The War on Creation

The War on Creation

 

     Nature is warning us. The human massive attack on creation has to stop. We need to rediscover beauty in the simple things and stop fooling ourselves pursuing plastic dreams and inexistent thoughts. Lately, I was wondering, what was the biggest war ever fought? What is largest battle ever fought in terms of the number of people that participated? World War I; Over 70 million military personnel were mobilized in one of the largest wars in history. Over 15 million people were killed. Some historians feel that World War II was the biggest war in history, which took place between 1939 and 1945, with 50 to 70 million casualties. But the longest and biggest battle ever fought in my opinion is—the War on Creation. Without a doubt, Planet Earth is under attack. It has always been under attack ever since man appeared on earth.  In fact, earth has been under attack since the creation of the world when the evil one entered the Garden of Eden and contradicted God's word, bringing death. From then to now, creation has been under constant attack and life has been under threat all over the world. This war gained momentum, when man increased in numbers on earth and fought over some 2 million years, the longest battle in the geological time-scale, still goes strong.

 

     The War on Creation is the biggest battle ever assembled, fought by almost 125 billion humans so far, still continues with 7 billion soldiers adding 90 million new soldiers every year. In the 20th century alone, more life was lost than in all other centuries combined. Every soldier is equipped with the most powerful and sophisticated weapon of mass destruction ever designed by humanity—Greed. The target is not Germany, Great Britain, France, Japan or Russia, but—Creation, Earth Systems—the destruction of land, water, air, leaving irreparable damage to life supporting systems on earth. Humanity's reliance on fossil fuels, the spread of cities, the destruction of natural habitats for farmland, and over-exploitation of the oceans are destroying earth's ability to sustain life. Narrow mindedly and retarded by laws these people have run out of creative ideas, they are still fighting senseless wars over infantile ideologies, natural resources and artificial markets. Embarrassing enough, for thousands of years humans have fought their wars under the motto 'the End Justify the Means.' Meaning they are sick and dirty, all tricks are allowed even when it means to betray their own beliefs, breeding, societies of pathological liars, hypocrites and psychopathic killers.

 

The War on Land (Lithosphere)

     The lithosphere, Greek for "rocky sphere," is the outermost shell of the earth. The term is also used to refer to the outermost rocky shell of other solid planets. The lithosphere is composed of the upper crust, 5 km thick in the oceans and 65 km thick on the continents. Lithosphere above and below offers variety of resources which humans have learnt to exploit through mining for gold, silver, iron, copper, coal, fossil fuel, phosphate and other valuable minerals, leaving irreparable damage to the environment. I have always been amazed at how much humans have learned about the earth's lithosphere while only able to barely scratch the surface. Although we cannot dig very deep into the earth's crust, with current technology, geoscientists can study the properties of the deep lithosphere by examining special rocks, or xenoliths, brought up through deep volcanic pipes and new findings of valuable minerals can lead to more exploitation. We are able to extract elements that have been buried below the earth's surface for millions to billions of years. This is all in such a small time frame relative to the length of time the planet has taken to evolve to its current state.

     Man is systematically depleting all the natural resources above and below lithosphere, by his addiction to consumption and his rush to becoming rich, man has declared war on the lithosphere. Sometimes I think that our intelligence is our downfall. Humans have exploited these resources, and now we are looking at a situation where the earth's lithosphere has less and less to offer humanity. I am just as guilty as everyone else for using these resources, but I sometimes wonder about how the future will look. It is a little disheartening to think that the great achievements of the human species may be nothing more than an example of a species that was unable to sustain itself, even though it had the knowledge too. The evolution of the human species has had its ups and downs just like that of anything else in nature. Trial and error is only natural. We may have depleted some resources from the planets lithosphere and hydrosphere, but that does not mean we are doomed. Besides, if everyone thinks that we are doomed, as a species progress cannot be made to solve some of the problems that affect the planet. It should not matter whom or what caused the problems we face, instead the focus should be on how to mitigate these problems and create a state of symbiosis between our species and the natural world. To think that our species can single handedly bring down this planet is a little egocentric. Not to understate the urgency of any of these problems, but we will be fine. Being proactive will lead to progress. When it comes to conservation it takes a lot to alter and engage people's personal beliefs and morals, and alter social norms.

