Saturday, May 10, 2008

Brainstorming on General Dynamics

We may be over-dependent on oil for our energy needs and alternative sources (wind, solar, etc) are not going to make up the slack any time soon in the supply of energy, in view of oil prices and climate change, so is the whole thing playing into the hands of nuclear?

Trading one dependency for another? One type of risk for another, even remote (but deadly).

Both the rise of the temp of the Earth and a nuclear leak can cause severe damage humanity and environment (look at the situation in Chernobyl, 20+ years after). But then so can major volcano eruptions, metiors from outer space, bird related (for now) flus, and various other sources of collective/mass "destruction". Can we do anything or do we focus or distractions and "que sera sera" philosophising, as individuals? Can we instead afford to live on 20 or 30% of the energy consumption we are used to, as individuals, countries, human race? Food for thought!

Note: In about 30 years from now, the world population will gain as many added members as was the world population in around 1950! Ie we wil be more than 9 billion! Where will we find the water to drink, the rice and other staple foods to eat and survive, the energy to withstand winters, the energy to move, the energy to produce products and transport them for sale half the way around the world, etc?


Should we start practicing Spartan or Ancient Athenian lifestyles? Not as severe as Diogenes who lived in a barrel in the 4th century BC Athens, but ....

Are we going to be living more on food for thought and less on actual food? And spend our days doing sports, philosophising, writing poetry and civic affairs? As well as hedonism as the Romans and Greeks did? Or do we merely keep on going "business as usual" and que sera, sera, and let the future generations sweat it out (in 1, 2, 3 or 4 extra Celcious degrees average temps or nuclear safe areas, eg under protective domes)? Or since nothing lasts forever including the Earth and the sky ..... That is IMO why the Ancient Greeks' thinking on personal and civic ethos (ethics) is as relevant today as in the Pericles' Athens?

More (1): Where do we need to alter our ways more? In urban or local transport, eg walk or take mass transportation or use a horse, or in long distance one? Ie what should we be willing to use less, cars or airplanes (especially in regions where land transportation modes cannot complete the job of taking us to our destination)?

More (2): In most of the history of humans, even the last 3000 years only, did people grow roots and stay for generations in one place, or did they pick up and relocate from time to time? Which of the two is most frequent in human history?

No comments: