Man, and I thought I was the only one bent on the impending apocalypse!

I think I shall quote a little something I wrote in my LJ a few weeks back:

"Most of my childhood free time was spent outside, playing in the woods or knee deep in a pond somewhere. And even in youth, I realized there was something happening to the world that was not right. I probably was not acutely aware of it until I was 11 or 12, but by then I had a pretty firm opinion about mankind, and how we were destroying this planet in massive, irreversible leaps and bounds. It was this point of view that most likely sculpted my personality to some degree.
Over the years, my generally nihilistic attitude and negative outlook on life was always met with a scowl. Whenever I voiced my opinion, or told people how I felt, I was usually blasted for my pessimism and dismissed as some sort of weirdo or outcast. As I was unable to exchange my negative thoughts for a positive outlook on life, I suppose I did become (and still am to some degree) a bit of a weirdo, and certainly an outcast. And for a long time, the knowledge of what we were doing to the Earth kept me fairly melancholy and generally depressed. It is difficult to find a clear path through life, when you know that you as a human are part of the problem, and that apart from a few small things, there is absolutely nothing anyone can do to stop mankind’s lust for power and money, and his lack of will to do what is right before what is convenient. But what kept me going for so long, was the fact that I must have been wrong about what I was thinking, since everyone around me thought I was crazy. I guess, deep down, I still had some shred of hope left. But as I got older, and things only got worse, that shred of hope slowly turned into nothing, and my depression slowly changed into cynicism. In some ways, I just stopped caring and accepted the fact that I am human, and I do human things, and the train will eventually run into a solid, steel reinforced, concrete wall no matter what.
But today, it is a different story. I’m 32 years old now, and it seems like a lot of folks are starting to see things my way, finally. Not only that, but it seems like there are new stories around every corner about how Mother Nature is fighting a loosing battle against mankind’s exponential growth, voracious appetite, and lack of forethought. Perhaps it is because the media caught on? It is not uncommon now to flip on the television and find shows about the end of the world, climate change, global pandemics, apocalyptic wars, and various other doomsday scenarios. I am reading newspaper articles about how the oceans are overfished, and how you really shouldn’t eat more than five pieces of sushi because of the mercury levels. I watch news clips about oil spills, and about the sudden disappearance of honey bees. I read blogs about how some state parks are in danger of having roads cut through them to accommodate urban sprawl. I scan through forum entries about how there is a strange fungus spreading, killing off populations of amphibians around the world. Just last week I read an online news article about whole pods of whales beaching themselves on the east coast, with researchers suspecting it was caused by some military testing of high output sonar from submarines. And another article about how a US lumber company just purchased nearly 100,000 acres of Brazilian rainforest to harvest. I could go on and on.
So you see all the things I have been thinking about since childhood are now coming to light. The dam of pessimism has broken, and the thick, murky waters of doom are flooding the mainstream. And yet, nothing has changed. The politics are still corrupt. The greenback is still the one, true god. And we, as a species continue down a path of destruction, that will inevitably destroy the very systems we depend on to breathe, eat, and thrive on this planet.
I have given a lot of thought to why. What makes us different? Why can we not see past our own mistakes, or at least not chronically repeat the errors of our forefathers? I don’t know what the answer is. But I do know that longevity must play a part. Humans do not live long. Therefore, we only strive to ensure our immediate future stays intact. And by immediate I mean, tomorrow and the next week, possibly next month, but typically not 20 years from now. Most people lack the capacity, and/or the capability to competently plan for their own futures, let alone the futures of their children, and their children’s children. And maybe this is what separates us so distinctly from other living creatures on the planet. We understand our mortality. We know we are going to die. And because of this, our needs for NOW become more demanding. We don’t care or even think about the consequences our automobiles may have on the planet. We just know that right now, we need it to get to work, so that we have money on Friday. And in a nut shell, that is how the whole world works. It’s the simple fact that what we need now will always take precedence over what we need tomorrow. And because of this, Mother Nature’s savings account is nearly tapped out, and soon we are going to be faced with worldwide famine, collapsing economies, more wars, and outright, global strife.
For now, I will just sit back, and enjoy my remaining years. Perhaps, in my lifetime I will see some incredible things transpire. It will be interesting to see how accurate our visions of the future have been. It will be intriguing to watch the human race scramble to turn back time, to reverse the effects of our squandering, and to fail trying. It is apparent to me that we have already gone well past the point of no return. The things we have destroyed in the last 100 years took millenniums to create, and now that they are gone, there is no turning back. But at least now, pessimism is in, and society agrees, we have no future. And fortunately for me, I have some like minded company to share the “end of the world” with. "

As you can see, I was feeling particularly crappy about the state of things that day. But like I said in the last paragraph, at least I have some good, quality people to share thoughts with! I can't wait to hang out with everyone in Moab again!

Ascinder, hiking is something I am willing to do, rain or shine, cold or hot. As long as you can put up with how slow and outta shape I am, I'm game. As soon as I am done with this house BS (only a couple more weeks) I will be free to engage in as much walking around in the woods (or desert) as anyone would like. I wouldn't mind exploring some more ghost towns as well. Don't hesitate to call. A regular movie night at my new crib is on the horizon as well...

Bart

PS-I think the three of us are all like old married couples. So when are you and Megan gonna tie the knot anyway?