     Our demand on natural resources has doubled since 1966 and we're using the equivalent of 1.5 planets to support our activities. If we continue living beyond the earth's limits, by 2030 we'll need the equivalent of two planets' productive capacity to meet our annual demands. Current consumption trends would lead us to the point of no return, 4.5 earths would be required to support a global population living like an average resident of the US.  Nothing stands against the battle cry of progress. The lofty ideals of progress have often been used to justify imperialism, slavery and unlawful inquisition. The new Revolution I term as "Rush to Riches," has marred the reasonable thinking of each and every one, obviously, many make bad choices. Human wants are not based on need but on greed which is the ultimate cause for exploitation of resources. Consequently, failure to implement the appropriate laws on the extraction of natural resources inflicts an irreparable damage to the land, water and air. From space, at night time one can witness that earth flaunts with billion pockets of lights, the cities glow with light but down under earth harbors dark secrets, deeply rooted in evil. With hundreds and thousands of cities around the world with their billions of people, there is no intermission from the play of darkness. Few centuries ago the lithosphere housed beautiful valleys, mountains, villages and agricultural lands. But now, lithosphere is drastically destroyed and transformed into towns and cities, thickly populated ecosystems, addicted to consumption of all sorts.

     Natural resources are depleting at an alarming speed. All over the world, coal and oil is on the high demand, constantly putting pressure on the remaining reserves. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s is widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. Coal is mined commercially in over 50 countries. Coal production has grown fastest in Asia, while Europe has declined. Most of the mines are empty. Mining requires vast amounts of energy. The ore and rock has to be transported great distances by large vehicles, which require a large amount of energy in the form of gasoline. Underground mines need extensive hoisting systems to transport the minerals, which also require energy. Industrialization has increased the value for land and many people are tempted to sell their agricultural land for high price, in turn this has reduced cultivable land into 50 per cent. Our lithosphere is becoming increasingly contaminated by plastic pollution and by our unnecessary use of plastic carry bags. Big black bin liners, plastic carrier bags carrying advertising logos, clear sandwich bags, vegetable bags and a variety of other forms used to carry our daily food items and other items are all polluting our environment. Just take a look around you. Plastic bags can be seen hanging from the branches of trees, flying in the air on windy days, settled amongst bushes and floating on rivers. They clog up gutters and drains causing water and sewage to overflow and become the breeding grounds of germs and bacteria that cause diseases. Electronic and Electrical waste, popularly known as e-waste products, do not decompose or rot away. The disposal of e-waste is a particular problem faced in many regions across the globe. Environment and human health is affected by e-waste. E-waste takes up space in the communities it invades and can be very harmful to humans and animals. E-waste is of concern mainly due to the toxicity and carcinogenicity of some of the substances if processed improperly.

 

War on Water (Hydrosphere)

 

     We cannot see oxygen and hydrogen molecules, but when they combine; 1 molecule of oxygen and 2 molecules of hydrogen, a miracle unfolds in front of your eyes: water. Earth is the water planet, and water, in its three states—vapor, liquid, and solid—defines and sustains earth. In the beginning there was water. Water is an enigma. It is both simple and complex. We all know that water is essential to life, making up about 80% by weight of all living things. Water is essential to life because the various electrochemical processes that constitute humans and other life forms can occur only within it. The ocean was almost certainly the cradle of life, and it remains life's most expansive habitat. The volume of the oceans—about 520 million cubic kilometers—is eleven times larger than all the land above the sea. And whereas land is populated by life only at its surface, the entire volume of the oceans is capable of sustaining life. The hydrosphere is often called the—"water sphere" as it includes all the earth's water found in streams, lakes, the soil, groundwater, and in the air. The hydrosphere interacts with, and is influenced by, all the other earth spheres. The water of the hydrosphere is distributed among several different stores found in the other spheres. The biosphere serves as an interface between the spheres enabling water to move between the hydrosphere, lithosphere and atmosphere as is accompanied by plant transpiration. Over population certainly puts pressure on food and water resources and it appears that humanity will soon face a big problem for: water.

