I am surely not one of those doomsday preppers you could encounter on some documentary broadcast networks, and I am definitely not digging a large basement underneath my house or buying cans of food and devices to purify water, waiting for some apocalypse to arrive. It's not that I didn't give a thought or two on the topic. I even wrote a little about doomsday and apocalypse aftermath back in 2012 when it was all in the media with that Mayan date event. However, one thing is for sure and probably the most cruel fact you might conclude from this research. We definitely don't have any influence in order to stop many of the potential doomsday scenarios - like hostile alien attack, deadly collision with a large asteroid, or long nuclear winter. But some we can deal with. Post-apocalyptic environments caused by biohazards are those we might prevent. But only if we start on time.
Yesterday would be nice, but tomorrow is still ok. But, before we jump into the term itself and what it represents, let's just spice it up with this quote:
I'd like to share a revelation that I’ve had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species. I realized that humans are not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment, but you humans do not. Instead you multiply and multiply until every resource is consumed. The only way for you to survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern... a virus.
Have you heard this speech? I am sure you have. It's one of the Matrix quotes we remember. Do you agree with Agent Smith? Before you say no, let's try one mind experiment. Just close your eyes and try to create a speeded-up video of the last, say, 2000 years of human history. Try to imagine watching a short video from above with CGI effects representing the growth of the human population on Earth. Does it look like the above video?
What is going to happen after 2050 is hard to predict, but it seems that it all depends on one little thing called biodiversity, or how perfectly nice Agent Smith described it as natural equilibrium between humans and humans vs. everyone else. It seems that one point in time will come in the future where everything might collapse, whatever we do. This is the point when natural balance with too many humans populating the Earth will be inevitably reached. It is simply impossible to prevent the energy and the resources from failure for all of us if the worst scenario continues. The only solution possible is birth control, either invoked by law or by some natural or evolutionary process. In the below-referenced Index Mundi country comparison for annual population growth rate (births over deaths ratio), it looks like a significant number of countries started suffering negative growth percentages. Why there are more deaths than births in some populations is still negotiable, but it could be that nature also takes care of population equilibrium, like in the UN paper's third scenario.
By now you are wondering what it will be, whether we will reach a point of no return soon in this century, or nature will slow us down by controlling the total fertility rate. I would like to vote for the latter, and not because I would like nature to do all the work for our survival, but only because if this is going to happen, we will be given the second chance to help nature a little.
The question is, how should we help ourselves?
First, let's start by understanding biodiversity better. It's all about ecosystems or biological systems occupying geographically isolated areas where we can isolate all species within. Additionally, we are able to isolate all the dependencies between species, local climate, food chain flow, composition of soil, air, and water—in short, everything that makes the area a closed ecosystem. This is not where it ends; there are lots of different ecosystems mutually dependent and intractable. The Earth is nothing more than one giant ecosystem harboring all of them within. Apart from those still partially unaffected ecosystems, like those on the bottom of the oceans or those in polar regions, one thing is common to all of them. Do you need to guess? It's us. We are populating all of them, and we are in charge. We are the ones who are able to contribute the most, and in both directions. One is negative, where we pollute ecosystems, kill other species, sometimes to the edge of their simple survival, and imbalance the food chain for reasons as superficial as making money, and we are even powerful enough to influence the climate, especially in small ecosystems. The other direction is positive, and this is the one where we start using our comprehensions of our surroundings in order to protect and coexist with others.
So, helping biodiversity like described in the above video can be done in different ways. One is global awareness, similar to the global warming issue. It should be taken seriously, and the solution is education. It is not going to be easy, but over a decade or so, a generation or so, we all must understand the risk of natural imbalance. The UN, powerful countries, the EU, and other leading organizations should have great responsibility in order to spread the knowledge. All countries worldwide should have a budget big enough to take care of their own ecosystems, and finally, individuals are probably the most important chain link in preserving the habitat of their own lives. Personal education is also very important, and this is my contribution. Never mind how small it is, but the knowledge is cumulative, and it will stay written in a public place. Think of it as a basket of keywords you could use to surf further.
Before I really started writing this post, I asked for some guidance from my dear Facebook friend Iveta Seidlova, president of the Global Biodiversity Protection, and besides a couple of useful articles and links to further organizations dealing with biodiversity consciousness, she also sent me her thoughts regarding the importance of consciousness as an evolutionary process developed by humans in regard to other species who coexist with us and live for millions of years without the ability to think above simple survival or at least in the evolutionary stage just below the pure and raw civilization stage, comparable to humans who lived tens of thousands of years ago.
