A Civilization in Search of Sustainability

Here’s a response to my post on my new book in which I propose to examine the trajectory for civilization’s success in the face of the vast ecological destruction we’re wreaking on the planet.  Walter writes: Supply and demand of resources are known to always reach an equilibrium in the last resort. Consumption must reduce to meet anticipated supply. …”

You bring up a good point, Walter: there is no doubt that these systems will balance themselves out. The late comedian George Carlin will probably be best remembered for a bit in which he parodied the people who want to “save the Earth,” where he pointed out (quite correctly) that the Earth will be just fine, thank you; it’s the people who are screwed. We can see that the Earth has already begun taking actions to reduce or eliminate humankind, just like a landlord evicts bad tenants, or a dog shakes off fleas.

So, to clarify, I’m just hoping that we can be better tenants, or cease behaving like parasites, so that the Earth doesn’t see the need to expel us.