We can only hope that humanity would learn from its own history. In terms of the environment, however, it is like trying to learn from a broken heart. Very painful and often we can just never go back and correct our errors in judgement.
With our world population growing at such an alarming rate, perhaps there is nothing in history that can address our current issues directly.
Technology also poses new ethical issues the likes of history has never seen. For instance, should we allow animals to be cloned for food? Will the propagation of insect resistant crops affect the other species who depend on the viability of such insects?
Does reviewing man’s progress through time ever set an example for solutions to the challenges of today? For instance, can we ever go back to the simplicity of picking berries and hunting only for what we can consume?
Or if we turn to the age when man began to cultivate for food, other questions are raised. In the United States, we can hope to cultivate good crops to feed our population, but what of the booming populations in arid regions of Africa? If were are to act locally, are we to let others starve?
We might then want to look at the notion of “Distribution” as an answer. Yet again, we immediately become mired in issues such as forms of transportation and their impact on the environment. Not to mention tariffs; taxes; pricing; and supply and demand who do nothing to address the issues of the sustainability of crop or environment.
Do we learn from history? Sure. But what is it exactly that we learn?
Maybe what we learn is that the future is our only hope of doing it better next time.
Learning from history and practicing what you have learned are two entirely different concepts. For instance, I have learned that the earth was less in danger from humans when we were comprised of small pre-technological tribal cultures at a time when there were significantly fewer of us on the planet. This does not mean that I can or would kill off several billion people and take away technology in favor of returning to spears and arrows. That may inevitably happen, depending on how things go, but to bring about a Deep Ecology solution to overpopulation would mean making drastic reductions in our numbers so as to make certain that the earth as well as all people equally share a good chance for survival.
Unfortunately, humans seem to be acquisitive beings, always striving to acquire material things, influence, power, money. Reading through the historical timelines for this week reminded me of how our kind throughout history have ruined the air, land and water in order to gain more possessions. In 1556, Agricola KNEW there were occupational hazards involved in smelting metal, but blamed these adverse health effects on the carelessness of the workers so as to avoid having to stop the lucrative metal-making operation. Likewise, the fact that the forests were rapidly disappearing in 1560s England did not deter the British from slashing through the wood like there was no end in sight. When coal was first discovered to produce a choking, stinking, black smoggy mess, its use should have been banned, but it was not. Owners of coal mines stood to lose too much if their operations were shut down, and besides, people wanted to be warm and all the wood was gone. Much of the pollution and destruction to our planet could be avoided if people would stop whatever they are doing which pollutes and destroys; but because their practices produce so much money for a very few powerful people (or corporations), the destruction continues. In this sense, we have not learned from history at all, though the examples are clearly in front of our faces.
One bright spot from my review of the timeline was that in the last sixty or seventy years, a veritable plethora of conventions, summits and conferences have been held, generating protocols, initiatives and strategies. Our impact on the environment seems to be the subject of much study, but now we need to implement the strategies that are being developed, if we ever hope not just to learn, but to benefit from what history has taught us. Simply put, we should say: “Okay, we can see from the past that this type of behavior caused bad things to happen. We need to stop doing that and do this instead.” Then we would not just be learning from history, but we would be putting that knowledge to work to improve our plight and that of the earth.
What struck me in reading the timelines was the reoccurrence of the term deforestation. For instance in Troy, the area now considered Turkey. The arid landscape of much of the Mediterranean we see today is very different from that of ancient times. It is remarkable that only now we realize that the practice of clear cutting prevents healthy ecosystems from ever returning to their original state.
An experiment in Germany to replenish the forest is a laughable example. Yes, the German government made attempts to restore a thriving Black Forest, but only so they would not have to import so much lumber. A native of Germany told me that the real travesty was that the government wanted to also provide forest for the enjoyment of the people, but planted all the trees in straight lines for easy harvest…which by my friend’s account is a eerie and unpleasant experience for people looking to spend a day in the woods.
That was around 10 years ago… Hopefully improvements have evolved.
