Earth thoughts 79-87

Earth thought 79 of 365: "The message sent / was of discontent, / from incline to incline." Broadcast, "Echo's Answer", The Noise Made by People, 2000 (see Earth thought 73.)

Earth thought 80 of 365: In 0 A.D., the idea of unconditional love was radical and unprecedented. In 2010, sustaining the diversity of life is as radical as unconditional love. Give the ones up ahead many chances to be who they are, to not be shrunken by conditions.

Earth thought 81 of 365: The modern era was substantially defined by the ascendancy of physics. Physics was the norm of nature. But in the 21st century, Earth science matters more and should be our reference point, our privileged science. Physics is indifferent to life.

Earth thought 82 of 365: If communism had not messed up our minds, and capitalism hadn't wrecked our hearts, we would be able to grasp the Winter Asymmetry [cf. 61]. I am part of a process, and to give myself to it is the human thing to do. Of course, I won't force others to.

Earth thought 83 of 365: "I want Goodness in the world, for all." "I oppose the invisible assaults." "I will not sacrifice the future on the mechanized bureaucracy of the present." "I will not sacrifice children to my own selfishness or nationalism." These were true against totalitarianism; they are still true regarding the environment.

Earth thought 84 of 365: Food revolution or population devolution? The Green Revolution said we can find a way to feed everyone. But greens today speak differently: "Increasing our numbers won't do. We've overshooting Earth's ability to sustain our way of life, and each new life adds to climate change over its lifetime. Time for fewer new born, no more than two per couple on average. But how to bring that about, fairly?"

Earth thought 85 of 365: What joys are more powerful than a warm, sun-lit day after months of gray winter?

Earth thought 86 of 365: It's ironic how I always have an excuse for an airplane ride.

Earth thought 87 of 365: A conceivable human future is not one in which Earth's diversity of life can recover from a mass extinction. The last recovery took tens of millions of years. All of recorded human history is just ten thousand years.