a signal light while driving, a pretty basic to show you are thinking of someone other than yourself. It is a sad state. What can we do as a group to alter the direction society seems to be travelling? The AOK's are definitely a good start.
I agree, we should lead by example. Not just in AOK's, but doing our part for the environment. Take the extra couple minutes to recycle spmeyhing rather than just throwing it away.
I agree, we should lead by example. Not just in AOK's, but doing our part for the environment. Take the extra couple minutes to recycle spmeyhing rather than just throwing it away.
I have spent a lot of time thinking about exactly what you have written here. Logic and truth have very little effect on dogma. I watched people start voting for Stephen Harper because "I've always voted Conservative." The truth is, they always voted Progressive Conservative. The Conservatives are actually the Alliance Party who changed their name. How do you reason with someone who bases their political afflication on name and not party values? Point being, people throw their hat into whatever ring serves them best. That means that a large percentage will make their decisions based upon emotion (fear) and not logic. You cannot reason with fear. Fear of change or something different will always trump creative thought and solutions in a lot of people.
I agree. It needs to start with us...AOK's and environmental consideration in all we personally do. There hasn't been a Canadian political party who has stepped up and worked in our best interests, whether it's the NDP, Liberals or the PC's. When the worldly stats are reviewed with respect to environmental regulations the Western Canadian provinces are top notch. I agree that a gradual change in energy sources to sustain our current needs is required but not at the expense of generations who have worked their butts off to build a life, and I might add with all consideration for the environment and all that surrounds them. Each and everyone of us is a consumer and contributing to the devastation of this beautiful world that we exist.
Who's really responsible for our current "environmental issues"? I personally feel responsibility and always feel like the finger is being pointed at me when these topics arise. I get irritated, but as an individual and father bringing a couple boys into this world, I have done a lot to minimize my (our) footprint on the environment including teaching my family right from wrong. I have worked in the reclamation and environmental sectors of the oilfield and always did what I could to favour and restore our environment. For twenty years and better I have witnessed a great evolution in the Western Province regulations of what is happening in oil and gas production...I see good practices and some not so good practices. A lot of the not so good practices are by individuals who don't follow regulations, hence the reason for hiring people such as myself, it's not so much the regulations themselves.
In a nut shell, I get a littly pissy because I have invested and worked about 21 years in a environmental conservation sector to have our current government have very little consideration for what the Western provinces as a whole have really created with respect to our stewardship our lands. There is always room for improvement, but those who have not sinned in that environmental respect can cast that first stone. We are all guilty and our government needs to stand up and lead by example, I don't care if it's the NDP, Liberals or the PC's...our leaders all suck. By doing our part on an individual bases is important but our democratic dictatorship government needs to pull up their socks. Their are families across this country who are being hit hard by the way our government is running this country, its those people who are our spokesman who need to step up, balance what's going on here and improve in all respects. What a gong show!
I have written with a bit of emotion here, which I'd rather avoid but working as hard as I have in my lifetime to build what I have in my career and with environment stewardship in mind I really feel beaten and hung out to dry.
Why do you feel hung out to dry? If you've been working your life to reduce the environmental impact of an otherwise devastating industry then I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Of course I agree that it needs to start with each one of us. That is why I wrote the post- and that is why I've chosen the career I have. Although our political views are not wholely in line I do believe our intentions are. And I'm not stating shut down all mines and wells tomorrow- of course it will need to be gradual. I look to the new generation, those still in school and still choosing a path in life to be the driving force of this change. Ultimately it will be their decision as to whether we make progress or stay stagnant.
I too work in the environmental industry and the amount of waste that goes to landfill when there are better recycling options is staggering. The biggest reason for this is cost savings. We still have a long ways to go to change peoples minds on this subject.
Everyone in this province makes their living off of oil. Our province is pretty much 100% dependent upon oil revenue as are each of us as individuals. People may think they do not work in the oil industry but they need to rethink that thought. All our wages, one way or another - directly or indirectly, come from oil revenue. As long as we're dependent upon that revenue, the environment will always take a beating.
If we were to live by the seven generation sustainability principal that the Iroquois Confederacy lived by, we would be in much better shape. If all decisions made today were with the well-being of the seventh generation from now in mind, I don't think we would be as concerned about maintaining our standard of living no matter what.
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