Holes in the ozone layer and other things that need immediate attention

I do not read the newspaper. I do not watch television. And I do not track the news.

Dramatic as this may sound, this may be true of many more people who would be hesitant to state this.

I am a “reader” with a voracious appetite for the printed word. And I am rather indiscriminate in my reading. I do have very strong opinions about the things that matter to me. And I am willing to admit (and accept) that other people can (and usually do) have very strong opinions of their own that are divergent from mine.

I enjoy a good argument—as much as the next person who is interested in looking at things differently would. And I am willing to cry myself hoarse and lose my voice over something that I really believe in.

And I am willing to accept a different point of view, if you can convince me.

Having had a rather long day arguing over trivialities that included what actually constitutes “theft”, on what is a better operating system, on whether Microsoft is actually the evil Satan that the (leftist IMHO) open source league makes it out to be.

Does this affect my life? In reality, I think not. Do these questions really shake the world? Or are they tools in the hands of some crafty marketing guru who has plugged it into a campaign to woo the world and wag the dog?

On whether I can contribute the creating (or not therefore) the hole in the ozone layer: I believe I do not affect this.

The earth (and the other planets… as also a variety of systems that parallel our solar system) has existed for aeons. In fact I believe that we as a race have a limited understanding of what exactly constitutes these systems. We have made significant progress in understanding some aspects of our past and our evolution. However, to accept this as complete (going by the contribution to better understanding this universe by luminaries including Galileo and Newton and Einstein and Hawking) would (IMHO of course) be a disservice to the future Hawkings’, Einsteins and the rest of their ilk that are lurking in the shadows as they theorise and throw light on aspects that were less understood today (and yesterday, therefore).

To accept the body of knowledge that we have today as complete seems to me therefore to be limiting.

In view of the cycles of warmth and cold that I have read about, this planet has been moving along a course that has resulted in a species like us taking the forefront and we like the other dominant species before us, seem to be heading towards extinction. In fact we seem to be hurtling towards this at an alarming pace. Should this worry me?

As someone (marginally) interested in anthropology (and also as someone interested in examining my viewpoint on this issue yet again), I believe not.

Yes. We may be looking at a different earth in a few million years time. But, to actually attribute these changes to a species that occupies so little space is to me self aggrandizement of the worst sort. I (and I use this term loosely to represent the human race as a whole). As I have heard it said, the earth was not what it is today just that many millions ago either. And we humans were not around in these numbers to help it along its cycle. But cool it did. And then it burned. And froze over again. And entire species were wiped out each time around. And every time, the dominant species formed a large part of the species’ that was wiped out. I am sure you are literate and understand the basics of probability. What’s the chance of that happening? Huh!

I believe that this preoccupation with the self and with the idea that we matter so much in the entire scheme of things is rather dramatic. And futile. I do not believe that we can change the course of this planet. And if we do manage that—I am of the opinion that it shall not be of lasting impact. What are a few billion people going to do to something that has created and sustained them for millennia? Go ahead—convince me otherwise. I am willing to consider as many viewpoints to the contrary as you can throw up. But be warned—this is no illiterate opinion or rant. There is research material (that is rather controversial no doubt) that stands me in good stead as I take this stand. (The University of Berkeley has some information that you may find illuminating— but don’t bother if you are one of those that goes around with a pre-formed opinion that cannot be changed!)