What, I ask myself is it that limits our lives to a particular number of years? What if we were free from accidents and diseases? Still people would die at the end of a number of years. Why is that so? Why is the age of a clone not the age of a child, but, a newly born clone is not a baby, but is of the age of the person from whose genes he was cloned! Well, then it seems as if the number of years that a person lives is programmed in his genes! We are programmed to self destruct by our genes! This is why, some people live longer while some don’t. Thus no matter how good one’s life is, no matter the level of medical advancement, a man will live only as long as his genes allow him to live! Genetically engineered genes might help prolong the life of a man, but then it would go against nature which has determined the life span of each individual! The longevity of an individual is therefore limited, not just by his lifestyle and environment,but also by his genes!
Now, moving away from the individual lets talk about the human civilization as a whole! While it is true, we are the most dominant species on this Earth, but then surely, we can’t take for granted our lease of life on this Earth. In the battle for survival with other species, we know we are being challenged by other species, some no more than microscopic organisms like viruses which today are evolving faster than we are! We are engaged in an unending battle with the AIDS virus, the Ebola Virus, the Hunta Virus and what not! To make matters worse is that indiscriminate use of antibiotics has made the viruses more and more resistant to them! Indiscriminate use of fossil fuels, a burgeoning population, indiscriminate cutting of trees, and over-exploitation of natural resources has made our existence on this Earth even more tenuous!
We are, it seems, programmed by Nature, to self destruct, not only as individuals, but as a species and civilization as a whole! Today, the entire human civilization is threatened by global warming, famine, natural disasters, and epidemics. Unfortunately, we don’t seem to heed the alarms and warning signs that nature keeps sending us! So overwhelmed are we with greed that we just don’t bother about conserving our planet! We are driving head long towards an inevitable apocalypse! Let us face some harsh facts that suggest we all might be doomed:
The threat of Global Nuclear annihilation has always been there since the end of the cold war. In 1962 the U.S.A. came very close to a Nuclear stand-off with Cuba. Today, the looming threat of the use of dirty bombs is very much there (what with loss, and theft of nuclear materials). Threat of Global Terrorism is ever present today!To make matters even more complicated is the fact that today, the human foot-print is increasing exponentially. The world’s population is projected to cross nine billion by the year 2050! Sustainable development will soon become a challenge by 2050! Will Nature step in to remove this threat? Or, will man come to his senses before it is too late? Does nature have a regulatory mechanism to prevent the dominant species from destroying the entire planet? These are important questions for all of us!
I wouldn’t like to be called an alarmist, and hope that Man who has been given so much wisdom and understanding will soon rein in his greed and work for the good of all Mankind! The only antidote to poverty and the darkness of ignorance is the dissemination of knowledge. Education means empowerment, and proper Education is the only solution to the looming disaster that Mankind faces! Hopefully, there will be no gap between the Developed Countries and the Under-developed countries of the world. There will be a gradual but steady slow down in the Population explosion, there will be better hygiene for all jobs for all, and better medical facilities for everyone!The fruits of scientific and technological advancement will be shared by all,without distinction and the whole Mankind will live in one Global village! It is only by adopting this holistic approach that we might hope to extend our stay on this planet!
Technorati Tags: Are we on this planet for a short while?
No comments:
Post a Comment