Where's the Conspiracy?

Originally posted by Juanita
If being the only thinking, and I'm using that term lightly, creatures on this planet - Then why in the hey are we the only ones destroying it?

"Technological progress has merely provided us with more efficient means for going backwards."
-Aldous Huxley

"All our lauded technological progress -- our very civilization - is like the axe in the hand of the pathological criminal."
-Albert Einstein

Somehow I wouldn't keep mankind in general as intelligent specie.

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I was searching something this am and tripped over an astounding site that kept me occupied for hours. PLEASE - check it out and read as much as you can...

abuddhas memes

www.drmenlo.com...

"How did we get to this place? Listening intently to the sizzle, so immersed in all the media-directed attention that the steak, dripping it's vitality on the searing griddle of productivity, will soon be burnt. As most of us are already - burnt-out that is, with biological, human needs for care and love and acknowledged interdependence pegged squarely against the need for basic provision; and, for the few, stuff.

The idea haunts me. If all Gaian humans consumed like us in the so-called developed places, we would need a few more planetships. So the plan is to strengthen the "defense" capability of those who are "in" (read Euro-AmeriCanadian Australs) while maintaining a vast labor pool by means of directed political and social instability; easily quelled by the massive allied forces if an insurrection gets too rambunctious. This makes clear the role of our Intelligence networks, and reveals in retrospect the obvious.

Surely we must see this; if we can't share then we must exclude. Short of an energy and materials revolution, such as harnessing fusion and nanoreplication, this consumptive fantasy will soon resolve itself in a way the Nazis would likely have approved.

Is strong AI, nanobots, and limitless energy the answer? Maybe, but I would qualify my partial optimism by observing our own strong anti-intelligence and suspect ethicality. Perhaps the first Extropian colonist voyageurs will decide biology must defer in favor of energy."




Enjoy!

The first thing that has to go is Usuary. All interest is based on the idea of limitless continued growth, which is a fools paradise. We must get smarter cleaner and less numerous if where to have a chance in the future...

The petri-dish in which humanity lives is Gaia.

So we go get another petri-dish?

To the Moon and Mars!

Well Gazrock, assuming that it was technically feasible, that we had the resources to spare and that limitations like differences in gravity (as well as other biological limitations resulting from evolving as an integral part of this bioshpere) could be overcome, would we deserve a second chance after what we've done to our (IMO) one and only viable home?
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Darn, this is a good post.

I keep losing it, and finding it again, but never having the time to do it justice. Given the latest warnings about the bird flu pandemic, I think a bump is warranted.

It's only so long we can keep going without a conservative attitude, Nature will give us a a big slap and wake us up if we don't get serious about it. Sometimes, I wish that it would happe, at least we'll realize it's not Hollywood stuff.

Great OP-ED piece Gools. I personally don't agree with all your conclusions, but your arguments are persuasive.

ATS is full of gems like this one.

Found, lost, then found again.

I love this thread.

Cross-referencing with another relevant discussion: The Early Signs of Public Unrest and Social Chaos?

Here we are over three years after my initial post. Looking back at all that has developed (as witnessed in myriad threads and posts on this website) I believe that my original premise is more true than ever.
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Originally posted by Gools
Cross-referencing with another relevant discussion: The Early Signs of Public Unrest and Social Chaos?

Here we are over three years after my initial post. Looking back at all that has developed (as witnessed in myriad threads and posts on this website) I believe that my original premise is more true than ever.
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Uh huh.

Still great, 5 years later. How unfortunate.

Malthus said in the 18th century that we were running out of resources. If we had been using technological methods from the 18th century for farming, for example, we would of had no where near enough resources to feed the population in the 21st century. We do not use technology from the 18th century. As time goes on, the technology gets better, we switch technologies, we get more efficient, and we also switch resources. We have a struggle ahead, but I almost see it as business as usual.

On the electrical side of things we can...:

• Switch to a closed NUCLEAR fuel cycle.
  
• Pump CO2 from coal and gas underground.
  
• Focus on more efficient solar cells, and concentrating solar panels.
  
• Add additional geothermal to the mix.
  

And on the fuel / water side we can switch to a...:

• Synthetic fuels based economy.
  
• Hydrogen based economy.
  
• Metal based economy.
  
• Ammonia based economy.
  
• (or a combination)
  
• We can also desalinate water at any coastal region in the world using Nuclear energy.
  

(of course, you need industrial process heat for all of them. What creates huge amounts of heat in a very small amount of space? Hmmmm... I wonder )


I am not saying it's going to be easy. But we have a few decades to do this. Fighting over resources has always happened, and always will.

Thanks.

[edit on 6/2/2010 by C0bzz]

Originally posted by Gools
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Humanity has reached its growth limit.

Might it not be the industrial economy that's reached it's growth limit?

The NWO? The Government? Think-Tanks? Secret Societies?

They know what the score is.

If I can piece a global picture of where humanity stands like the one above, so can they.

They're just getting ready for mass starvation, riots and conflict. They intend to fight until the last drop of oil and be the last ones left standing.

Uh huh. ...Round and round and round in the circle game.


I STILL love this thread.



[edit on 28-8-2010 by soficrow]