Kosmos ~ Chapter 15

Even after completing this chapter this particular line seems to be ingrained in my conscience.

Live like there is a tomorrow.

There is a tomorrow, and because there is a tomorrow what we do today and what we don’t do today matters. As long as there is a tomorrow there are consequences of today.

Consequences…
global warming
Consequences…
deforestation
Consequences…
pollution

Society, today, at least in my opinion tends to have this aura of entitlement about it. We feel entitled to have it “our way, right away.” “We want it all, and we want it now.” It all sounds quite selfish when you say it aloud, right? And quite offensive to hear someone else describe you using those words. Does that mean that it is so offensive that we are willing to change? The majority of society is not. Because we feel entitled, we feel as though certain things such as cheap energy should ALWAYS be readily available to us. We pay no mind to how much energy we are using, how we are getting the energy that we’re using, or the effects that such use has on our environment. None of that matters because TODAY we need big SUVS. TODAY, we need houses with square footage in excess. TODAY, it is beneath us to use public transportation unless in a big city. TODAY there is only one way to order life…SUPERSIZED.

It is not surprising to me that this earth that has bore the burden of having us walk all over it both literally and metaphorically is as fragile as it is to date. I know the earth is this massive thing. How can we, mere man, destroy something so massive and beyond us? The answer is simple…exist. Us merely existing here on earth is destroying it. So, I’m not arguing that we can save the earth from destruction because I feel as though the end of earth is inevitable. I am arguing, however, that our actions today influence the number of tomorrows that man will have left on earth. Why are we spending so much time, energy, and finances creating things that selfishly make our lives more “livable” while precluding an earth that’s livable for our great great grandchildren. Should we not direct our focus to creating things that are more earth friendly, even if they don’t come with the ease of use that a McDonald’s drive-thru comes with? We should be doing more, right? After all, as Sumner writes, things such as “solving the cheap energy problem has to be one of the primary goals, if not the primary goal, of the entire world”(224). I know there are things that are being done but I don’t believe that there is an urgency in which they are being done. This urgency is important because tomorrow will come whether or not you will want to be alive to see it is another story.