Are We An Intelligent Species?
By Gary Brachman
Most of us would believe we are intelligent, but perhaps the question is; are we using our intelligence for the highest good of all species on the planet, and for the planet earth herself? We are now in the middle of perhaps the most devastating man made disaster of all time which is the oil spewing forth contaminating the gulf of Mexico.
There is a continual search for new supplies of oil to fuel our vehicles, heat our homes, and a myriad of other uses. We take risks with our environment not knowing the possible outcomes and harm we are causing mother earth. These multinational oil companies have always had a certain amount of control of our governments.
This is big business with many billions of dollars at stake. Wars are fought for access to these oil supplies, so the bottom line question to ask ourselves might be is our focus on protecting our planet and environment, or is it to make the most amount of profit, and have the most control possible?
We now have alternative power sources such as wind turbines, solar power, electric vehicles, hydro electric power, but still these multinational oil companies focus on producing more oil, and what is the cost to mother earth and all her inhabitants? In the Gulf of Mexico what is the cost to all marine wildlife and their habitat? What is the cost of losing jobs in the fishing industry, and tourism? The U.S. government is looking for new ways to turn around unemployment and create new jobs. How about investing most, or all the oil money in solar, wind, and other renewable energies? I believe this is not done because of the many billions of dollars already invested in oil, and the profit these huge corporations make on it. Another question of our intelligence is why are we using nuclear power for anything? The byproducts of nuclear power have a half life of 50,000 years with no way of making these byproducts non radioactive, but in our infinite wisdom we produce these byproducts anyway with no safe way to dispose of them, so where do these byproducts go? They get buried in mother earth! Are these the actions of an intelligent species? Having been trained in nuclear power school in the U.S. Navy I had learned that in the 1960's some of the spent nuclear rods never made it back into port, and were jettisoned to the bottom of the ocean. These are ticking time bombs waiting for the next tectonic plate shift which could open the radioactive casks, and create radioactive oceans! This is why I decided not to stay in the nuclear power program. How wise is it to poison our oceans? Our actions do not speak well of our intelligence.
Perhaps it is time for all of us to speak up to our elected officials in government, and not base our opinions on making money but live from the highest prospective of protecting our environment. This is the only planet in this solar system which is habitable for us! Wake up everyone!!! Certainly big business wants to keep the status quo of lining their pockets with money from these technologies of oil and nuclear power because trillions of dollars are already spent on these technologies, but it is time for a major change to protect where we live at all costs!!! What options do we have when our water, and even the air we breathe are poisoned? We are the ones who will suffer and all in the name of making money. It is time to show that we are an intelligent species. Let's think about the depleting ozone layer. Our air is cleansed by trees, but what do we do with our forests, but harvest the trees to produce wood products for building, paper products to create magazines, and stationary among other products. There is an option to stop deforestation and keep the air at a cleaner level which is the production of hemp. Hemp can be used to create building materials, paper products, clothing, luggage, handbags, and many other products. Hemp can grow to 20 feet tall in a few months, and protect our environment at the same time. The production of hemp was shut down in the early 20th century with our U.S. government being lobbied by William Randolph Hearst and his many thousands of acres of forest land. He had seen hemp as a detriment to his making money by selling his forests. If we think that big business does not have major control of our governments we are na?ve at best.
How intelligent are we to cut down our forests which clean our air when we have alternatives at hand? We also produce millions of tons of garbage which gets buried in mother earth; and what is our garbage placed inside of, but plastic bags which are a petroleum product and are mostly not biodegradable — so the garbage inside these bags will not biodegrade either. Is this the action of an intelligent species? Perhaps we should only produce, and use biodegradable bags. This would seem to be an intelligent decision.
We also feed our animals growth hormones to make them grow as fast as possible to feed everyone with no concern of the harm caused to the animals such as chickens who cannot stand up because the rest of the body cannot keep up to all the weight added to their frames by the use of these hormones and they suffer. The questions are out there. The solutions are out there. The question is; are we intelligent enough to seek these solutions from our elected officials? We are the ones who can make a difference. Do you want to leave this life with regret for not trying to clean up, and save our mother earth for our children, grandchildren, and all species that live on this beautiful planet? The choice of intelligence is yours, mine, and every ones!!!
My spiritual awakening started in 2004 going to massage therapy school, and was exponentially enhanced after reading Paramahansa Yogananda's, " Autobiography of a Yogi" a year later. I was given the gift of Samadhi for 2 weeks. Paramahansaji is my guru and my friend, and I believe the driving force behind my writing - but then Love is the force behind everything. I am an energy worker, massage therapist, and a rural letter carrier for the postal service.
God's Love and Blessings to you all! Gary Brachmann 10brahman@charter.net
|