     Water as a resource is under relentless pressure. Due to population growth, economic development, modern agriculture, rapid urbanization, large-scale industrialization and environmental concerns water stress has emerged as a real threat. The scarcity of water for human and ecosystem uses and the deteriorating water quality leads to "water stress" and intense socio-political pressures. Many areas in the world are already under severe water stress. Any addition to the intensity of water stress in the existing water scarcity areas, or addition of new areas to water stressed list, will only further push the problem in to the realm of a disaster. Freshwater supply to ecosystem and humans is from river system, lakes, wetlands, soil moisture and shallow groundwater is less than 1% of all freshwater and only 0.01% of all the water on earth. As per who estimates only 0.007% of all water on earth is readily available for human world consumption. This indicates that freshwater on earth is finite and also unevenly distributed. Despite the importance of freshwater resources in our lives and well-being, we are increasingly beginning to take this resource as being infinite, and for granted. In today's world, much water is wasted, used inefficiently and polluted through its abusive use. The per capita availability of freshwater is fast declining all over the world. If the present consumption pattern continued, two out of every three persons on earth will live in water stressed conditions— moderate or severe water shortages—by the year 2025.

     Effluence or industrial waste ending in rivers is one of the biggest environmental problems in the modern world. Unfortunately, our affluent society has also been an effluent society. Acid rain is the biggest problem now. The primary cause of acid rain is sulfur dioxide and is released from burning of fossil fuels and especially fossil fuel power plants. Another cause of acid rain is the oxides of nitrogen which are released from vehicles and power plants. Another killer form of water pollution is the oil spill. Oil covers vast areas of waters, and coats animals in a sticky film, preventing them from doing vital processes, or causing them to freeze. Oil spills are especially disastrous because of the large regions that they pollute. Erosion is another major problem. One of the main causes of erosive soil loss is the result of slash and burn treatment of tropical forest. When the total ground surface is stripped of vegetation and then seared of all living organisms, the upper soils are vulnerable to both wind and water erosion. In a number of regions of the earth, entire sectors of a country have been rendered unproductive. Global warming causes coral bleaching—and there is absolutely no doubt about it. Tens of thousands of websites found searching for "Global warming and coral bleaching" seem to agree that when the ocean warms, the oxygen content reduces, and the corals become "bleached." The heat affects the tiny algae which live symbiotically inside the corals and supply them with food. The heat stress damages the algae and in consequence leads to coral death. Harmful algal blooms (HAB), lethal for human beings and marine ecosystems alike, are steadily increasing in intensity in the oceans, all over the world. The use of over-efficient fishing technology, the lack of sufficient scientific data regarding the oceans, the ignorance and apathy of humanity towards this oceanic crisis, and insufficient implementation of existing maritime agreements are resulting in a decrease in the biodiversity of the ocean, changes to ocean chemistry, changed in the genetic composition of marine species, disturbances to the food web and ecosystem, collapse of fish stocks, and irreparable damage to marine ecosystems and to the fishing industry, including all people dependent on fish for sustenance, income, and cultural value.

     The stresses on the world's water resources are already enormous, and man-made climate change will exacerbate these difficulties profoundly. While there are huge unknown in the precise consequences of man-made climate change on the hydrological cycle, a few things are clear. First, warmer temperatures will intensify the cycles of evaporation and precipitation. There will be more rainfall on average, but in shorter and more intense episodes. There will be more evapo-transpiration at higher temperatures, and storms will increase in intensity. There will be more famines, hurricanes, droughts, floods and typhoons. Water supplies around the world are already severely stressed. The crisis in world water supplies is indeed very real. Global freshwater resources are threatened by rising demands from many quarters. Growing populations need ever more water for drinking, hygiene, sanitation, food production and industry. As the global population grows—and freshwater supplies dwindle—ensuring that everyone has sufficient supplies of life-giving H2O has become an enormous challenge. Policymakers need to figure out how to supply water without degrading the natural ecosystems that provide it. Existing low-tech approaches can help prevent scarcity, as can ways to boost supplies, such as improved methods to desalinate water. But governments at all levels need to start setting policies and making investments in infrastructure for water conservation now. As demand for freshwater soars, planetary supplies are becoming unpredictable. Existing technologies could avert a global water crisis, but they must be implemented soon.

