Bob Hughes
Following the pattern of past life, humankind is also bound for extinction.
Yesterday's events shaped the present, as certainly as today's events will shape the future.
Human extinction is coming, but how soon? Do we of the present day have any control?
The advance of science has brought great knowledge.
Astronomers study cosmic events billions of light years past, finding that ancient galaxies and stars manufactured the complex atoms and molecules that our solar system, Earth and ourselves consist of.
Geologists study the solid, gaseous and liquid matter of Earth.
Palaeontologists study the fossilised remains of life here since earliest times.
Archaeologists, anthropologists, historians and others bring us up to date studying all signs of human activity up to the present day.
Today's scientists warn us that our modern lifestyles degrade our planet and threaten its life.
General response to warnings is very slow, and the warnings are denied and discredited by many with their own agendas.
The Past: All we know is the combination of information gained from trusted sources and what we gain from life experience. All from the past, near and far.
The Present: We exist in the present, experiencing it as a succession of moments and events unfolding that have no meaning until they occur and move into the past.
The Future: We cannot know the future, only imagine its possibilities and pitfalls.
I often go there, a fascinating exercise.
A few times I have drawn from future fiction for my contributions here; I've made use of Planet of the Apes, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century and Armageddon, and seize this chance to now introduce “Back to the Future”.
The 1980s movie series displayed scenes where main characters Marty (Michael J Fox) and Doc (Christopher Lloyd) travel to the past and put the future right. Comedy fiction for sure but there were good lessons there.
I wish I could turn my own time clock back and undo previous mistakes. A hard way to know, small as it may be in my case, how past events have consequences in the future.
It is truly time now to believe the science that we humans as a species, with all our indulgence, threaten the future.
Earlier this year Michael Moore and Jeff Gibbs produced the controversial Planet of the Humans documentary. In it people were asked how long humans would inhabit our planet.
Answers included: “infinite time”, “a million years”, “1000”, “50”, “10”, “enough will survive to procreate,” “a long time, we'll change but we will turn back into apes”. Of all, “infinite time'' must be totally wrong; human extinction will happen.
More of the future, HG Wells' The Time Machine story. A scientist journeys to the far-distant future finding mammals seemingly extinct, and humans evolved and divided into two groups; the peaceful vegetarian Elois and the aggressive Morlocks who prey upon the other.
Back to the present: stories on environmental concern appear more often in mainstream media nowadays, but I remain disappointed that the extra reliable information seems to have made little effect on general complacency.
While contributors fuss on mundane issues unlikely to influence the long term, their order of priorities puzzles me somewhat.
Scientist have warned us for decades that our damaging ways are pushing life on Earth towards mass extinction.
Knowingly, we ignore and push the process ever faster and further, as if unaware all are part of that web of life that holds all species together.
Any guide to the future is in the past; what use all that scientific knowledge if it is ignored or used badly?