"I don't believe that Nature had the ability to think until biological matrices capable of supporting thought evolved. However, I don't think that Earth is the first place where it happened. I have no idea what underlies matter, but I don't think consciousness is the answer. Nor is consciousness very common among living things. There are many life forms that have attributes that we don't have. Plants, for instance, make their own food. I don't think there is anything particularly fundamental about consciousness. On the contrary, it's something extremely specialized and rare." - Iveta Seidlova, president of the "Global Biodiversity Protection" organization.
Indeed, to me, this is really a brainteaser, and I couldn't agree with Iveta more. Think of it: it seems that natural equilibrium existed before humans developed rational though was at a higher level than it is today. Contradictory, even today we developed full comprehension of a closed ecosystem we live within, and in the same time, we emerged to be the number one threat to its imbalance. However, if we do nothing, it's equally wrong, and eventually this will bring us to the very end of our pure survival. But then, looking from this perspective, is there a way out of the magic circle?"
I think there is hope, and here on Earth, we should continue with "living green" campaigns in all aspects of life, including reducing pollution significantly, building houses or living areas as green as possible, using technology for building agricultural plants even in cities, balancing greenhouse gas emissions within an acceptable range, and taking care of endangered species. Above Earth and equally important, we have to start more seriously exploring other planets and the possibility of their adaptation for creating artificial ecosystems, exploring and creating space cities for expanding ecosystems, and living in planets' orbits.
Please find additional material for your (and my) further education regarding biodiversity, and here I want to express my endless appreciation to Iveta Seidlova for finding time and helping me out with this post. Thank you again.
International Union for Conservation of Nature
http://www.iucn.org
United Nations Decade on Biodiversity
http://www.cbd.int/2011-2020/
Convention on Biological Diversity
http://www.cbd.int/cop10/
Cybernated Farm Systems
https://www.facebook.com/CybernatedFarmSystems
Cosmic Evolution Blog
http://www.cosmicevolution.net/astrobiology-blog.php
How many people can live on planet earth? - BBC Horizon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwBgNF_4g7Q
Rise of the Machines and Future of Human Civilization Michio Kaku
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iug9vA4ysws
NATURE | The Loneliest Animals | Critical Biodiversity | PBS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7G2rQARCC8
And of course, be careful when you destroy the ant nest on the roof of your house. By doing it, you could be responsible for the chain effect and possible disorder of your own small ecosystem. If you later encounter a snake or a big rat in your basement, it could be all your fault.
More referenced articles:
http://www.globalissues.org/issue/169/biodiversity
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodiversity
http://www.globalbiodiversityprotection.org/
http://www.eoearth.org/article/Biodiversity
http://www.pabiodiversity.org/whatisbiodiversity.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/earth/global-population-growth.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_population
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rpj0emEGShQ
http://www.indexmundi.com/g/r.aspx?t=0&v=24&l=en
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_fertility_rate
Yesterday would be nice, but tomorrow is still ok. But, before we jump into the term itself and what it represents, let's just spice it up with this quote:
I'd like to share a revelation that I’ve had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species. I realized that humans are not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment, but you humans do not. Instead you multiply and multiply until every resource is consumed. The only way for you to survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern... a virus.
Have you heard this speech? I am sure you have. It's one of the Matrix quotes we remember. Do you agree with Agent Smith? Before you say no, let's try one mind experiment. Just close your eyes and try to create a speeded-up video of the last, say, 2000 years of human history. Try to imagine watching a short video from above with CGI effects representing the growth of the human population on Earth. Does it look like the above video?
What is going to happen after 2050 is hard to predict, but it seems that it all depends on one little thing called biodiversity, or how perfectly nice Agent Smith described it as natural equilibrium between humans and humans vs. everyone else. It seems that one point in time will come in the future where everything might collapse, whatever we do. This is the point when natural balance with too many humans populating the Earth will be inevitably reached. It is simply impossible to prevent the energy and the resources from failure for all of us if the worst scenario continues. The only solution possible is birth control, either invoked by law or by some natural or evolutionary process. In the below-referenced Index Mundi country comparison for annual population growth rate (births over deaths ratio), it looks like a significant number of countries started suffering negative growth percentages. Why there are more deaths than births in some populations is still negotiable, but it could be that nature also takes care of population equilibrium, like in the UN paper's third scenario.
By now you are wondering what it will be, whether we will reach a point of no return soon in this century, or nature will slow us down by controlling the total fertility rate. I would like to vote for the latter, and not because I would like nature to do all the work for our survival, but only because if this is going to happen, we will be given the second chance to help nature a little.
The question is, how should we help ourselves?
