Earth. My darling, I’m sorry you got to hear the news. Please don’t worry. Indeed, some believe in infinite growth so much that others believe their mirage is too big to fail, or to let fail. We have here a concept, a formula to compare growth between different groups. I believe, it is called GDP.

Moon. Ridiculous. But explain me, how come some believe in perennial growth?

Earth. Humans never stop to amaze me. Honestly, my sister, we should exchange seats one day; you never stop to learn, laugh and weep from where I’m sitting. Humans recently figured how to tap into the wells of sunlight’s energy, the bright rays that, concentrated, somehow turn dark. I think, only our ever shining brother can tell you how it works. Humans call it oil. They say, you need 100 hands working as long as it takes for me to dance a full circle around my center to yield the energy equivalent to 1 liter of the black wonder. So, from one moment to the next, they got the gift of uncountable hands. With energy, though, the story only begins. Ever since the first drop of the liquid gold, every other or so product humans invented contains some drops of it. So, they grew and grew and grew, first in the number of unreal hands then in products and then in real hands that consume the products. Now they believe it can go on and on and on.

Moon. Absurd. I think, I should borrow your seat one day; from here, things appear all blurred like your beautifully glowing white cloud patterns this morning, if I look at them without my glasses.

Moon. Sister, I have another question but I’m afraid it is personal.

Earth. Honey, you dance with me ever since the beginning of our time; just ask.

Moon. I heard, some people are believed to be too dangerous to release?

(Silence)

Earth. This home nurtures an ancient ideal, far older than the thirst for the black gold. It is called the Rule of Law. It is supposed to be a necessary condition for democracy, the famous form to govern that ought to give the power to the people. The believe that some people are too dangerous to release seems to be sufficient to betray the ancient rule, the foundation of democracy. The fear of those believed to be too dangerous to release seems to be sufficient to let some choose to die without having the frightened obliged to explain why.

Moon. How convenient.

Earth. I know.

Moon. I love you.

Earth. So do I.

(My gratitude to Giacomo Leopardi for the idea of heavenly bodies having a conversation. I borrowed the idea; in no way I want to measure this with his art. Also based on “U.S. May Permit 9/11 Guilty Pleas in Capital Cases,” a Wikipedia Article and other articles on the subject, the heredity of thoughts by economist and author Herman E. Daly and HOME, a film by Yann Arthus-Bertrand.)

What if Earth is the Easter Island of modern times?

Whether or not you believe in climate change or, more generally, the role humans play in environmental degradation, we probably agree, plastic is a product of technology and it is unlikely nature’s will to let turtles consume it.

It is probably reasonable to assume, the very existence of life is cause for environmental degradation and, hence, its own degradation. Are you inclined to believe, technology may boost our contribution? Perhaps. Do you think, massive-scale technological fixes may slow down or reverse degradation? Can technology heal its own wounds? The questions probably deserve a study. I hope the answers will not have to rely solely on an economic and scientific one.

According to the article,

The suite of mega-technological fixes includes everything from placing mirrors in space that reflect sunlight from the Earth, to fertilising the oceans with iron to encourage the growth of algae that can soak up atmospheric carbon dioxide. Another option is to seed clouds which bounce the sun’s rays back into space so they do not warm the Earth’s surface. (The Guardian)

I’m afraid, we might loose – if ever acquired – the healthy degree of fear, respect, awe, in front of nature’s complexity and our inability to grasp it; forget that we are not playing in our sandbox where wind and water will erase our failed engineering. Recently, hungry shrimp have shown once again how unforeseen factors may jeopardize what we believe to be solutions. Seeding the skies has been a research topic for awhile, typically for the purpose of weather control, from storms to rain. The results: inconclusive.

When our body heals a wound, it solves the problem at its root by regenerating damaged tissue. Let’s not forget, our consumption patterns are the roots of our share of environmental degradation. I’m afraid, with massive-scale technological fixes we at best put a plaster on top of the wound.

Tirelessly we monitor, discuss, worry and speculate about man made meta systems, from stock markets, businesses and government bailouts, to credit systems. Right now, many seem to be failing, or at least heading towards directions most consider worrisome. Should we care? The opinions vary.

Our man made meta systems are able to cyclically grow, prosper and fail because there exists an underlying supporting system: Earth and its natural resources. In their core, our man made meta systems are sets of value added processes that (directly or indirectly) extract from – transform, consume – and discharge into the supporting system. Interestingly, the supporting system is failing too: from air to land to water to flora to fauna. Should we care? The opinions vary.

I wonder if we ought to let our failed meta systems die; then reboot. While rebooting, we may want to think about our real issue: the health of the supporting system. Why not redesign all our meta systems with sustainability in the back of our minds? Why not redesign our value added processes such that they factor out waste in all their phases? Why not redesign processes from linear to circular such that they keep resources in a closed loop?

I think, if we redesign our man made meta systems such that they factor in and are aligned with our supporting system, then we have exciting times ahead. This is a necessary condition for long term growth. If not satisfied, the current downturn most hope to halt with stimulus packages might one day translate into a spirale for which no one has the dollars, not even hope.

To come back to the initial question: Aren’t we in recession? Yes, we are but it will not last. What will last are the exciting times or, I’m afraid, nothing.

For a problem description with some facts and consequences for ocean’s flora and fauna, you may want to consider one of the YouTube videos about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. (The reporter asks, “Small fish are eating the plastic. So is it entering our food chain?” Uhm, I don’t know.)

