This is about life, not war, not disease, just plain life, not only human life but observed nature.
It’s important to acknowledge the adaptability of literally ‘all’ life on earth. Yes I do mean adaptability, not evolution, which is a totally ‘unnatural’ concept.
Adaptability is, rather, a well proven and observable characteristic of perhaps all living things, including plants and animals. Yes, ability to adapt to changing, even very challenging environmental conditions, good or bad, is not exclusive to humans.
The simple basic truth is; our earth is the only place in the physical universe known to support life, period. What adaptability implies is that life on earth is well designed, exclusively designed for earth’s environs! Nowhere else in the cosmos, has it been shown that humans, animals, or any life on earth could adapt and survive in very difficult conditions, as often happens on our planet!
That said, exceptional ability to adapt to change has nearly reached a tipping point owing to long-term damage done to earth’s environment. In other words there are now foreseeable ‘red lines’ as to how much further life on earth can adapt to centuries of negative impacts on the environment! Concerns about potential ‘extinction events’ are already becoming a mute point!
Living on the moon or mars is now well known to be a completely foreign concept, very far from practical reality for any of earth’s (adaptable) life forms. Knowledge gained about those environments is more and more evidence that all life as we know it is designed exclusively for earth alone! The well known expression ‘mother earth’ is therefore not without substance.
Isn’t it time to humbly acknowledge this basic truth?
Such honest acknowledgment is an essential ‘beginning’ to appreciate an all wise and loving Creator who has generously granted all life on earth even with great ability to live and adapt to change… within limits!
After watching a repeat W5 TV show about SETA (searching for extraterrestrial life etc) I have to make a comment;
It seems to me that ‘extraterrestrial life’ is already here but not recognized as such!
No, I’m not referring to unique aquatic creatures, such as the amazing octopus as was suggested in that program, nor any other mysterious deep sea creature.
So what do I believe may be the unrecognized alien creature on earth;
wait for it…..
Indeed its us ‘humans’!
Ridiculous you say.? Well let’s objectively consider the evidence;
First; given a very long history of environmental damage to the earth humans may well be described as the ‘least compatible creature’ on earth.
Next; consider how very few of mankind actually commit to the support of all the other life-forms on earth. To the contrary, human record proves humans actually; exploit; abuse; and outright destroy; everything from flora to fauna, to animals and vegetables. A far cry from benefiting most other life forms on earth.
Finally; many humans are very discontent with their lives on earth and instead are seeking to occupy other places, such as on the planet Mars, or even much further away from earth if the opportunity presented itself.
So for those (alienated humans) so inclined, I must say; maybe that’s where you actually belong…!?
I’ve touched on this subject before but am compelled to add to it because of ongoing observations. As a senior citizen, I feel very blessed to have been able to observe some of nature throughout many years now, without being a back-woods hermit.
Though I cannot claim to have been on African Safari’s, or an explorer in deep sea quests, yet from my viewpoint and experience it is utterly obvious that we have only begun to appreciate the complexity and diversity of life on planet earth.
That complexity and diversity speaks volumes to me. It says that there is a power and intelligence far beyond human capability, yet still within our capacity to appreciate… if we are humble enough.
Humility is sadly lacking in most of humankind. We prefer to theorize that somehow, by sheer accidental means we have developed into the ultimate life-form on earth. Even worse, that we are capable of managing our own affairs, and even all the other life-forms of the earth wisely.
These assumptions, supported by never-ending, conflicting and unsupported fanciful theories, strikes me as the greatest weakness of our kind, otherwise known as absolute arrogance!
Countless generations of mankind. even those of first nations peoples, which have perhaps been the most successful, has proven beyond a doubt we desperately need superior guidance to manage our affairs and also to care for all life on earth, including the environment.
Its now very obvious to thinking people this unique and beautiful planet was never intended to be managed in isolation from its designer and builder. Isn’t it about time we humbly acknowledge that basic truth?*
He is “the Creator of the heavens, . . . the Former of the earth and the Maker of it.” (Isa 45:18) He is “the Former of the mountains and the Creator of the wind” (Am 4:13) and is “the One who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all the things in them.”
Ok so I’m no so-called environmental scientist, just a guy who doesn’t have his head in the sand. Actually the majority of environmental scientists are evidently in agreement that extreme weather events are in fact increasing, so I have no quarrel with them whatsoever.
So why are governments and officials of all stripes, with very few exceptions, ignoring this issue?! Surely the threat to human lives should be a priority for all leaders today. But no, what we see is a consistent, unrelenting, focus on financial matters the world over! How blind is that?? A scripture comes to mind, namely; “…Blind guides is what they are. If, then, a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” (Matthew 15:14). Of course Jesus was referring to the false religious leaders of the 1st Century, but surely the same principle applies to today’s leaders, religious or otherwise, that refuse to act.
