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stonebraker13 t1_irs7d4t wrote

Reply to comment by thevictater in Podcast: the search for extraterrestrial intelligent life is now looking for "technosignatures" like pollution by asbruckman

Lol...I love people, and they are capable of good things, but we don't change if we lie to ourselves.

Truth is we have been lucky. I mean imagine the different reality we would be in right now if that nuke accidentally dropped on the Carolinas in the 50's had worked. You think folks would still say that nuclear power is safe & environmentally friendly? People look at you straight and say that still. Will argue with you about it. While yes it's good on carbon emissions but there's that pesky radiated waste. You know the stuff that will be safe in 40,000 years. They will say it's environmentally friendly even though ALREADY we have tons of it sitting on sites with nowhere to go... because no community wants it near their homes. So, there are CEOs out there that believe if you bury toxic nuclear waste then it's gone. Problem solved, right? I mean the poor families who live near it and have it in their drinking water might not think so, but hey the guy who makes millions thinks so, so it must be true right? You ever notice animals in cages don't shit everywhere, but yet we don't follow that same logic. We just leave our shit everywhere including in our drinking water....is that smart?

Truth hurts, individually yeah we are smart, and on occasion we pull it off, but things are not good. We can't lie to ourselves anymore. So, truth is we are hurting ourselves, and our current way of living is creating a future where the natural environment can no longer support life. And the truth is, we are making it worse and almost impossible to change. We are, you, I, and everyone are responsible for this self destructing system making this shit happen, but we have few options for something else. Therefore, we are all complicit and we are aware of it. So, when we are confronted with the truth our actions our knee jerk reaction is to protect ourselves from exposure and judgement.

I hate that we are forced to use things that are destructive but society has been engineered BY US to work like this. We can't do better unless we know better. Truth is we are capable of greatness but we are acting like idiots.

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thevictater t1_irswns3 wrote

Most of that could be summed up by what I said earlier, "humans aren't perfect."

We didn't engineer society to work this way, it happened over thousands of years. I don't blame myself and I don't blame them either. We are victims of circumstance, and our ancestors were stumbling in the dark. The effects of climate change are only beginning to be understood in the past few dozen years, and I choose to remain hopeful for the future.

Of course, crooked people will always exist and so nuclear waste will continue to be buried and microplastics will continue to fill our lungs. Fortunately for us, there are also good, very smart people out there constantly trying to crack ways we can begin to fix these issues. Some may be fixable, some not, but all of it will only be discovered by humans. Again, I remain hopeful.

I do so because we find what we seek. If you want humans to be stupid, you're going to find plenty of examples.

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stonebraker13 t1_irsy4wl wrote

I am glad you have the privilege of staying optimistic, and being able to avoid some of the most dire consequences of human ignorance, or folly as you seem to frame it, but those of us who live on the fringes don't get that privilege.

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thevictater t1_irszc6r wrote

It's a combination of folly, ignorance, and willfull ignorance.

I feel deeply sad for people affected, but that doesn't help save them or the earth.

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stonebraker13 t1_irt07q8 wrote

Choosing to not support those who create the problem helps greatly, unfortunately most folks won't "inconvenience" themselves...our society has become selfish and overly individualized. We are our brothers & sisters keepers....

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thevictater t1_irtcd3g wrote

Many people could do better for sure, but I don't fault people as a species and presume us all stupid. I fault them and decide if they're stupid individually. Still, I think there are enough good people that it's not hopeless. It is not easy, and it will take time. In the end all we have is hope.

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stonebraker13 t1_irtwblu wrote

I have hope, but again and here is more ugly truth, people do not act unless there is a threat. Now, interesting enough it seems that we only act to make change when profits are at threat, not health and safety....look at Flint, Michigan and what happened there....and it will likely happen again because there have been little to no consequences for these GOP politicians who CONSCIOUSLY CHOSE TO POISON CHILDREN....and people still can't drink water there.

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