Save the Planet!

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by hpeer

These are all very good points, and emotions shared by the vast majority of humanity. Clearly no sane person will volunteer themselves or their loved ones. So this is a position I share.

While I don't want to go too deeply into " why" here (and test the moderators patience with an iffy thread) I have been convinced that the burden of humanity is changing the planet in ways that will favor a dramatic depopulation. Not saying I want it, I fear it. I suspect densely populated areas, such as where I live, will fare poorly.

Still I have ties here I can not shake, yet.

One of our reactions to this situation is to have a well found boat that can take us to other places, far less populated, where we also have ties. It's not the only reason we have boats but it is an important reason.

Sailboats can give you an option to either leave or just stand off until things cool down.

Pelagic offers a different mind set I can also understand and appreciate, but my life has taken my elsewhere, for better or worse.

Hpeer, I think we actually have a similar mindset, which is to make the most of what we have and to enjoy that time with our loved ones.

I believe you have to carefully choose your battles in life if you want to have any chance of happiness and to try and be ‘Field Independent’ about those issues you cannot win.

As a young student, I was very much influenced by Marshall McLuhan’s “Medium is the Message” and Skinner Box studies on overpopulation.

I came to realize that WE are the problem, if the earth was to survive.

Today, Discovery type Channels celebrate clear cut mining the Earth and Sea at a ratio of 3-4 ounces of gold per ton of destruction.
Three to 4 current shows promote this as the human dream. It rationalizes shinny benefits as justification for wholesale destruction of ecosystems.

Copious consumption of others is part of Darwin’s evolutionary lesson on how we individually survive and…. as a collective species it follows that….. the future of this planet is not bright, nor any other planet that we humans will eventually infect.

Saving the planet from humans’ is a battle that by definition, cannot be won by humans and whichever way this eventually plays out is a foregone conclusion by people much smarter than I.

While we may despair over the treatment of our Planet….Lemmings, we are NOT!

[hpeer]

Here is a lecture presented to the Naval War College about the state of the oceans. Well done piece.

Evening Lecture | Jeremy Jackson: Ocean Apocalypse - YouTube

[hpeer]

Funny, I read McLuhan also. More recently Diamond and E O Williams "Social Conquest of Earth"

[laika]

Spend freedom chips wisely and make politicians care. Don't rely on the government. They're no good at starting revolutions.

That was a great video. Simple, direct and scientific: Here's what's up, here's the direction things are going, and here's what we need to do to try to get it right.

The voluntary human extinction project was not mentioned in the set of possible solutions.

[captain58sailin]

Whether it is voluntary or involuntary it will come to pass.

[boatman61]

Ahahahahaaaa... remember the 60's and the Hippy 'LOVE' Revolution... where are they now... part of the problem...
Young men die in their millions to change/save and bring Peace to the world.. and when the dust settles the same old bastards crawl back outa their holes and do the same **** all over again...
Dream on boys.. Dream on...

[Celestialsailor]

Not really a fair statement when you see the amount of change the last 50 years. These problems are not an on/off switch. It is a slow process. It starts with awareness which is what most of the "free thinking" movement was about.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

Not really a fair statement when you see the amount of change the last 50 years. These problems are not an on/off switch. It is a slow process. It starts with awareness which is what most of the "free thinking" movement was about.

What change are we talking about... the move to fracking where if your cold just light some water...
Your country's backing of Monsanto for genetic farming where in a short time all plants will be sterile and the only fertile seed will be supplied by a US Corporation..
Preservation of the 'Wilderness' by opening up the previously 'protected' area's to exploration and drilling..
Everyone bleats about the 3rd World polluting the Planet in their race to catch up and how it should be stopped... completely ignoring the fact the !st World spent the last 200yrs happily bringing it to the brink...
What's Fair...??