 

War on Air (Atmosphere)

 

     An atmosphere is a collection of gases surrounding a planet. We may not always be aware of them, but without these gases, life on earth would definitely not be possible. The atmosphere provides the gases that animals and plants need for respiration and photosynthesis, it helps to keep temperatures on earth constant and also protects us from the sun's harmful radiation. But beyond that, our atmosphere is an important buffer between the warm earth and freezing outer space. It plays a crucial role in regulating earth's temperature. Our atmosphere's gases, including carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and water vapor, trap the sun's warmth and heat earth's surface to a temperature that can sustain life. Over the millennia, our planet has experienced a number of ice ages—long periods when earth cooled and glaciers covered much of the planet's surface. Earth has also experienced warmer periods when glaciers melted and life spread towards the poles. Throughout it all, the atmosphere has always played a crucial role in keeping the planet the right temperature for life to thrive. But now, the same life is in peril. Humanity faces a genuinely new situation. It is not an environmental crisis in the accepted sense. It is a crisis for the entire life-supporting system of our civilization and of all species. During the past 10,000 years, since the close of the ice age, human civilization have plundered and destroyed their local environment, wrecking the natural fecundity if sizable areas of the planet. Nevertheless, the planet's life-support system as a whole has until now remained stable. As one civilization fell, another rose. But the rules of the game have changed. In the atmosphere, human influences on planetary systems are global and pervasive.

 

     Before human beings began to affect the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the natural emissions of carbon dioxide were nearly exactly balanced by natural process, which remove carbon dioxide, such as photosynthesis. As a result, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has changed minutely for 10,000 years. Car emissions contribute to a large amount of air pollution. Carbon dioxide, a product from the combustion of gasoline, undergoes a series of reactions in the air producing deadly carbon monoxide gas. Unburned hydrocarbons and nitrogen dioxide emissions also produce other highly toxic gases. Developing countries, when they begin to exploit other nations—as they must if they become industrialized—will be a curse for other nations, a menace to the world. Most of the developing countries' landscape resembles like extermination camps, with the new roads, with new massive production and storing facilities. With the arrival of a new-middle-class society, addiction to consumerism is pushed to the most extreme. Current levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are higher than at any time in the past 650,000 years. Both atmospheric CO2 and climate change are accelerating. Climate scientists say we have years, not decades, to stabilize CO2 and other greenhouse gases. The situation is similar for methane: during this period, levels hovered around 600 parts per billion. Today's atmospheric methane concentration is well over 1,700ppb. Non-energy-related sources of greenhouse gases include manufactured halocarbons, methane and nitrous oxide from agriculture, and methane from animal farms and landfills. Halocarbons is the general label applied to chemicals such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC's), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), halons, and chlorocarbons (CCs). Halocarbons have the largest radiative impact per molecule of any of the greenhouse gases.

 

     We are, by default, conducting a massive clinical toxicological trial. And our children and their children are the experimental animals. We are poisoning our children via pollution, electrical exposure, chemical use and poor diet, which include food additives that are unsafe. I don't think you would voluntarily take your children down to a laboratory and offer them as experimental subjects for toxic chemical testing. Yet that is exactly what is going on today, when we are exposed to toxins released in atmosphere and turning our neighborhood and home as a Mega Gas Chamber. Greenhouse effect is the result. Greenhouse gases are defined by their ability to absorb thermal radiation emitted by the earth. Different molecular structure of the gases, lead to differences in their ability to absorb radiation. Greenhouse gases trap the heat brought by light passing through the atmosphere of the earth. Greenhouse gases are components of the atmosphere that contribute to the greenhouse effect. Without the greenhouse effect the earth would be uninhabitable. More recently, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) declared that the ozone layer-hole size has increased to 11 million square miles. This report was based on the studies conducted by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). This was brief information about the ozone layer-hole facts which has made scientists the world over stand on their toes. The rate at which the ozone hole is increasing is a sign of approaching calamity. We humans have upset earth's breathing. Each year, we add an extra six billion tons of CO2 to the air. We've given the planet a case of asthma. Our fear is that earth may soon be developing a fever, along with her asthma. Or perhaps the earth will just change the way she breathes.

