The case for respecting the earth

Of course we should respect the earth – it has given us life, it is a beautiful place. Also, we must not forget that our species is a natural product of our earth, and so to a certain extent whatever we do to it is natural. Of course we would like the earth to remain hospitable and beautiful for our children, so we must endeavour to keep it so.

We are already developing the technologies to generate clean and sustainable energy, so that we no longer have to dig out fossil fuels from the earth, blighting the landscape and polluting the atmosphere. Solar, wind, and nuclear fusion power can and will be the future.

We must also respect the fact that the earth can only sustain a finite number of people, and we are fast approaching the time when we will exceed its carrying capacity. Unless we address this issue soon with a workable and global program of birth control, the consequences will be severe for humanity. Overcrowding leads to unhappiness, violence, war, hunger, starvation, disease, and death.

Ultimately, all species become extinct and humans will be no exception. Conditions on the earth at the moment are favourable for the life which exists here. This will change in the future, as the earth is a restless planet – driven by plate tectonics and its changing position with respect to the sun. There is little we can do about this, and it is one of the reasons that there is life here on earth. We should not be so arrogant as to presume that we can control the earth’s climate and its future – nature’s forces are far greater than our own. It is not humanity which is causing the extremes of weather and the natural disasters with which we are so familiar, these events are way beyond our control. We should respect those amazing forces, and appreciate what the earth has given us in our finite time here, as individuals and as a species.