Peace on Earth

     At the dawn of man, Mother Nature was in control. If and when humans depart for
greener pastures, she'll still rule the roost. For man's transition from primitive cavemen to space explorers is only momentarily in her scheme of things. She has better things to do than worry about a few temporary marauders.
     She has continents to shovel around, volcanoes to stoke and earthquakes to scratch her ungetatable itches. She has to make rain and salt the oceans appropriately to enable her much loved creature to survive. She makes it plain that if you mess with her, you become one of the 99.9% of billions of extinct species. Considering we have so little to offer, the prognosis for man is not encouraging.
     Man is a descendant of the ape and we lock the originals in zoos and laugh at their
primitive antics. Man may no long swing from the bars but we get drunk in them and act like baboons for our own amusement. The genuine ape has a built-in dignity, so who is laughing at whom?
     Man is an arrogant species with little feeling for our fellow creatures and continually
shows disregard for their welfare. We kill the magnificent whale for food we don't need and genetically engineer animals to suit our taste buds. Today's dairy cow is probably nine times genetically removed from his ancestors and we do the same with other creatures we regard as fit for human consumption. Never mind that Mother Nature has other intentions. We come first and to hell with the traditional species. Conceitedly we rule supreme and treat all others as inferior.
     The cockroach and the rat have been around for millions of years because they live
with nature. Man's best friend is the domesticated dog and we still utilise the handsome
horse as beasts of burden. Uncomplainingly they continue to serve us with affection. We believe that they couldn't survive without us, yet there are wolves and wild horses in many countries. Even the family cat deprived of fridge and can-opener can survive on its own. Such animals have sagaciously learned to cooperate and live with man for mutual benefit. Perhaps we should adopt a similar philosophy to ensure our survival?
     It is only by chance that we rule the world we regard as our own. Perhaps the luck of
the draw and the tumble of violent oceans caused man to sniff the curiosity breeze and
allowed him to discover new lands and extend his vices globally.
     Man has invented technology and done marvels with the invisible ingredients created
by Mother Nature. We can blow ourselves to bits with atoms and cause deadly plagues with test tube bugs. We can make gases that can kill most living creatures and enthusiastically describe mass murder as peace keeping. Undoubtedly the Black Plague was caused by humans ignoring the natural clean up process so basic to all living creatures. The recent Sars epidemic was simply a local clean up transported around the world by man's aeroplanes. It died a natural death as do most periodic diseases. Aids is easily cured but where there's no money to be made, we let our fellows die a horrible death.
     With modern technology we have the capacity to feed the world's population ten
times over. Yet death by starvation is increasing in many countries. Mother Nature wisely controls her creations by adjusting the climate. A subtle shift slowly kills off the old and the weak and allows the fit and the strong to prosper.
     Man has adapted to many climates by being inventive. Houses, heating and air
conditioning has conquered most of the planet but have inevitably causes problems that affect our survival. Sadly, it is our own destructiveness that puts us on the short list. We fear no creature but aggressively strike out against our own. Is this what Mother Nature intended? Or is it her way of letting us destroy ourselves?
     Perhaps unwisely, modern medicines have extended our lives by many years. But
sadly, we treat the elderly with disrespect. The knowledge and skills they possess are the basis of all learning. Their life skills have enabled us to overcome many obstacles, both physical and mental. Yet we condemn them to battery hen conditions in old folk homes where the most exciting things are bland, portion controlled meals and mindless TV.
     Man has done good things in the name of progress. But we have yet to learn how to
control our insatiability for bigger and better. We build super highways that scar the
landscape for thousands of miles and encourage motorists to zap from A to B at high speed merely for the fun of going somewhere different. We dam rivers and flood massive areas of productive land simply to watch TV and heat convenience food in microwaves. We build huge industrial plants manufacturing motor cars and staff them with electronic robots to save labour costs. Then with the resulting unemployment, we wonder why there are many unsold cars cluttering the world's car yards. We make cheap consumer items that fall apart in five minutes, consign them to polluting landfills and then rush out and buy another to replace the original we didn't need in the first place.
     Man builds massive cities, then deliberately moves to newly created suburbs in order
to give himself a better lifestyle. The urban sprawl uses more and more of Mother Nature's reserves and causes the demise of local species. Then we rush madly about saving them from our avarice and solemnly declare that we are conservationists. New fish stocks are discovered with the aid of technology and fished almost to extinction in the name of feeding the starving millions. Actually the sole reason is profit and to hell with the fish and the starving millions.
     Forest fires are declared inconvenient and we spend billions putting them out in case
they should endanger our extended communities. We conveniently forget that fire is Mother Nature's way of fertilising Earth and that the air pollution created is vital for our existence. Note that every raindrop contains a minute dust particle. No dust particle, means no raindrop and no rain means no plant growth. Without plant growth there's no oxygen and all life on Earth will cease.
     When man eventually takes to the stars or Mother Nature decides that enough is
enough. It is probable that a mere blink in the eye of time will obliterate any evidence that man ever existed. The reasons are obvious. The Teutonic Plates grinding and volcanoes covering the landscape with billions of tonnes of lava. The rise and fall of continents and sea beds. The changing of climates to ice ages and back. The lashing of wind and rain and who knows what other tricks Mother Nature has up her sleeve to ensure a planetary clean up. Her main task is to recycle and renew, thus ensuring Earth's survival.
     Our short history shows there are many examples of lost civilisations. Both mythical
and physical. It's the stuff that make legend and literature possible. Today, the tales of
Atlantis, Flash Gordon, Star Trek and Jules Vern's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, are now feasible. But have we learned anything from such discoveries?
       If it were possible to drain the oceans, one wonders what we might find. Perhaps
nuclear weapons seven hundred million years old in mid Pacific?   A city called New York inhabited by snails in the Bay of Bengal? Even on land we might find marijuana plantations under the Sahara Desert or tropical fish in Siberia? The possibilities, like man's future, are limitless.
     While man is currently the dominate species, we should not forget that Mother Nature
has seen it all before. We have adapted Earth's resources to our selfish purposes but at the end of the day, it is Mother Nature who controls our destiny. Earth is her creation and man is only another species that she has allowed to exist. And don't forget that 99.9% of all species are extinct.
     Perhaps if we were to show consideration for Mother Nature's intentions, we might
extend our stay on the only known planet capable of supporting life.
     Who knows what technology and Star Trek style time warps might produce for future
generations? Will men go where no man has gone before and find salvation on planets
trillions of light-years away? Will we discover life forms that they treat us as the friendly
aliens or will they treat us with the same distain we show for ourselves? Or do we stay at
home and destroy our environment with mindless consumption and petty arguments?
     If we are wise enough to accept the limitations caused by our own actions, then just
maybe we will survive. But with the irresponsibility of human nature, I don't like the odds.