Your World: Love it of Leave it?

[DougP]

So this is your world. Your home and many others. You might almost feel compelled to help make it a better place to live, for you and your children. To provide a safer, cleaner environment for future generations to come. You might also feel as though you don't have much of a choice in the matter. Where else could you go? When all in the world seems lost and the human race seems headed for disaster it might seem like your back is up against the wall. What if it wasn't? What if there was another planet jut like ours only cleaner and and unpopulated by humans? What would you choose to do if you had a one way ticket off this rock? Would you leave?

When you wake up in the morning and see the following headlines:

Chad's president 'in control of entire country'
Death toll at 21 in grenade attack in Somalia
Ledger had prescription overdose
Millions march against Colombia rebels
Six killed in Israeli airstrike on Hamas base
Pakistani army 'copter crash kills 8
Video claims to show al Qaeda kid camp


Do you wish there was a reset button to this "Sim Earth" game gone astray?

Would you stay here and try to fix the situation? Would a massive exodus of humans to another planet help this one to become a better place?

What would you do on your new planet? What laws and rules would you put into place to help it flourish and keep from spoiling like our current planet?

What would you choose: Love it or leave it?

[DocTurtle]

Love it. You can't appreicate the good without the bad.

[okisteve]

Love it. You can't appreicate the bad without the good.
:-|:-|:-|.....

[DocTurtle]

:-|:-|:-|.....

SShhh, no one saw that!

[Asshat]

Nope. I would stay right here. Your headlines represent the media's mantra of bad news selling.

Most of us however, awake each day filled with hope. We do what we do to be productive, each of us contributing to the better of the planet as a whole. All of us strive to take care of our families- to teach them the way to be productive too.

The earth is a pretty darn good place filled with some pretty darn good people. Who'd want to leave?

[okisteve]

So this is your world. Your home and many others. You might almost feel compelled to help make it a better place to live, for you and your children. To provide a safer, cleaner environment for future generations to come. You might also feel as though you don't have much of a choice in the matter. Where else could you go? When all in the world seems lost and the human race seems headed for disaster it might seem like your back is up against the wall. What if it wasn't? What if there was another planet jut like ours only cleaner and and unpopulated by humans? What would you choose to do if you had a one way ticket off this rock? Would you leave?

When you wake up in the morning and see the following headlines:

Chad's president 'in control of entire country'
Death toll at 21 in grenade attack in Somalia
Ledger had prescription overdose
Millions march against Colombia rebels
Six killed in Israeli airstrike on Hamas base
Pakistani army 'copter crash kills 8
Video claims to show al Qaeda kid camp


Do you wish there was a reset button to this "Sim Earth" game gone astray?

Would you stay here and try to fix the situation? Would a massive exodus of humans to another planet help this one to become a better place?

What would you do on your new planet? What laws and rules would you put into place to help it flourish and keep from spoiling like our current planet?

What would you choose: Love it or leave it?

Interesting post, Doug.... I suspect you appreciate a nice, quiet life that is as close to perfection as possible, and that you prefer to ignore the darker aspects. Actually, this is not a "Sim Earth" game gone wrong. It has all worked out the way it had to, like it or not.

I don't think anyone is wise or clever enough to put laws and rules into place that can keep a new planetary home from being spoiled like we have done on Earth. There just will never be enough good jobs, clean beaches, good used cars, nice houses, and safe affordable food around so that some people won't need and want more than they already have.

[Asshat]

There just will never be enough good jobs, clean beaches, good used cars, nice houses, and safe affordable food around so that some people won't need and want more than they already have.

I feel that is always our quest; we want to attain that which is challenging to attain...or do we always want what we can not have?

We really have not spent enough of our time and money to try and fix our mistakes which stemmed from the onset of the industrial era.

I suspect that is changing. TP maintains that with regard to environmental issues- and we see it in the medical world too. Advancements in science are happening at break-neck speed.

We'll get to the place where we stop hurting the planet, and where we all have enough to eat. Only then will we have the leisure to stop killing each other.

[dk]

You spying on me? I just started playing Sim City 4 again last night...