Christine, Great observation. If one looks at the archaeological findings for all major civilizations from the Maya to Rome the destruction of the forests on which the population depended for fuel and food ultimately led to the decline of the empire. Before people were able to just move and conquer other lands to increase there resource base. Now that we are facing global deforestation of ancient forests we can surmise what might follow. Too bad those that "rule" empires are not taking action.
I think as individuals we have learned something from history. We try to make life better than our parents or our grandparents. We can not stop progress, but we can try to keep the quality of life healthier and cleaner. I feel the big corporations on the other hand think about how much product they can sell to the consumers. They have learned nothing from history.
Sorry, for the short comments. I don't know how to make it longer. As our population grows I too think it's very alarming. I do not agree with scientists playing God. I know that they are trying to come up with a way to feed the population, but not by cloning animals, or plants.
There is an old saying, A word to the wise is sufficient. I am coming to the conclusion that humans must not be very wise. Otherwise, we would have taken the words of our predecessors to heart. The histories of many peoples in many countries throughout recorded time have shown that when forests are cut down and waste is dumped into waterways and resources are overused or exhausted, humans suffer. But that does not seem to have stopped the practices. We continue to waste and consume as if there were no end in sight. I sometimes shudder to think of my daughters' grandchildren thinking of their great grandmother as belonging to that generation that exhausted the planet's fossil fuels. Why haven't we learned from the lessons that history teaches us? The only reason I keep coming up with is greed. How achingly sad it is. Forgive me, but whenever I take an environmental science class, I sigh a lot...
I think we learn from history but only to develop new ways to prevent or manage our current environmental problems, not necessarily solve them (if that makes any sense). It feels as though we just find ways around the problems. I feel the government only thinks of quick solutions, not long term. For example, the one idea that really caught my eye was pollution. We have been dealing with pollution for centuries, and it still exists today. I feel as though the general public hears ways to lower their contamination to the environment, but they only make the changes for a few weeks...instead of making it a lifestyle change. Its like we recognize the problems and we think it serious at one point, but then the daily grind makes it easy for us to forget (us being the general public). Our pattern of short term fixes causes history to repeat itself in war, in protecting the environment, in everything. It is as though we never really learn from our mistakes.
June, you are right. Everything I scrambled to make sense of in my submission is exactly what you said just much, much more beautiful and understandable. I agree, greed has to be the driving force behind our stupidity. I feel today especially, the youth ignores history and is more concerned with pop culture versus real culture. I feel this nation as a whole has become very close minded and selfish over the past few decades.
I feel some people learn from history and others do not. The individuals that seem to learn from history are usually well educated in the subject. As a society I feel America does not act as though they have learned from previous society in history.The reason I feel Americans as a society do not insure the well being of future generation is do to the individuals need and ideology of personal success above the success of the whole human race to succeed on plant earth. I feel if western society really tried to learn from the past we would have to sacrifice modern comforts and be very much less materialistic, and most people I know do not want to do that.
I like what you are saying Christine about the current era being different from any other, and history may not have the answers for the problems we face today. Is it really logical or possible to go back to picking berries and foraging of the land. I personally at the moment think the human population will kill it self off rather than resorting to stepping backwards and living as people did before the eighteen hundreds. Also, is are progression forced upon by evolution? Is it natural? and can we really as a human race save the planet?
Corporations were granted the rights of individuals. I'll have to look up when exactly that was... but they have the rights and few of the responsibilities or needs of individuals. Do corporations breath? Do they get thirsty or even hungry?
They're made up of people, you might say... but its such a wonderful system of passing the the buck and C.Y.A. that people in corporations aren't really people.
Down with Corporate America. Whew! Where'd that come from?
've been thinking about this question, and I'm afraid I have a more or less pessimistic outlook on this topic. We' humans seem to have been recording our history in some fashion, for at least 4000 years.
Yet it seems that as a human race, we never seem to put our fellow humans and their well-being before our own selfish needs, as a collective body. We have been at war with one another (always over religion and resources) since the dawn of our recorded history.
Even with the recent invention called the Internet, we don't seem to use it to successfully convey to one another, the horrors of war, and the peacful means we can use to work out our differences.
