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Lack of respect for Earth spells trouble ahead
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Research presented recently at the International Astronomical Union XXIX General Assembly suggests that our universe is dimming.
The inevitability of our universe succumbing to entropy 鈥 and nothingness 鈥 in the fullness of cosmic time is surely food for thought; but to my mind though, what is far more troubling is humanity鈥檚 lack of respect and awe for our own planet.
As many see it, space could hold the answer to humanity鈥檚 more immediate challenges. Recent findings confirmed the existence of the first near-Earth-size planet in the 鈥渉abitable zone鈥 around a star much like our own Sun.
In many ways, this new planet 鈥 Kepler-425b 鈥 seems like a long-lost twin brother to Earth. It鈥檚 certainly tempting to think that some day, as technology advances, humans could escape the problems of our own planet by settling on Earth 2.0.
Don鈥檛 start packing your bags yet though. There鈥檚 one big problem: it is 1,400 light-years away. The way things are going on our own planet, I doubt we can wait for the time when we can hope to arrive at this planet by taking space travel.
For evidence of the dire state of our planet, look no further than the Bohai Bay. This area is already labeled by some a 鈥渟ea without life.鈥 It is estimated that nearly 2.8 billion tons of sewage and 700,000 tons of solid waste spew into Bohai Bay through 57 rivers and creeks every year, according to the Economic Information Daily.
In the East China Sea, fishery resources have been nearly exhausted by local fisherman. Despite the recent end of the moratorium, it鈥檚 said that many fishing boats are still lingering in ports since there is nothing left to catch.
Such tragedies are increasingly commonplace these days, as a result of the greed and avarice that runs through human society.
In the future, resources will surely become much scarcer as the population continues to swell. There are some 7.3 billion people on Earth today, but this figure is growing so fast that the UN鈥檚 Food and Agriculture Organization has suggested the inclusion of insects into human diets.
Extreme weather events also point to our increasingly tenuous existence on Earth. For instance, Typhoon Soudelor swept through east China early this month, leaving 17 people dead and five missing.
Ironically, during the storm a stone tablet inscribed with the phrase 鈥渕an can conquer nature鈥 was reportedly destroyed by angry waves during the storm. The tablet was erected along a stretch of the Hualien-Taitung Coastal Highway in Taiwan, near where the storm made landfall. This literal sign of man鈥檚 hubris toward the environment points to dangerous times ahead.
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