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The entire point about being careful of our environmental impact is because we are destroying our own habitat. Sure, the advent of human civilization might be a
by Udo 11y ago
The entire point about being careful of our environmental impact is because we are destroying our own habitat. Sure, the advent of human civilization might be a mass extinction event, but the Earth had these before, and nature will go on. Nature is going to be fine. It's humanity who's potentially in trouble, not the planet.
For us to die out voluntarily in order to preserve nature is completely backwards. The correct way of thinking about this is we're changing nature until it becomes hard or impossible for us to live here. So in a sense, our default path is already one of self-extinction. If we turn that around (and I'm cautiously optimistic we will), nobody needs to die out.
It's not us XOR the planet. It's us AND the planet.
- bryanlarsen 11y agoHumans have a very strong cultural and genetic drive to ensure that their family survives and thrives. This drive is strong enough that sacrificing oneself for ones family is not surprising behaviour. This drive has been exploited for good and evil by tribes, nations, religions, social movements, football teams, et cetera. Extending this sense of "us" to include all humans seems to be the logical conclusion. However, many people extend this sense of "us" to include all cuddly animals, all animals, all multi-cellular organisms, any life, ... I think that's silly, but perhaps 100 years from now people will think my attitude is just as morally repugnant as my view of those who think black people are sub-human.