I think, this is important information everyone should know.

I don’t know what is worse about Agent Orange. Perhaps, that it is a code name for yet another perverse product developed within the military; or that over 21 million gallons of it had been sprayed over land in war; or its mad goal of systematic destruction of flora such that enemies were faster a target; or the health problems of direct exposure and the unknown long-term risk for cancer and genetic defects of low-level exposure to its polychlorinated dibenzodioxins; or the ridiculous one-time lump sum payment of $1,200 to US veterans as an apology for chronic health problems by the same government that never ceased to betray soldiers in their believes, preaching that war is worth to fight for; or that Earth will perhaps never digest our deadly blend.

Also, I don’t know if we, as a people, ever learn something from history. I have been told, homo sapiens is an intelligent species. If so, to know its beauty it must be necessary for intelligence to experience its demonic potential. I’d like to believe, or sense, that, as a people, we are maturing.

I believe to know, a picture is worth a thousand words. And so, I give up my words and leave the word to silent pictures.

Pictures by sposa.org, murkyview.com, vva885.org, dustoff.org, couragetoresits.org, foxriverwatch.com, icp.org, virginmedia.com, antiwar.com, lawanddisorder.org, warlegacies.org, vanityfair.com, pollutionissues.com, wtv-zone.com, vn-agentorange.org, photobucket.com, vspa.com, bpb.org.uk, chrisgirgenti.com, pd.infn.it, nam-verts.com

I’m certainly not the first and probably not the last; have you ever asked yourself how clean coal technology is supposed to work? Wikipedia, books, and uncountable other sources, explain.

To me, the most curious part of the technology is carbon storage. Instead of emitting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere the alternative is to capture carbon dioxide and store it underground. As far as I understand, deep saline aquifers are believed to be a good container in Earth’s belly for our carbon dioxide.

The image of sidewalks arched by the roots of trees is sufficient to be skeptical this is a solution, a skepticism that culminates with burial programs like the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. It is hard to believe anyone can guarantee safe permanent underground storage for hundreds, thousands, ten thousands of years. I suppose, it requires a homo sapiens for nature to believe something that requires linguists, scientists, science fiction writers, anthropologists and futurists to come up with markers that must warn the next generations of homo sapiens, could be a solution.

Undoubtedly, both Obama and McCain are smarter and more knowledgeable than I am. Naturally, I ask myself, why are they selling clean coal as a sustainable technology while experts have yet to evaluate data from demostration storage projects, and, at least to me, the solution intuitively seems yet another reason why the Moon could be right.

Clean Tax Deferred Coal Technology.

[...] the pollution we’ve poured into the river is probably to blame for creating the first ever bi-gendered fish. [...] chemicals that are probably causing male fish to start growing eggs. (DCist)

I guess, it’s not the first ever bi-gendered fish, as I just realize reading a more comprehensive and credible study reported by The Indipendent. Quoting the author,

[...] Males of species from each of the main classes of vertebrate animals (including bony fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals) have been affected by chemicals in the environment. [...] Many have been identified as “endocrine disrupters” – or gender-benders – because they interfere with hormones. [...] Female hormones – largely from the contraceptive pills which pass unaltered through sewage treatment – are partly responsible. [...] If we are seeing problems in wildlife, we can be concerned that something similar is happening to a proportion of human males [Professor Lou Gillette]. Indeed, new research at the University of Rochester in New York state shows that boys born to mothers with raised levels of phthalates were more likely to have smaller penises and undescended testicles. They also had a shorter distance between their anus and genitalia, a classic sign of feminisation (see also “Phthalates and Baby Boys Potential Disruption of Human Genital Development“). (The Independent)

Beside of being “a large red flag” at humanity, to me this is yet another example on how nature in general and society in particular are exposed in an irresponsible way to modern technology or, in other words, how studies on the dangers of modern technologies are typically timely behind global adoption. Of course, there are a number of reasons for this.

I sometimes wonder whether in 20-30 years electronics with wireless technology (mobile phones, computers, PDAs, eBook readers, …) will be banned from public places (who would have predicted this in the sixties about cigarettes?) and we will talk about passive electromagnetic consumption when the person sitting next to us on the metro is talking on his mobile phone.

(The title of this post refers to a previous post.)

Earth: Sister, humans are worrying me.
Moon: I know, I have been following their evolution.
Earth: I would like to help.
Moon: Just let them evolve a little longer.
Earth: But I don’t want to let them go.
Moon: You know, my dear, I wonder if they deserve you.

Pictures by AP Photo/Gil Nechushtan, AP Photo/Ariel Schalit, Uriel Sinai/Getty Images, MAHMUD HAMS/AFP/Getty Images, PATRICK BAZ/AFP/Getty Images, AP Photo/Hatem Moussa, Spencer Platt/Getty Images, REUTERS/Amir Cohen, Abid Katib/Getty Images, David Silverman/Getty Images, AP Photo/Bernat Armangue, AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner, REUTERS/Nikola Solic, AP Photo/Bernat Armangue, REUTERS/Baz Ratner, AP Photo/Bernat Armangue, REUTERS/Eliana Aponte, REUTERS/Ismail Zaydah, MAHMUD HAMS/AFP/Getty Images, David Silverman/Getty Images.

Talk between Earth and Moon, idea by G. Leopardi, Le Operette Morali.