So I guess that my answer is that we do not seem to benefit from historical hindsight. K
13 comments:
We can only hope that humanity would learn from its own history. In terms of the environment, however, it is like trying to learn from a broken heart. Very painful and often we can just never go back and correct our errors in judgement.
With our world population growing at such an alarming rate, perhaps there is nothing in history that can address our current issues directly.
Technology also poses new ethical issues the likes of history has never seen. For instance, should we allow animals to be cloned for food? Will the propagation of insect resistant crops affect the other species who depend on the viability of such insects?
Does reviewing man’s progress through time ever set an example for solutions to the challenges of today? For instance, can we ever go back to the simplicity of picking berries and hunting only for what we can consume?
Or if we turn to the age when man began to cultivate for food, other questions are raised. In the United States, we can hope to cultivate good crops to feed our population, but what of the booming populations in arid regions of Africa? If were are to act locally, are we to let others starve?
We might then want to look at the notion of “Distribution” as an answer. Yet again, we immediately become mired in issues such as forms of transportation and their impact on the environment. Not to mention tariffs; taxes; pricing; and supply and demand who do nothing to address the issues of the sustainability of crop or environment.
Do we learn from history? Sure. But what is it exactly that we learn?
Maybe what we learn is that the future is our only hope of doing it better next time.
Learning from history and practicing what you have learned are two entirely different concepts. For instance, I have learned that the earth was less in danger from humans when we were comprised of small pre-technological tribal cultures at a time when there were significantly fewer of us on the planet. This does not mean that I can or would kill off several billion people and take away technology in favor of returning to spears and arrows. That may inevitably happen, depending on how things go, but to bring about a Deep Ecology solution to overpopulation would mean making drastic reductions in our numbers so as to make certain that the earth as well as all people equally share a good chance for survival.
Unfortunately, humans seem to be acquisitive beings, always striving to acquire material things, influence, power, money. Reading through the historical timelines for this week reminded me of how our kind throughout history have ruined the air, land and water in order to gain more possessions. In 1556, Agricola KNEW there were occupational hazards involved in smelting metal, but blamed these adverse health effects on the carelessness of the workers so as to avoid having to stop the lucrative metal-making operation. Likewise, the fact that the forests were rapidly disappearing in 1560s England did not deter the British from slashing through the wood like there was no end in sight. When coal was first discovered to produce a choking, stinking, black smoggy mess, its use should have been banned, but it was not. Owners of coal mines stood to lose too much if their operations were shut down, and besides, people wanted to be warm and all the wood was gone. Much of the pollution and destruction to our planet could be avoided if people would stop whatever they are doing which pollutes and destroys; but because their practices produce so much money for a very few powerful people (or corporations), the destruction continues. In this sense, we have not learned from history at all, though the examples are clearly in front of our faces.
One bright spot from my review of the timeline was that in the last sixty or seventy years, a veritable plethora of conventions, summits and conferences have been held, generating protocols, initiatives and strategies. Our impact on the environment seems to be the subject of much study, but now we need to implement the strategies that are being developed, if we ever hope not just to learn, but to benefit from what history has taught us. Simply put, we should say: “Okay, we can see from the past that this type of behavior caused bad things to happen. We need to stop doing that and do this instead.” Then we would not just be learning from history, but we would be putting that knowledge to work to improve our plight and that of the earth.
What struck me in reading the timelines was the reoccurrence of the term deforestation. For instance in Troy, the area now considered Turkey. The arid landscape of much of the Mediterranean we see today is very different from that of ancient times. It is remarkable that only now we realize that the practice of clear cutting prevents healthy ecosystems from ever returning to their original state.
An experiment in Germany to replenish the forest is a laughable example. Yes, the German government made attempts to restore a thriving Black Forest, but only so they would not have to import so much lumber. A native of Germany told me that the real travesty was that the government wanted to also provide forest for the enjoyment of the people, but planted all the trees in straight lines for easy harvest…which by my friend’s account is a eerie and unpleasant experience for people looking to spend a day in the woods.
That was around 10 years ago… Hopefully improvements have evolved.
