In Part I of this blog, I explained difficulties with comprehending the astronomical scale of change that is awaiting us, the rich people in the developed countries, in our journey to a more sustainable, greener future of humankind. I have also pointed out a few of the many ways people escape responsibility for the crimes against the Earth we - you and I - have committed. And, please, let's not blame the poor people in Honduras or Gabon for our sins, plastic in the oceans and greenhouse gas emissions. Exponential growth. Remember a lonely lily pad floating on an empty pond? She multiplied daily, so after day one, there were two lilies; after two days, four lilies; then eight; and so on. After 20 days, there were 1,048,576 lilies. After 21 days, there were 2,097,152 lilies that covered the pond, exhausted nutrients and died. Question: After which day was the pond half-filled? You already know the answer, it was...
In this blog, I continue to write about the environment, ecology, energy, complexity, and humans. Of particular interest to me are human self-delusions and mad stampedes to nowhere.