Do It Over Again?

For some reason, my birthday last week has made me do a lot of reflecting. The question I keep asking myself is, "Would I like to be 20 years younger?" My response is an instant: "NO WAY." I've been trying to figure this world out since I was age 8, and I would hate to go backwards again. I am just a biological animal fulfilling my mission in life in the way that my heart leads, and if I was age 26 again, I'd have to re-learn a ton of crap.

I also think about some of the big mistakes and bad decisions I've made in my life, but I don't really regret them either. Each mistake was a great learning experience that has given me greater clarity and wisdom for the present.

My biggest regret in life is the few people I've hurt. I tried to track down three people that I've hurt in my life and apologize, but could only successfully find one. The worst thing anyone can do is to hurt another human, another creature, or the Earth. I won't get into a discussion on when it is okay or not okay to kill, but all I will say is that the worst kind of hurt is when it is intentional, and when you should no better. This includes the mental pain we often inflict on our fellow humans every day. It is so easy to let out a terse comment that cripples another. Instead of that, we should be saying words of encouragement and find something kind and positive to say in every situation.

I am thankful for all the experiences that I've had, and for all the great people that have been an influence on my life. I think about my several environmentalist friends that have passed away -- how they left a little of themselves in me by merely setting a good example. I try to honor their memories by living up to their high ideals. To Ed, Tom, and Jim, I thank you for your great deeds (some I didn't learn about until after you died). Your missions were successful (and complete), and I can only hope that mine is to. However, I will never be able to fit in any of your shoes.

The Humbled Goose

Podcast In My Future?

I don't know. I just had this crazy idea on Friday that I should go for the Podcast thing. I have a name and everything thought out. But what I really need is a co-host. I have a guy in mind but he lives kind of far away. I'm not sure if he would go for it or not.

I read about a webcast that a couple of women have launched in Buckhead. They are trying to compete with that famous Robot girl in NY. Good luck!

Oh, I turned 46 last Thursday, hurray! On a more somber note, my barber and friend Cindy has a bad case of ovarian cancer, which has made me quite mellow these past few days. I don't pray much anymore, but I definitely pray for cancer victims because that is as worse as it gets and divine intervention is desperately needed. Thus, that is the reason I don't pray much and ask for things -- because nothing else can compare with cancer. But then again, cancer is just evolution at work -- little cells mutating, in a disastrous sort of way.

Then I read all this stuff about Ralph Reed running for Lt. Governor of Georgia and it just scares the poop out of me. The guy is very sinister, and a ruthless manipulator. He's the last thing we need in government.

Finally, I just learned about Unity '08, an Internet political movement -- and I signed up tonight! I often feel that I spend too much time in the virtual world with my writing, blogging, website, discussions boards, etc... I feel that I need to spend more time with live humans, discussing the issues, educating them, or whatever. But then I see examples like Unity '08 and MoveOn.org -- where the virtual world can actually impact the real world. And you hear about things quoted in blogs, emails, Podcasts, and webcasts every day now. People are now like locked onto their computers. In a way, it's a beautiful thing because all these blogs are turning the Internet into a living being with a common consciousness -- just like all us living things on Earth have given the Universe a sort of consciousness.

In 1993 I listened to a presentation on how computers were being used to map deforestation, and I realized that the personal computer rage could be used for great good. Then came the blog rage just a few years ago and it just seems to be a totally positive thing. I know there is bad stuff on the Internet, but the good and positive far outweigh the bad -- the Internet is the world just as it is, no censorship or shading -- just this mass of wired humanity. I like it. It's cool.

Well, I can't release too many details on my Podcast idea, but it's coming together. The biggest challenge will be finding the time and the money for a good microphone. But then again, will anyone listen to it? Yes, because I'm going to make it funny and suspenseful. I've listened to a lot of Podcasts and some are awesome and others fall short. I don't know if I have what it takes or not, but I think I'll try.

The Goose

Stephen Hawking Speaketh

Today I read a great article about my hero Stephen Hawking, who was speaking to a university in Hong Kong. The gist of his talk is that in order to ensure the survival of the human species, we need to start building permanent settlements on the Moon and Mars.

"It is important for the human race to spread out into space for the survival of the species," he was quoted as saying "Life on Earth is at the ever-increasing risk of being wiped out by a disaster, such as sudden global warming, nuclear war, a genetically engineered virus, or other dangers we have not yet thought of."

To add to Hawking's list, I would like to include environmental degradation and an asteroid hit. Yep, the human species is likely going to get toasted, one way or the other. We humans need to start thinking ahead.

Hawking is a fascinating person to me. Diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease at a young age, his doctors told him he would not live long. However, he has defied the disease, and though he is greatly incapacitated, he is still going strong at age 64. What a great inspiration to me!

