How to Avoid the Extinction of Man

Charlie sits in front of the TV pushing the buttons on the remote. His face reflects his frustration and disgust. The "Boss" was right, he thinks. Fifty-seven channels and nothing on! Click . . . click . . . click . . . cop shows, drug dealer shows, hooker and pimp shows, shootings, chases, more shootings . . . and that’s just the entertainment scene. Then there’s all the disaster news - holes in the ozone layer, mud slides in California, earthquakes occurring with increasing frequency around the globe, hurricanes clobbering Florida, trouble in the Middle East, another school killing involving teenagers. Last but not least, are the documentaries and talk shows with all the good news about the environmental problems . . . overpopulation, water pollution, air pollution, AIDS victims, the Ebola outbreak in Africa. "God!" he thinks, "We’re living in a really messed up world! It’s just one crisis after another."

His wife returns home from a meeting where she heard some guy speak on prophecies about the earth’s changes. She shows Charlie a map of what is supposed to be "safe" areas in the future. It looks pretty sparse, with most of the United States gone, and only a few island-like areas showing. She suggests that they sell their house and move to the Four Corners area of New Mexico. It’s one of the few safe areas, she insists. He looks around at his home and wonders what kind of work he’d be able to find in the somewhat remote region she is pointing to. "Jesus! What is the point of it all?!" He heaves himself out of his lounge chair, and heads for the kitchen to get a beer. Life at the turn of the of the new millennium is just too frustrating. Many Americans were apprehensive at the turn of the century due to the widespread talk about "end of the world" prophecies, and the possible Y2K breakdown of computer systems worldwide, but the new millennium came and went without any earth shattering catastrophes, and Y2K didn’t even produce a fizzle. Yet, many people like Charlie are still living with frustrations about life in the twenty-first century and the future of our world.

Everything seems to be moving faster, and nothing is sacred or secure anymore. The rules keep changing, and the old tried and true values don’t seem to apply. There are too many things going wrong in the world, and there’s nothing that Charlie or you or I can do about them. It’s stressful to be living in these times. In spite of all the hype and instant gratification, the fast- paced lifestyles, and the electronic technology that transforms the way we communicate and do business, in spite of all the new age miracles and modern wonders, the plight of the world seems hopeless.

With the new millennium, Planet Earth faces a number of serious challenges. The environmental problems of air and water pollution and soil depletion cannot be denied. Feeding the world’s exploding population is an urgent concern. Changing weather patterns punctuated by disasters have strained government relief funds almost to the limit and have already bankrupted several insurance companies.

Is it any wonder that the doomsayers have dug up every old "end of the world" prophecy since the beginning of time to explain why all these things are happening? And is it any wonder that the more morose psychics have had such sad and ugly visions of the future? One doesn't know whether to wail with the fatalists or "party on" with those in denial.

If there were some other choice, would you be willing to take earth down a different path? I would. They say that there are many possible futures available to us, but the most probable or predictable one is determined by the choices we have made in the past. Judging from the state of our environment, we’ve made some poor choices that have us headed for disaster. But remember, none of these possible futures is written in stone. Perhaps there is still time to choose a better future . . . obviously something has to CHANGE . . . if we only knew what we needed to do . . . what is it that must change?

Environmentalists have warned us and Native Americans have told us that our Mother Earth is suffering, so we’ve all been aware for some time now that there is something drastically wrong with our planet. We’ve seen the symptoms, but we haven’t quite been able to point to the exact nature of the deadly disease. If we could correctly diagnose the basic illness, then perhaps we might be able to heal it and create a new and better future for our children and our children’s children. I believe I have discovered the nature of the disease, and while it is awesome and frightening, it is not incurable. And every one of us can do something about. So, let there be hope! But we must act quickly. Time is of the essence.

You see, the underlying disease that is wreaking havoc with planet Earth is simply this, we are beginning to experience the effects of oxygen depletion. If we continue on our destructive path, we are looking at the possibility of running out of oxygen! Is that thought unthinkable? It must be, because all of our learned scientists have sat quietly and ignored the fact that big business has systematically destroyed the oxygen producers on land and sea around the world. They have reasoned and speculated about the cause of the holes in the ozone layer, the cause of changing weather patterns, the cause of viral epidemics sweeping the earth, the cause of chronic fatigue syndrome, the cause of various marine life deserting their regular habitats, and the cause of Mars becoming a dead planet although it once appeared to support life. They have made very learned deductions proclaimed in a very learned vocabulary that skirted the real issue – the decrease in oxygen producers and the increase in oxygen breathers. Planet Earth is perilously out of balance and beginning to experience symptoms of oxygen depletion.

For many years, Native Americans have been telling us that the white man’s world is out of balance because we place too much emphasis on the material aspects of life. Religious leaders have been telling us that we are out of balance because we place too much emphasis on the physical aspects of life. They have both implied that the basic issue here is a loss of spiritually in our lives. No doubt this is an underlying factor because it directly affects how we relate to other life forms. However, the basic issue that we must urgently address is the balance between oxygen producers and oxygen breathers.

Let me give you a simple example of what I’m talking about. Have you ever had an aquarium in your home or office? They are beautiful, controlled living environments for exotic fish and other aquatic life. I’m sure that at some time you have probably experienced how critical it is to keep a perfect balance in your aquarium. If the balance is off, it can quickly turn into a murky green soup with dead fish floating on the top. A disaster!