Humanity is far more vulnerable to extinction events. In the past, life on the planet only had to worry about natural disasters. But when the dinosaurs passed, the mammals were able to rise, chief among them homo sapiens – a life form clever enough to be able to engineer its own mass extinction through nuclear weapons, chemically-induced climate change and genetically-engineered pandemics.
We must fear ourselves even more than natural catastrophes.
-- What do the Maya and the Toltecs in APOCALYPSE 2012 have to teach us about coping with global catastrophe?
The Maya faced and went through almost everything that our world is experiencing today, including religiously-motivated wars, climate change which produced the sorts of drought-driven food and water scarcity which now plagues Asia and Africa, particularly India. They faced internecine class conflict fueled by escalating inequities between the ruling and the laboring classes.
They faced the same tensions that many theocratic nations face today—the eternal conflict between science and religion. As drought ravaged their croplands, their religious/political leaders demanded not technological advances and organized efforts to improve food production and alleviate water scarcity but massive sacrifices of blood and treasure consecrated to their sky gods, including en masse human sacrifices. If the Mayans and their sister civilizations had put that effort into additional aqueducts, new irrigation systems and crop diversification, they might not have gone under. Instead they cut out hearts and hacked off heads.
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Very astute. Gives a valuable perspective on history.
ReplyDeleteI disagree about modern humans increasing the risks of extinction. While we have caused global warming and nukes, we have "weapons" to fight other mass extinction scenarios like a pandemic virus or knocking a planet killing asteriod away from a collision course.
ReplyDeleteWe are no better than the Maya. The next world wars are liable to be over drinking water because we have unchecked population growth and unchecked industrial pollution. We can't even get the Afghans to grown a different "cash" crop than dream powder.
ReplyDeleteIt's difficult to gauge whether we have increased the danger of extinction because Mother Nature is so overwhelmingly powerful and sometimes vindictive. One of the mass extinctions, perhaps the biggest of them all, wiping out 90 percent of life, occurred when the atmosphere was poisoned by methane. That could happen again because not only are there vast areas of permafrost that will no longer hold down the methane if the planet warms, but there are enormouse quantities of it that will be released from the ocean floor if the seas get warmer.
ReplyDeleteMy question is, who's in charge of keeping life on the planet from going extinct? Is there a governmental agency assigned that task?
ReplyDeleteFYI I googled the question about who is in charge of keeping life on the planet from becoming extinct and found out it is the Post Office.
ReplyDeleteI tend to agree in the plausability of it happening, yet, nothing last forever. I don't believe it does any good to worry about something you have no control over. Live your life.
ReplyDeletehttp://smrgsbord.blogspot.com/
Here's an article about extinction scenarios.
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risks_to_civilization,_humans_and_planet_Earth
I just listened in on your comments with George Noorey, of the 2012 predictions and Biblical Apocalypse. My understanding of the Mayan count, is it's the end of a cycle (count) and in view of Biblical Revelations, the message given to John, have to come to pass, as God's Plan for man. The Mayan's called them Star God's, Abraham called them Lord, Daniel called them angelic messengers, the Apostles called him Jesus Lord, the Christ.
ReplyDeleteEarlier this month, I sent Mr. Noorey an e-mail, after he had Dr. Joye Pugh, on the show, about Prophecies. He may share it with you for your consideration, or I can forward it to you also. Contact him for my e-mail.