A dialogue on the Environment

Regarding core beliefs, I'll start with one of my most deeply held views.  From my perspective, the most important gift the current generation can leave to the future generations is a clean and hospitable environment.  Simply put, the environment is the foundation for the future. 

No other issue will impact those who will live in 200+ years in the future as much as the environment we leave to them. The poor will always be with us (ref Matt 26:11 for those who believe in the Bible), social issues such as abortion are ethical dilemmas but do not have a significant impact on humanity as a whole.  Unemployment, social inequality and other concerns are usually localized events restricted to select regions or countries.  Of all the charities, causes, movements the environment is the dominant one.  I welcome contesting views here...

So lets jump into the topic of climate change and global warming.  Almost everyone at this juncture believes that climate change is occurring (i.e., the earth is warming), the only debate being if the source is human activity.  If all possible sources of climate change were listed, it would undeniable that humans are contributing, with the only legitimate debate being the degree of our contribution.   Most rationale persons, buy insurance on their homes and autos to protect against the possibility catastrophic ruin.  An argument could be made that the same model is appropriate for climate change.  We need an insurance policy (i.e., spend a small amount today) to avoid the potential economic chaos if climate change models are accurate to any degree.  Of course the issue with the above logical argument is just that - it is an appeal to logic.  Unfortunately, an emotional limbic response is increasingly becoming the norm in the United States for deniers of anthropomorphic climate change.

Preserving humanity is the central theme of this argument, but there are other means to achieve this goal.  We could acknowledge as a species that we are consumers and this planet will be consumed (similar to Agent Smith's argument that humanity is a virus from the original Matrix movie).  If this is humanity's true nature, then we clearly must make space exploration and colonization a primary objective.   There is a risk that our natural resources will become depleted and therefore limit our growth (technological and otherwise) in the not to distant future.  To mitigate this risk, humanity as a whole should logically chose to actively foster colonization.  I state this position to present a viable alternative to environmental conservation of the Earth, but I do not favor it;  I am not sure humanity should survive if this is indeed our true nature.  The crossroads lie in front of us...

I stated environmental preservation is a core belief, and attempt to live my life as such.  So what have I personally done?  I sold one of our cars and use mass transit (bus) for my commute to work 95% of the time.  I have eliminated using most gas tools and have converted to an electric lawnmower, hedge trimmer, and tiller; I use a propane powered weed trimmer.  All but one of the PCs in our house has been retired and replaced with lower power consumption laptops.  The majority of the lighting in our house is CFL or LED.  I am fortunate to live near the California coast which allows our home to be cooled naturally with ocean breezes.  We have a small garden and grow organic vegetables.  I religiously recycle.   Most of my chartible giving goes to environment charities (Nature Conservancy is preferred (http://www.nature.org/)).  Note I have taken incremental steps over ~10 years to achieve the level described in this paragraph.  I still have a ways to go, but am planning to continue to reduce my energy usage thoughout my life.

New Beginnings

This is my first attempt at blogging, so patience is advised.  I am seeking to explore and discuss potential directions for the future.  My interest are far ranging and include politics, the environment, business, technology, and societal integration - in short, anything is fair game. 

An objective for this blog is to cross boundaries in these broad areas and examine potential interactions.  I consider myself a student and merely desire a dialogue to enable us (yes that means YOU) to influence the future.  We will begin at the foundation, with core views, and in due course advance to attain the objective stated above.