IN THIS SERIES:  Climate, Conservation, Extinction, Mankind and My Contribution.                         Main Page

BIHRMANN's THOUGHTS                                               
             ABOUT MANKIND AND NATURE
 This is a collection of basic thoughts and facts around mankind in general.
 How much impact do the humans have on the wellbeing of the Earth, including all the species we share it with?
  Is Homo sapience just pandemic? Is the solution less humans or can we get away with just being less materialistic and greedy?
  To answer this, we need to have a look at how we have altered the earth through time, and do some guessing about the time to come.

 Is it a Problem?
   It seems like the nature of the Earth is changes, and mankind and the species we find around us is here for a short time. On the other hand: Mankind have wiped out numerous species, in a way no other species have ever done before. Are we really aloud to do that? We are only here for a short time. As guests, we are not aloud to make any changes. We don't seem to be able to act with enough courtesy, and I think have to change that.

 This It a Problem
The way we multiply. My estimate is: We, and the Earth, did fine when we were five or even ten millions. We lived as hunter-gatherers, and our impact to the environment was relatively small, although we did hunt some species to extinction. Only Africa, where we started, have gone pretty unharmed through - at least until 200 years ago.
 The first humans left Africa around 70.000 years ago, and the world population started to grew fast!
Then , around 6-10,000 years ago, we learned how to cultivate the land, and that aloud us to stay in the same area. Cities was founded, wealth invented, we started using the nature, instead of living in, and with it.

 On top of that, the population started to explode, and we was forced to occupy areas that were not prime. That again let to a even stronger misuse of the nature.

 A 100000 years ago, we almost had it, leaving only 2000 people.

Year

 Pop. in mill.
-100000 0,002
-70000 0,01
-10000 1
-9000 3
-8000 5
-7000 7
-6000 10
-5000 15
-4000 20
-3000 25
-2000 35
-1000 50
-500 100
0 200
1000 310
1750 791
1800 978
1850 1262
1900 1650
1950 2521
1960 3000
1970 3700
1985 4850
1990 5300
2000 6000
2050 9000
 
 To add worse, we become greedy. While our ancestors was happy just to avoid starvation, we want more and more "toys". While some people still starve, other have more goods than the can account for, remember and especially ever get to use.

Our greed have let to the extinction of the many species we use to share the Earth with, and we have inflicted many scars on the surface of the Earth.

 The Uncontrolled Overuse Must be Brought to a Halt
  This insanely misuse of the Earth's recourses along with the overpopulation is the worse threat at present time to the nature.
 If the Earth shall remain as it is, prevailed by its own rules, humankind must find a way to coexist without inflicting so mush terminal impact. Both to the environment and each of the species.

 The Major Impacts on the Earth, Made by Mankind
* Extinction of species, part of a great entwined web of life.
* Liberation of both organic and non organic material.
* Alteration of environment. 

. 

 It it Just the Humans that Causes Environment Changes?

 The short answer will be: No.
Since the first traces of life, organises have been part of the changing environment of the Earth. Creating the atmosphere, including oxygen O2 and ozone O3 for starters. Is the current global heating only caused by humans?
 I have seen several answers to this, and they are discussed on the Climate-Page
 Extinction of Species
 While humankind have evolved in a speed rarely seen before, our pray have not. Our weapons and tactics are superior, and we lack the sense to save some pray to bring on the species.
 Then we started using chemicals, unknown to nature. Not only the plants and animal that was targeted suffered, but also those around and those above in the food chain, even us selves!
 Alteration of Environment
 When we started to form the land, and forests was cut down for the wood and to create farmland, habitats was lost. Besides from the plant species that gone lost, the animals living of and among them lost their habitat. Whole ecosystems broke down, and that let to an impact to the climate. More species was lost.
 Clearing the land let to landslides and washing out nutrients that have taken thousands of years to build up. Making the land too poor, the rivers too rich and unclear
 Rivers was tamed and dammed, huge areas covered in concrete, leaven less or even no land for some species to live on and migrate through.
 Foreign species was shifted around and  new species produced in laboratories. That gave the local species a competition the couldn't win.  		 Liberation of both Organic and Non-organic Material
 In our hunt for even more goods and toys - not food, we have raped the debts of the Earth as no other species.
 First, we dug for salt, then rocks followed by metals. In the beginning, the digging was done by hand, and the impact to surrounding nature limited.
 This was followed by our hunt for fossil fuel; lignite, coal, oil, gas and then uranium (not fossil, I know).
 At the same time, we dug up metals and other minerals in ever expanding amounts along with diamonds and other so called "precious stones".
 All this digging and drilling have let to the pollution of streams and rivers, huge amounts of poisonous chemicals and the lost of precious surface along with all its living environment.
 On top of that, some of the minerals and organic compounds have a real bad effect on the surface and atmosphere.
 How Bad is It?
 If we see it in the real great perspective, I doubt we can add much to the Earths coming history. We will only be a short, but annoying incidence, and the cyclic and unexpected changes that will occur in the next millions of years, will probably wipe out all marks we have left. It is only seen in the micro quantum-like perspective we matters at all.
  BUT THAT IS NO EXCUSE TO RUIN THE MARVELLOUS NATURE WE SHOULD BE PART OF!

 The solutions
 One simple solution: An slow and airborne Ebola, which wipes out all the "civilized" people, leaving the few remaining Indians who still live in harmony with Mother Earth. I hope I can come up with a better solution!  

I find it strange; way more money is spend on exploring i.e. Mars, than finding solutions on how to maintain living on Earth!

  Some Ideas
 We always talks about help for Africa. Maybe it should be the other way around: The so-called primitive tribes of Africa should learn us how to do with less, and live in harmony with nature, only using what the Earth can provide.

Bio fuel; a way to starve us selves to dead, setting matter over hunger?

IN THIS SERIES: Thoughts about; Climate, Conservation, Extinction, Mankind and My Contribution.
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