 

War on Life (Biosphere)

 

     The biosphere is all life on our planet. It is the part of the earth, in which living organisms exist or that is capable of supporting life. This includes all the things that are living as well as the remains of those that have died but have not yet decomposed. The biosphere includes life on land and in the oceans—multitudes of plants, animals, fungi, protists, and bacteria. The biosphere has a great impact on the climate because the biosphere is closely connected to the atmosphere. When plants harness the sun's energy through photosynthesis, oxygen is released into the atmosphere and carbon dioxide is taken out. When plants and animals respire, carbon dioxide gas is added to the atmosphere and oxygen is taken out. Microbes living in soils can add nitrous oxide gas to the atmosphere. As humans burn components of the biosphere such as fossil fuels, forests and fields, greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide are released into the atmosphere. One thing is clear in the reading on the next wave of biodiversity extinction on earth. While it's true that a mammoth asteroid could strike at any moment (although none are on the way, to the best of my knowledge), humans, and not an act of God, are the next executioner of planet earth as we know it. There is time to act, but like a fragile heart beating on the monitor outside the patient's hospital room, the line will go horizontal for hundreds and thousands of ecosystems around the world. If the price of vanilla is high … higher even than saffron … can we even calculate the cost to humankind of this looming disaster?

 

     The earth supports amazing biodiversity, but much wildlife is coming under threat from one particularly successful species: us. With a population of 6.7 billion, and set to pass 9 billion by 2050, human beings are crowding out other species through sheer numbers. As a rising middle class in countries like India begins consuming at western rates, we could leave little room for wildlife. The rising global trade in animal parts, like tiger penises, prized as an aphrodisiac in China, has made killing even more profitable. Animal and plant species are now disappearing at an alarming rate. Scientists estimate that the rate at which they are disappearing is 1,000 to 10,000 times greater than would have been the case without industrial development. Biologists are hard put to explain why recent years have seen a decline in frogs, toads, salamanders, and other amphibians in several parts of the world. Some point to pollution and others to habitat fragmentation. Rainforest is not a commodity, but it's a community to which we belong. This change in conception is far-reaching and profound. It involves a shift in our metaphysical conception of nature—that is, a change in what sort of thing we take our natural surroundings to be. Indeed, tropical forest is a victim of a spiritual crisis in humanity.     Recent advances in genetic-engineering biotechnology are being developed for commercial application in animal agriculture. With the exception of some poultry, these transgenic farm animals have been created either to be more productive, rather than disease-or stress-resistant, or to produce pharmaceutical products in their milk. There's plenty of genetically modified food in your local grocery store. About 80% of the packaged foods contain genetically modified ingredients.

 

     From the bioethical perspective of what I call natural philosophy, the creation of transgenic animals, plants, and other life forms is unacceptable because such action violates the sanctity of life and may be regarded as an act of violence. To change the intrinsic or inherent nature of distinct and unique species for purely human ends is unethical to those who embrace the philosophy of reverential respect for all life. As we continue to see the damage that we are doing to our home planet, many environmentalists will raise the cry, "Save the Earth!" We might more aptly say, "Save yourself before it is too late! Save these precious habitats that sustain you." Non renewable energy sources account for about 90% of the energy used today. These sources are being depleted. Since they are known to have an impact on air quality, causing human and environmental health problems, greater emphasis is placed on renewable energy as a new challenge for energy. Renewable energy sources consist of solar, hydro, biomass, geothermal and ocean. These energy sources will never be exhausted, and is environmentally friendly because they do not contribute to the greenhouse effect or global warming.