You're creeping me out, dude! :D

[okisteve]

A little optimism is always a good thing, and it's nice to hear you sounding more "up" than usual Uminchu.

I think that population control needs to be factored in to the equation too. Say what you will about China, they have taken the bull by the horns and made their one-child policy work fairly well.

[TheNoNamedOne]

Do you wish there was a reset button to this "Sim Earth" game gone astray?

No, because a "reset" would mean destruction for all the good with the bad. I wouldn't choose to be an OT Bible God. You'd be just as guilty as the bad and part of the problem. How would you reset your own character if doing so meant appealing to bad character of destroying the innocent with the guilty? I see a strange regress unfolding there.

Would you stay here and try to fix the situation?

Yes, of course.

Would a massive exodus of humans to another planet help this one to become a better place?

Only for as long as the population pressure is relieved. Without an underlying change in values, just spreading out to another planet would be a new beachhead for our invasive species -- which is an aggressive and destructive species.

What would you do on your new planet? What laws and rules would you put into place to help it flourish and keep from spoiling like our current planet?

But for fun I will play along, and let's just say my laws would be obeyed for making it a better world.


Vegan world and laws to support that.
No spreading of superstitions, either primitive ones or highly ritualized ones.
No marriage before 30.
No children before 35.
Everything is recycled.
All dead bodies become mulch for the fields.
Population is regulated with incentives to stay at zero growth.
If the planet is Earth size with similar geography and land to water ratio, a total human population of 100,000,000 would be maintained.
With such a low population, settlements would only be allowed to be in the equatorial zones where fuel for winter would not be needed.
All energy would be solar, wind, or ocean current generated.
It would be a nudist planet. No clothes. Hey, we'll all be in the tropics.


My world sounds like fun doesn't it? Green and nudity.

But, let's get this world fixed that way before we invade another.

[okisteve]

OK, smartass, how can anyone live without TV?

[Iidhaegn]

I would leave. I want us to open up a large inter-galactic organization of planets (and then we could include alien species we met, assuming that not all life out there is hostile and wants to kill us because we lack their intelligence...) and start up a new system of trade. (*insert Twilight Zone theme* or Star Wars... your choice...)

I dunno', Earth is fun and all, but it's all we've seen. Sure anything is fun when it's all you have. But try something new. Maybe it'll be just as fun, maybe it'll suck. But maybe it'll be better. I, for one, would love to see Earth in my sky at night.


Do you think other planets have the same constellations we have? Or is their perspective of the stars different enough to make new constellations? Would our horroscopes still apply on other planets? :-) I would definitely leave...

[Asshat]

A little optimism is always a good thing, and it's nice to hear you sounding more "up" than usual Uminchu.

lol..Yeah, I have allowed myself to become to wrapped up in what's going on. "Stop and Smell the Roses" to be a bit banal I suppose.

But Doug's point was well taken by me, because a lot of us do tend to capitalize on what is wrong, and assume that we humans are too greedy and evil to do anything about it.

Remember that film about paying it forward?

The world spends billions helping each other out. We are smart and when we put our resources together, we can accomplish anything.

I agree with you about population control- but I would like to use a different term and call it population responsibility. That monaker would fit anywhere in the scheme of things like animal husbandry, chemical pesticides, herbacides, etc.

To know that the US spends vastly more perfecting it's ways of killing people than it does on stem cell reseach, education of students, health care, feeding the hungry, or alternative fuels research makes me extremely sad.

[DougP]

Ha ha well at least you're all being honest. Although I wasn't expecting some of you to look at this as some sort of preamble to my manifesto.:D

As far as there being a strange regress unfolding here, highly unlikely. Just posing a few questions out there. We all have our opinions on what would make this world flow a little bit better. I was also curious as to what it would be like if we had the opportunity to take the lessons learned so far and apply it to the populating of another planet. Might be something for far off future generations to consider if we ever stumble upon life supporting planets.

We might end up discovering a planet we are the the lesser of many dominant species and end up being bred for consumption and other products. Who knows. Lots to consider, many ways to let the imagination go wild on this one.

To Okisteve, yes, I do enjoy my peace and quiet. I wouldn't go as far as to say that I ignore the darker aspects. I choose not to dwell on them as I feel it often can impede progression. That and I would rather not have them around to begin with.

