There is this little blue marble. It is the third planet from the sun of its solar system. It is one of eight planets (nine if you include Pluto) that was just in the right spot to create an atmosphere. This group of spinning rocks, one formed a protective bubble around it to keep space out and keep clouds in, thus creating water.
After a while, junk fell in the water and evolved into microbes that could join together and split into new forms that could join with others. Eventually the water was bubbling in life. These beings learned over time to survive with techniques to fed and grow. Then they got bored and crawled out of the water onto land.
They grew into gigantic creatures roaming the land until (as some suppose) a big rock smashed through their atmosphere ceiling and changed the air to the point where all creatures died.
All would have been lost, but this perky little planet regrouped and formed another blue sky full of clouds bringing rain and wind and letting in just enough sunshine to grow plants. Somehow creatures came down from the trees and started walking around. They found shelter, food and began procreating.
These new creatures formed families and became tribes. They learned how to grow crops, kill animals and find water. They found how to create fire and became chefs. They formed alliances with other tribes for protection and trade. The tribes intermingled and formed diversity.
As they expanded their curiosity, some other tribe may resist their invasion into their private space. Borders were being formed over a tribe’s property rights. Some would respect the restrictions while others, who had enough members to fight, invaded the territory to pillage and loot taking property, goods, food, animals, buildings and women. They had created war and enjoyed the rewards of the winners. This would last them until extinction.
About this time, they had to create gods to explain what they couldn’t understand. Later they would call it religion and would worship in different forms. They also created language. Now they could speak words that designated names and places and objects. Unfortunately, each tribe created its own language and had to be translated to other tribes.
Tribes agreed upon their borders and formed countries. Some were ruled by kings or emperors (the rich or the best warrior) or smart leaders who declared the rules for everyone to follow. They started to build roads for their new invention the ‘wheel’ and harnessed domesticated animals to carry heavy loads instead of just dragging them. Religious leaders started to transcribe but only a few could read them so writings were held sacred.
Noticing some animals preferred certain berries, tribes produced drugs and they like it. Some became attached as spiritual sacraments while others were just to get wasted.
To unify countries and identify armies, flags were designed. They were waved at celebrations and followed into battle.
Learning to ride horses not only made travel faster but overwhelmed standing armies. Raiders would ride into other countries to expand empires or colonize. Some did this action in the name of their gods.
For entertainment, these countries would take animals to torture until they decided to do the same for each other. It started as competition until it became battles to the death.
Then someone invented gunpowder. That changed everything.
Celebrity fireworks turned into bullets and shells fired through tubes to increase the carnage of constant wars. Countries have continued to spend much of their monetary resources on build bigger and badder weapons of mass destruction.
Didn’t we mention money? Each country started placing value on goods of trade. A cow was worth so many shoes or a basket of fruit could be traded for a loaf of baked bread? First with coins of valuable metal to designate their value, then with the introduction of the printing press, paper with the image of a countries dead leaders and a number referenced to a banking system.
The printing press manufactured books that could be stored in home libraries but as more people learn to read spread knowledge. Schools were formed. The skill of reading became essential for survival.
Once roads and bridges were constructed, these bipeds with opposable thumbs traveled over mountains and valleys exploring every corner of this planet. Always wanting to be bigger and faster, they created trains and railroads, highways, cities to construct centers of commerce.
Churches were the first buildings to be constructed. They became community gathering places, governmental debating halls and acceptable religious spots for comfort, unified singing, verbal teachings and communal feasting. Their steeples designated their location. These were also buildings that sold people.
Mail was the only method of communication between family that lived beyond sound until electricity was invited and thus the telephone. These tribes were never satisfied so they invented the radio, television, computer and the internet.
All the while, there were wars. If a war wasn’t happening in your neighborhood, you went out to join another’s. There were no winners except for the industries than manufactured the tools of death.
A strange feature of this species is there is another side who don’t hate and kill with no mercy or compassion. There are those who toward disaster rather than flee for shelter. These are the ones who pull the bodies out of the ruble. These was the ones who pick up the pieces of humanity and give them proper care or disposal. Without them, we couldn’t have the daily body count.
There are fields of scared land with mounds of bodies and markers naming the deceased and birth and death dates if available. First, they surrounded churches, but the continuing wars kept creating a need for more land so cemeteries were created for people to visit on holidays or in passing but mostly sit unattended and decaying.
With all the inventions there was a constant and every growing need for energy to power the cell phones, refrigerators, big screen TVs, computers, washers, automobiles and trucks to deliver us and our stuff back and forth. Coal, petroleum, natural gas, oil shale, bitumen’s, tar sands, and heavy oils seemed the best choices to burn and create heat to turn the turbines that create electricity. Without them the light bulbs wouldn’t light and the mobile machines would not move.
Again, finding a weapon that could destroy the planet, nuclear energy was converted to make the atom fission be controlled for power, but like other resources that vaporized in the air or soil the water or soil, nuclear takes a bit longer to denigrate into harmlessness.
Then they invented plastic. It seemed the perfect material made from a reliable source to construct chairs and bottles and toys that will last long after usage. Recycling didn’t solve the pollution.
All the while, these countries feared each other and fought for religion or some other petty reason, slaughtering young men and women who were sent to fight back along with all the bystanders. Children just die.
So, the moral of this story is this place called ‘earth’ was a Garden of Eden, but the species who inhabited it decided to party like there is no tomorrow and their prophecy came true.
Keep moving. This is a dying planet full of possibilities but lacking foresight.
Happy Earth Day 2024
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