OpEdNews Op Eds Homo Sapiens Suicidal PactBy Anthony J. Gerst(about the author) Permalink (Page 1 of 1 pages), Add to My Group(s)
He writes a mothly column for The Zephyr, an Independent newspaper out of Galesburg Il. He has a twenty-nine year history of writing letters to the editor. In this time, he has been printed on five continents and in various papers across the continental United States. "Ghosts of the Erie Canal," to date, is his only book. From early childhood he expressed an interest in politics. He currently reads Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy Magazine, The Wilson Quarterly and Scietific American on a regular basis. Since early this century his attention has been drawn toward environmental activism. His column, Earth Line was first created to address the issues of Global Warming and its affects as climate change. It should be noted that Earth Line has expanded to an open format where he addresses a large range of topics and current events. Many people, who have read his works in various social communities, have remarked upon his philosophy of writing. Writing to Mr. Gerst is a challenge, an art form of expression. However, beyond this, his view on writing is: if he can challenge one reader to question their opinions, then he as writer has succeded. Why? Because he has made them challenge their own comfort zone. |  Become a Fan (2 fans) |
The Gaia Theory by James Lovelock states that our planetary system is a nonsentient living entity, which, via its component parts, organic and nonorganic, maintains conditions for life to exist and thrive.
I propose a cross Epoch Gaian Principle. It is through the matrix of intraspecies connectedness in climax ecosystems, offering the highest proportional benefits to the apex species found within micro/macro and the entire planetary system(s) of each epoch, when the Gaian system generates maximum evolutionary conditions within geological time frames. It is my hypothesis that Gaia, left unaltered, would via positive feedback mechanization, increase biogeochemical complexity with each successive epoch, thereby increasing species divergence by formatting a more complex apex species for each successive epoch.
Humanity now finds itself at a point where our industrial and agricultural development has rendered crucial terrestrial life support systems unable to maintain the climatic balance of the Holocene, by altering nine global processes in the Gaian operational system. These are biodiversity loss, interruption of nitrogen and phosphorus cycles, ozone depletion, ocean acidification, land use changes, chemical pollution, freshwater misappropriation, atmospheric and aerosol loading, and climate change. Our current industrial civilization is accelerating systemic imbalances, changing the biosphere from the user-friendly Holocene to an unknown Anthropocene. Ushering in this new epoch, our species is upsetting Gaia's natural process and possibly destroying the biosphere.
We have within our power, should we choose to exercise it, the ability to repair and stabilize the physical and biological aspects of the biosphere, bringing equilibrium to the crucial terrestrial ecosystems which have fragmented, allowing the thermodynamics of matter and energy flow to dissipate chemical and thermal gradients across global ecosystems reestablishing their function. If we awaken and take this step, we can extend the climatic/biological homeostasis of our current epoch.
Over time, natural geological processes would bring the Holocene to an end. We as a species are creating a premature epoch change. It is during epoch transitions that extensive mass extinctions occur. Isn't it time for the best and brightest minds from the fields of sociology, psychology and political science to begin working on uniting our species to confront this issue?
It would take changing the sociological and psychological outlook of our species via a epistemology of environmental ethos, creating a new global polity, which would have to be force fed to the masses and would take at least a generation or two to instill within the population of the globe. In my opinion we have neither the time nor the political will to accomplish such a herculean task. This, however, does not excuse us from the obligation of trying. I am skeptical though, so I offer the best of luck to the next apex species to arise on this little blue marble.
Anthony J. Gerst, is an author/columnist and activist. He resides near the confluence of the Iowa and Mississippi Rivers. His favorite author, Mark Twain, was an editor for the Muscatine Journal near where he lives.