I believe that every once in a while great humans are sent to us to help humanity take its next steps forward. Some of these great thinkers include Leonardo DiVinci, Isaac Newton, and Albert Einstein. The incredible Stephen Hawking definitely fits in with this group of great geniuses. I would even put Benjamin Franklin into this group as well.

If most people said the visionary things that Hawking said, they would be brushed off as crazy. But Hawking holds the position of Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge in England. So when he says these things, most people actually listen. He's no wacko -- he is a genius. Maybe we should all listen to him and start taking action now.

Thank you, Mr. Hawking. You are a very great man.

Environmental Messiah

Zee purpose of this blog is to chart out my thoughts on how to save the World, mainly environmentally, but in terms of world peace as well.

Today we were having a great discussion on one of the population lists I'm on about how stupid humans are. A colleague described humans as cells in a cancerous tumor. Of course, a lot of people don't like it when we talk that way -- and yes, maybe that kind of language is a little too dark.

Anyway, my activist brother Michael shared an idea that I've been thinking about for a while -- what we need is an Environmental Messiah. I know that person won't be me, and I know that's not my role in life. However, it would be an incredible honor to learn that the Green Messiah was someone I encouraged, mentored, or somehow inspired. As silly as it sounds, I feel like this is my main mission in this crazy Game of Life.

So, at the gym tonight I continued listening to the audiobook "Collapse" on my iPod. Tonight while I was working the stair climber and pumping some iron, I enjoyed a great discussion. The author, Jared Diamond, provided a fascinating comparison between Haiti, a land and society on the verge of collapse, and the neighboring Dominican Republic, which has a good chance of actually achieving sustainability one day.

There are many factors that explain how two nations in extremely different situations can share the same island. But what is most noteworthy is that the Dominican Republic has an impressive public park system and a strong environmental tradition. Haiti has hardly anything to compare with this. One country actively planned for its future while its neighbor has destroyed its future out of desperation to survive in the present.

I'm really wondering if the United States will become like Haiti or the Dominican Republic. With the Bush Administration attempting to sell our public land, combined with a long list of other violations against the environment, my firm bet is Haiti. I'm not a pessimist, just a realist, and I'm beginning to better understand human nature. Thus, my bet is that the entire Planet will become a giant Haiti, certainly by the end of this century. But, despite my lingering gut feeling, I have to try to make this world be more like the Dominican Republic.

Whew.

Al Gore Inspireth Me Again

I've been reading articles about Al Gore's great new movie, titled, "An Inconvenient Truth." I just learned that in the past few years, Mr. Gore has been traveling the country giving a simple but eloquent PowerPoint presentation on global warming. What has incredibly inspired me is the fact that he has given his presentation OVER A THOUSAND TIMES!

Now, that is unbelievable to me, and just so cool. I give my population presentation about four times a year and I think I'm doing good. Well, Al Gore's example has given me incentive to get more bookings.

MOVING RIGHT ALONG

So, I'm thinking today that blogging is a waste of time and utter futility. Having blogged since 2004 I find that I rarely go back to read what I wrote, so what's the point? Some folks say blogging helps you to organize and structure your thoughts. That's true, but I can get plenty of practice doing that on the many discussion lists that I'm subscribed on. So, really, what is the point of blogging? All I'm doing is taking time from myself that could be better spent doing something productive.

Maybe the utter futility of blogging is what makes it so appealing to so many people. There are a lot of special interest blogs that I read because they are often written by an "expert" or "insider" in a given field. I also like to randomly visit blogs. There are SO MANY fellow people like me, just going through life and trying to figure it all out. I can't help but think that some good will come from the current blog rage -- it's as if all of us are creating some sort of collective energy. The only problem is that we humans can't agree on anything, but maybe there's a beauty in that too.

Muslims Taking Over Europe?

A close friend of mine (stop laughing, I do have friends, well, maybe a couple) sent me a book review on a new titled called: "While Europe Slept: How Radical Islam is Destroying the West From Within" by Bruce Bawer.

The review, written by an Andre Zantonavitch was posted on the Amazon website. Andre uses a lot of fear to make you think that Muslims are in a systematic campaign to take over Europe by 2030.

An excerpt:

"While Europe Slept argues that while Europe is currently only about ten percent Islamic—vs. two percent for America—if present trends continue it will only take a generation or two for Muslims to become the majority. The once-noble Continent will become what intellectual fellow-traveler Bat Ye’or in 2005 called 'Eurabia.' The shocking claim by Bruce Bawer is that well before 2050, most of Europe is likely to become an outpost of Islamdom governed by Sharia. Europe will be alien to Western culture and an enemy of Western Civilization."