First, let's start by understanding biodiversity better. It's all about ecosystems or biological systems occupying geographically isolated areas where we can isolate all species within. Additionally, we are able to isolate all the dependencies between species, local climate, food chain flow, composition of soil, air, and water—in short, everything that makes the area a closed ecosystem. This is not where it ends; there are lots of different ecosystems mutually dependent and intractable. The Earth is nothing more than one giant ecosystem harboring all of them within. Apart from those still partially unaffected ecosystems, like those on the bottom of the oceans or those in polar regions, one thing is common to all of them. Do you need to guess? It's us. We are populating all of them, and we are in charge. We are the ones who are able to contribute the most, and in both directions. One is negative, where we pollute ecosystems, kill other species, sometimes to the edge of their simple survival, and imbalance the food chain for reasons as superficial as making money, and we are even powerful enough to influence the climate, especially in small ecosystems. The other direction is positive, and this is the one where we start using our comprehensions of our surroundings in order to protect and coexist with others.
So, helping biodiversity like described in the above video can be done in different ways. One is global awareness, similar to the global warming issue. It should be taken seriously, and the solution is education. It is not going to be easy, but over a decade or so, a generation or so, we all must understand the risk of natural imbalance. The UN, powerful countries, the EU, and other leading organizations should have great responsibility in order to spread the knowledge. All countries worldwide should have a budget big enough to take care of their own ecosystems, and finally, individuals are probably the most important chain link in preserving the habitat of their own lives. Personal education is also very important, and this is my contribution. Never mind how small it is, but the knowledge is cumulative, and it will stay written in a public place. Think of it as a basket of keywords you could use to surf further.
Before I really started writing this post, I asked for some guidance from my dear Facebook friend Iveta Seidlova, president of the Global Biodiversity Protection, and besides a couple of useful articles and links to further organizations dealing with biodiversity consciousness, she also sent me her thoughts regarding the importance of consciousness as an evolutionary process developed by humans in regard to other species who coexist with us and live for millions of years without the ability to think above simple survival or at least in the evolutionary stage just below the pure and raw civilization stage, comparable to humans who lived tens of thousands of years ago.
"I don't believe that Nature had the ability to think until biological matrices capable of supporting thought evolved. However, I don't think that Earth is the first place where it happened. I have no idea what underlies matter, but I don't think consciousness is the answer. Nor is consciousness very common among living things. There are many life forms that have attributes that we don't have. Plants, for instance, make their own food. I don't think there is anything particularly fundamental about consciousness. On the contrary, it's something extremely specialized and rare." - Iveta Seidlova, president of the "Global Biodiversity Protection" organization.
Indeed, to me, this is really a brainteaser, and I couldn't agree with Iveta more. Think of it: it seems that natural equilibrium existed before humans developed rational though was at a higher level than it is today. Contradictory, even today we developed full comprehension of a closed ecosystem we live within, and in the same time, we emerged to be the number one threat to its imbalance. However, if we do nothing, it's equally wrong, and eventually this will bring us to the very end of our pure survival. But then, looking from this perspective, is there a way out of the magic circle?"
I think there is hope, and here on Earth, we should continue with "living green" campaigns in all aspects of life, including reducing pollution significantly, building houses or living areas as green as possible, using technology for building agricultural plants even in cities, balancing greenhouse gas emissions within an acceptable range, and taking care of endangered species. Above Earth and equally important, we have to start more seriously exploring other planets and the possibility of their adaptation for creating artificial ecosystems, exploring and creating space cities for expanding ecosystems, and living in planets' orbits.
Please find additional material for your (and my) further education regarding biodiversity, and here I want to express my endless appreciation to Iveta Seidlova for finding time and helping me out with this post. Thank you again.
International Union for Conservation of Nature
http://www.iucn.org
United Nations Decade on Biodiversity
http://www.cbd.int/2011-2020/
Convention on Biological Diversity
http://www.cbd.int/cop10/
Cybernated Farm Systems
https://www.facebook.com/CybernatedFarmSystems
Cosmic Evolution Blog
http://www.cosmicevolution.net/astrobiology-blog.php
How many people can live on planet earth? - BBC Horizon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwBgNF_4g7Q
Rise of the Machines and Future of Human Civilization Michio Kaku
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iug9vA4ysws
NATURE | The Loneliest Animals | Critical Biodiversity | PBS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7G2rQARCC8
And of course, be careful when you destroy the ant nest on the roof of your house. By doing it, you could be responsible for the chain effect and possible disorder of your own small ecosystem. If you later encounter a snake or a big rat in your basement, it could be all your fault.
More referenced articles:
http://www.globalissues.org/issue/169/biodiversity
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodiversity
http://www.globalbiodiversityprotection.org/
http://www.eoearth.org/article/Biodiversity
http://www.pabiodiversity.org/whatisbiodiversity.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/earth/global-population-growth.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_population
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rpj0emEGShQ
http://www.indexmundi.com/g/r.aspx?t=0&v=24&l=en
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_fertility_rate