I would love to have the ability to explore a new planet and would be delighted if starting a new was possible and feasible. Optimism is nice to have after all, isn't it? But I would too, opt to stay here on our planet, good or bad. Though the headlines I presented were some of the few that I plucked out of today's news, they are happening. Even if they are representations of the media's sensationalizing of negative events it still doesn't mean there aren't problems out there. On that note I would also have to agree with TP on the fact that we should focus our efforts on this planet before we invade yet another.

Just another pretend scenario to discuss. Nothing more nothing less and definitely not something to get your head wrapped around either.:)

[DocTurtle]

No, because a "reset" would mean destruction for all the good with the bad. Exactly!


Vegan world and laws to support that.
No marriage before 30.
No children before 35.
All dead bodies become mulch for the fields.
Population is regulated with incentives to stay at zero growth.
If the planet is Earth size with similar geography and land to water ratio, a total human population of 100,000,000 would be maintained.
With such a low population, settlements would only be allowed to be in the equatorial zones where fuel for winter would not be needed.
All energy would be solar, wind, or ocean current generated.
It would be a nudist planet. No clothes. Hey, we'll all be in the tropics.
As for the vegan thing, could you please point me in the direction of some info about vegan vs non-vegan? I'm sure you have a couple posts here and there, I just haven't looked it up. Just looking for some info :) Thanks in advance.

No marriage before 30, I think it would definitely decrease the divorce ratio! Were are at 50% right now? That's nuts!

The no children before 35 is the only one that I firmly disagree with you on. A lot of women are unable to still have kids at that age from what I remember? Why 35? What makes that number special? Or do you just think you should be together with your spouse for 5 years before you bring in another life?

Land if for the living, not the dead. I'm a firm believer in that as well. Cremated or mulch, as long as you're not taking up space. That's what we have history books for. No disrespect intended to anyone who might take offense :)

Population of 100,000,000 with no growth. Hmm, think we are taking up too much space? Why only 100,000,000? Quite a cut from the couple billion we have now. The only living in equatorial zones sounds good, just need to bring a fair bit of sun screen.

What about thermal energy? Not a fan or just left out on accident?

[DougP]

Not a new article but something interesting to ponder.

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/070424_hab_exoplanet.html

An Earth-like planet spotted outside our solar system is the first found that could support liquid water and harbor life, scientists announced today.

The new planet is about 50 percent bigger than Earth and about five times more massive. The new "super-Earth" is called Gliese 581 C, after its star, Gliese 581, a diminutive red dwarf star located 20.5 light-years away that is about one-third as massive as the Sun.

Guess that would help up TP's maximum quota for human life.:)

"We have estimated that the mean temperature of this super-Earth lies between 0 and 40 degrees Celsius [32 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit], and water would thus be liquid," Udry said.

Sounds comfortable. :D

[TheNoNamedOne]

Let's leave it alone. We should at least learn how to get our house in order before we go out to screw up another one.

[Iidhaegn]

What happens when your house is next to destroyed? That anything you could do would extend the liveability (sp?) of your house by a little while, but would ultimately be a waste of time... Would you stay there, and live out the last of your futile days being as "productive" as possible? Or would you move on to a new house, and try to do a better job of keeping it this time...? Personally, I think it would be a shame (not to mention, if you believe in this sort of thing, an insult to the creator of those extra planets) if we didn't take advantage of them. I believe that nothing on this earth was put here just for us to ignore. We should learn to be the masters of everything around us, including the solar system. I believe that's our ultimate goal as human beings. Maybe I should say that's the ultimate goal of any being, sentient (sp?) or otherwise. Evolution (known by anti-scientists as adaptation) means one-upping yourself every chance you get, until you are at perfect harmony with everything around you. But since everything around you is always changing, it means we need to always change. I think the Earth is nearing its limit at a frightening rate. You don't have to hear/read the news or listen to politics, just look at the moral codes of the people around you. Look at the sides of the roads as you drive to ... anywhere. Sure, we could clean up some of it... but why not just give it another shot?

[DocTurtle]

Clean up your room and then you can go out and play.