Rather than being an organized campaign, I feel this problem is just another side-effect of treating women like crap. This is one of the Goose Pillars of Sustainability — that every female on the Planet must be treated 100% equal to a male. There are no exceptions to this rule and it is nonnegotiable. When women are provided equality, opportunity, and respect, fertility rates are no longer a problem. This is the one commonality around the world. Religion and culture can NEVER be used as an excuse for treating women like subhumans. Believe me, there are REASONS that men use religion and culture to control women. The reasons go back thousands of years, and are no longer valid now. It was, I suppose, once a matter of survival for women to be strictly subjugated to their reproductive roles. Today, with our global population exploding, it's time to hang up all the cheesy control crap.

Even in America, many evangelical religions attemptsubtlytley control women by saying, "You cannot hold a senior leadership position in the church." That's one of the big reasons I stopped attending my current church. I do not accept this stuff about, "Well, someone HAS to be in charge, and this is the way it was set up by God." NO, this is the way it was set up by men. It's all about power and CONTROL.

Anyway, getting back to the Muslim women in Europe who are having the huge families: I believe that the tools for adjusting our human population are already built into us. When women are subjugated and treated like property, yes, they tend to have large families. When women are respected and given the option of education and a career, a society has an excellent chance of becoming healthy, sustainable, and vibrant.

Someone once asked me if I took this position because I have daughters. Even if I had sons, I would feel the same way. In fact, I have felt this way since age 13 when the Equal Rights Amendment debate was raging in the U.S. I remember sitting in class one day looking at the girl behind me, and the girls around me, and thinking, "There is not one single reason why a girl should be treated any less than a boy." Well, it didn't result in more dates, but the idea has festered in my head all my life. As I began to research the issue during my late 30s, I realized that COMPLETE EQUALITY FOR WOMEN IS AN ESSENTIAL COMPONENT FOR LONG-TERM SUSTAINABILITY AND HARMONY ON THIS PLANET.

Figuring Out Life

Wow, what a puzzle it has been since I began trying to "figure out life" in 1997. Life is like an onion, and the more I peel away the more layers I find.

Lately, I've been giving a lot of thought about evolution, and how it may provide more answers than we realize. In my opinion, evolution was the theory that literally turned the world upside down. Once the Theory of Evolution came out, people started talking about Social Evolution, Economic Evolution, and to this I add Religious Evolution. It seems like everything evolves, often in ways we cannot predict. But what I do believe is that everything must follow Darwin's evolutionary laws, such as Natural Selection, Survival of the Fittest, Mutation, etc...

Thus, what I'm thinking today is that the whole secret to understanding our future might be understanding our past. By understanding how and why we evolved with certain characteristics, we can better understand ourselves, and, perhaps, where we are heading.

I just watched another documentary last night on cavemen, and the life our ancestors led was incredibly difficult. Perhaps this is why modern humans value comfort so much today. I also learned that all of us were once black, but the group that left Africa to settle in Europe changed both in skin pigment, culturally, and in other ways as well. Maybe that connects to the poor way that the whites have treated the blacks throughout history -- maybe we are seeing ourselves in a mirror and we don't like what we see.

As for believing in the Theory of Evolution, this took a lot of time, reading, watching the History Channel, and even having chats with a couple of scientists that I met. To me, Evolution is now as natural and as much of a fact as anything else in nature. I have a renewed interest in animal life because, well, I'm related to them. I love to observe all other life forms, and I am finding that other animals really aren't different than ourselves. Maybe if we saw the animal kingdom as relatives, maybe we would respect them more. This is not an argument for vegetarianism, but rather an argument for not driving other species to extinction.

If we saw ourselves as simply cave people with a few modern conveniences, if we saw ourselves as a part of nature instead of the exploiters of nature, and if we viewed animals more as equals, we might start changing the destructive way we live.

Oh, yes, and by the way, this is the entire purpose of my blog and website -- to explore all aspects of long term sustainability. Particularly, I am interested in studying human behavior, for unless our current behavior changes, I believe we will destroy ourselves. This really doesn't bother me, but I do believe that it's quite possible for us to do irreparable damage to the Earth, and that worries me.

Parking Lots Reflect American Psyche

Okay, some pet peeves here. First, it drives me NUTS when people leave shopping carts in the middle of the parking lot. Either the carts roll and ding someone's car or someone hits them. WHY CAN'T YOU BE MORE CONSIDERATE? It is part of the American mentality — once you have fulfilled your need, the heck with everything else, including your fellow humans. It's the "all about my convenience" attitude.

Second, it drives me CRAZY when people will waste a tank of gas trying to get a parking spot a few spaces closer to the store. They go up and down the rows, they idle and wait for another car to pull out, and they just sit there WASTING GAS. Come on, don't you realize that walking those few extra steps is actually GOOD for you? I mean, it might be your only exercise for the week. Please! Just park your car in the back and WALK to the store. Honest, it won't kill you.

Okay, enough pet peeves for now. The point is that people should be more thoughtful and more willing to get out of their cars and WALK (frightening concept for an American). And I won't even mention those sweet mothers who throw dirty diapers out in the parking lot — that is definitely for a later post.

The Goose