[Celestialsailor]

Not that I'm into making a list or blaming one country or another but DDT would be a good start, then Earth day. Sustainable agriculture, protection of civil liberties and not to mention ending the Vietnam war early due to heightened awareness. P.S. I'm a Canuck

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

Not that I'm into making a list or blaming one country or another but DDT would be a good start, then Earth day. Sustainable agriculture, protection of civil liberties and not to mention ending the Vietnam war early due to heightened awareness. P.S. I'm a Canuck

DDT... a big mistake.. like a lot of 'cure all's' since.. and likely yet to come from the Pharmaceuticals..
Civil Liberties... like getting busted for having your dog off the leash and playing in the water on a St Augustine beach and fined $95 plus a court date for 'resisting a lawful order' when you argue the legality... happened to a lady friend last week... and how many threads have posts about civil liberties being abused..
And I thought the Vietnam War ended coz they got their ass kicked with help from their own High Commands stupidity.. not enlightened awareness... that got beaten down all over the US by the police and National Guard...
I'm not picking on the US in particular.. tho' it may seem like it... more the big corporations that dictate the policies in just about every country in the world...
Why have things improved in the West... because all the **** has been moved to pollute the 3rd world instead... else the Bhopal disaster may have happened in Europe or the State's... and don't come out with crap about legislation.. any blue collar worker will tell you its smoke and mirrors.. Profit is God

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

Saving the planet from humans’ is a battle that by definition, cannot be won by humans and whichever way this eventually plays out is a foregone conclusion by people much smarter than I.

If you're still here and you can still think, then nothing is a foregone conclusion. We are faced with a multitude of problems which lumped together look quite daunting, but individually are solvable. Our parents won WW II, ffs. That was harder than most of the current challenges.

So, my New Year's message would be:

1) Look around, think about your kids and grandkids, and realize that if you still draw breath, you're still part of the problem AND also part of the solution. You still have a part to play, if you have the courage.

2) If for whatever reason you've given up, you think there's nothing meaningful to be done, and you are content to simply enjoy what remains of your life (afloat or ashore)... fine, it's your right. But for heaven's sake keep your negative opinions to yourself. STFU. There's work to be done and you're just discouraging those who have to do it.

Lead, follow, or get out of the way.

[Celestialsailor]

Well Boatie...I guess perception is in the mind of the beholder.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

Well Boatie...I guess perception is in the mind of the beholder.

LOL... Sorry mate.. just a cynical old 'Colonial' who's lived too long and seen too much over the years in to many countries..
Take it for what its worth... ZERO

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Lake-Effect

1) Look around, think about your kids and grandkids, and realize that if you still draw breath, you're still part of the problem AND also part of the solution. You still have a part to play, if you have the courage.

2) If for whatever reason you've given up, you think there's nothing meaningful to be done, and you are content to simply enjoy what remains of your life (afloat or ashore)... fine, it's your right. But for heaven's sake keep your negative opinions to yourself. STFU. There's work to be done and you're just discouraging those who have to do it.

I love your optimism LE ... I truly do, but I guess I'm now in the "given up" camp. I agree with you that it is possible for humanity to change our ways, and begin to reverse some of the self-inflicted ecological catastrophes we've caused. Unfortunately, I see almost no evidence that any real progress has been made in that direction. Outside of a few small, local bright lights, all the trends are increasingly headed in the wrong direction.

So, as per your suggestion, I'm trying to get out of the way. I'm going to further limit my own personal contribution to the problems by going cruising.

[laika]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Ahahahahaaaa... remember the 60's and the Hippy 'LOVE' Revolution... where are they now... part of the problem...
Young men die in their millions to change/save and bring Peace to the world.. and when the dust settles the same old bastards crawl back outa their holes and do the same **** all over again...
Dream on boys.. Dream on...

That's true, but the world does seem to inch its way forward somehow. Not saying the hippies of your generation really brought much to the table in the end It seems many of them did in fact become suits, but that wasn't necessarily the wrong thing to do.

Luckily no hippies required for what I see as revolution Just an increasing awareness that what we choose to buy as consumers is important, and has real world impacts in dark corners of the world. Buying something is like casting a small but not insignificant vote for the product and the way that company does business. Buy fewer things and spend more on those things you actually care about.

Stand up tall, eat your vegetables, and don't be a slinky