Christine,
Great observation. If one looks at the archaeological findings for all major civilizations from the Maya to Rome the destruction of the forests on which the population depended for fuel and food ultimately led to the decline of the empire. Before people were able to just move and conquer other lands to increase there resource base. Now that we are facing global deforestation of ancient forests we can surmise what might follow. Too bad those that "rule" empires are not taking action.
I think as individuals we have learned something from history. We try to make life better than our parents or our grandparents. We can not stop progress, but we can try to keep the quality of life healthier and cleaner. I feel the big corporations on the other hand think about how much product they can sell to the consumers. They have learned nothing from history.
Sorry, for the short comments. I don't know how to make it longer. As our population grows I too think it's very alarming. I do not agree with scientists playing God. I know that they are trying to come up with a way to feed the population, but not by cloning animals, or plants.
There is an old saying, A word to the wise is sufficient. I am coming to the conclusion that humans must not be very wise. Otherwise, we would have taken the words of our predecessors to heart. The histories of many peoples in many countries throughout recorded time have shown that when forests are cut down and waste is dumped into waterways and resources are overused or exhausted, humans suffer. But that does not seem to have stopped the practices. We continue to waste and consume as if there were no end in sight. I sometimes shudder to think of my daughters' grandchildren thinking of their great grandmother as belonging to that generation that exhausted the planet's fossil fuels. Why haven't we learned from the lessons that history teaches us? The only reason I keep coming up with is greed. How achingly sad it is. Forgive me, but whenever I take an environmental science class, I sigh a lot...
I think we learn from history but only to develop new ways to prevent or manage our current environmental problems, not necessarily solve them (if that makes any sense). It feels as though we just find ways around the problems. I feel the government only thinks of quick solutions, not long term. For example, the one idea that really caught my eye was pollution. We have been dealing with pollution for centuries, and it still exists today. I feel as though the general public hears ways to lower their contamination to the environment, but they only make the changes for a few weeks...instead of making it a lifestyle change. Its like we recognize the problems and we think it serious at one point, but then the daily grind makes it easy for us to forget (us being the general public). Our pattern of short term fixes causes history to repeat itself in war, in protecting the environment, in everything. It is as though we never really learn from our mistakes.
June, you are right. Everything I scrambled to make sense of in my submission is exactly what you said just much, much more beautiful and understandable. I agree, greed has to be the driving force behind our stupidity. I feel today especially, the youth ignores history and is more concerned with pop culture versus real culture. I feel this nation as a whole has become very close minded and selfish over the past few decades.
I feel some people learn from history and others do not. The individuals that seem to learn from history are usually well educated in the subject.
As a society I feel America does not act as though they have learned from previous society in history.The reason I feel Americans as a society do not insure the well being of future generation is do to the individuals need and ideology of personal success above the success of the whole human race to succeed on plant earth.
I feel if western society really tried to learn from the past we would have to sacrifice modern comforts and be very much less materialistic, and most people I know do not want to do that.
I like what you are saying Christine about the current era being different from any other, and history may not have the answers for the problems we face today. Is it really logical or possible to go back to picking berries and foraging of the land. I personally at the moment think the human population will kill it self off rather than resorting to stepping backwards and living as people did before the eighteen hundreds. Also, is are progression forced upon by evolution? Is it natural? and can we really as a human race save the planet?
Corporations were granted the rights of individuals. I'll have to look up when exactly that was... but they have the rights and few of the responsibilities or needs of individuals. Do corporations breath? Do they get thirsty or even hungry?
They're made up of people, you might say... but its such a wonderful system of passing the the buck and C.Y.A. that people in corporations aren't really people.
Down with Corporate America. Whew! Where'd that come from?
've been thinking about this question, and I'm afraid I have a more or less pessimistic outlook on this topic. We' humans seem to have been recording our history in some fashion, for at least 4000 years.
Yet it seems that as a human race, we never seem to put our fellow humans and their well-being before our own selfish needs, as a collective body. We have been at war with one another (always over religion and resources) since the dawn of our recorded history.
Even with the recent invention called the Internet, we don't seem to use it to successfully convey to one another, the horrors of war, and the peacful means we can use to work out our differences.
So I guess that my answer is that we do not seem to benefit from historical hindsight.
K
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