Talk about ‘Nero fiddling while Rome burns’ syndrome, but indeed that is the attitude that prevails throughout the history of mankind. Leaders the world over are ‘in denial’, primarily pushing financial agenda’s, be they good or bad.
The pro’s and con’s of so-called global warming isn’t really the issue. The issue is what can be done to mitigate and protect mankind from extreme weather conditions that are steadily increasing and impacting virtually every nation on earth. Surely there is enough evidence of this to make it a real priority?
Isn’t it time for good people everywhere to wake up and take seriously environmental disasters that are increasingly occurring planet-wide? If you are looking for a better world I invite you to visit another posting on this blog, namely:
I’d like to address an issue that I believe has confused many of us, namely; ‘does the well-proven age of dinosaur’s support the theory of evolution?’
If this issue hasn’t confused you, good for you! However, as a result of colorful media, e.g. ‘planet of the apes’ etc. there may very well be a large percentage of the population who are, at the least, confused about this matter.
If that is the case with you, please allow me to shed some light on this subject. First of all, the age of the dino’s is certainly a well-proven fact. A great many fossils present a fascinating picture of what a great variety of creatures, large and small, may have looked like, even if much of that evidence has led to controversies as to their appearance, form, or functions, such as whether they were predators, grazers, or whatever.
And yet as interesting as they are, and their past existence indisputable, interestingly, no one can point to any ‘transitional’ creatures prior-to their existence among the fossil record either. What do I mean by that?
Very simply put, there is no evidence of ‘evolving, mutating, or experimental’ creatures, in other words creatures that were ‘dead-ends’. as would most certainly have to be the case in uncounted millions if a blind evolutionary process was responsible for bringing them into existence over millenniums of time!
In fact, just as we see separate and distinct ‘kinds’ of living creatures today; mammals; birds; fish; and insects; all of which appear ‘suddenly’ in the fossil records, the very same was true of the dinosaurs. Just as with the dinosaur age, there remains not just one ‘missing-link’ but virtually millions of ‘missing-links’ that would have to have occurred in order to support the idea of evolution. In short the evidence of that kind of process is completely absent.
But I digress from the point of this blog, so allow me to specify it; not only does the existence of dinosaur’s in no way support the pseudo scientific theory of evolution, neither does it support the idea of ‘simultaneous’ existence of ‘modern man’- no matter how stretched and fractured that theory has become since Chuck Darwin introduced it.
The distinct and well-defined Dinosaur Age is dated as having occurred literally millions of years, now estimated at the earliest to be about 60 million years, ‘before’ the very sudden appearance of bones of so-called ‘modern man’. Of that there is little or no dispute at all.
This means there has never been, and never can be, any genuine connection between the dinosaur age and humankind, no matter how much that idea has been imagined.
That gap simply cannot be filled by the fossil record or by any other means, Its just that simple.
To summarize; there is simply no support for a connection between dinosaurs and mankind by evolution or otherwise! While there is no denying the reasons ‘why’ dinosaurs were created has yet to be understood, the answer may actually be more obvious than not when you consider the vast beneficial resources of planet earth that may be the result of their existence, but that is speculation only.
One thing for sure; the appearance of both dinosaurs, and ‘modern’ man, was very purposeful, even though well separated in time, in other words neither of these events were accidental!
Its my hope this post might at least assuage the mythical ideas presented for public consumption by the entertainment media, such as ‘cave-men’ and such like.
For a very thorough scientific analysis of ‘Evolution vs Creation‘ please visit this post!
During several years of flying experience, I had the opportunity to explore a number of private airstrips in the Northwest. One of these was located on a privately owned island only a few miles from my home airstrip on Southern Vancouver Island, just across the border in Washington State.
To go there required a preliminary landing at Friday Harbor on San Juan Island to clear U.S. Customs first. Then, with the invitation of a local Victoria pilot, it was on to ‘Spieden Island’, a three mile long 550 acre ridge-backed island, reportedly once owned by John Wayne. It’s just North of much larger San Juan Island. At the time, a short and a-la-naturale central airstrip greeted us.
It may not have required exceptional piloting skill to land there, but it wasn’t exactly a ‘piece of cake’ either. Up-hill and rocky, with an approach through the trees, it was nevertheless very worthwhile.
The first time I went there I was solo in my plane, having followed the aforementioned guide in his airplane, and he introduced me to the caretakers, a Mormon couple, who were very friendly. This was in the ‘70’s so I have no idea what has transpired since that time, although I heard the business idea wasn’t a success. (more details can be found here: http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19940619&slug=1916258)
At the time however, they were employed by investors that had envisioned the entire Island as an elite African hunting game reserve for celebrity clients! In fact they had actually imported African game animals, including gazelle’s, giraffes, and even a tiger!
I was given a courteous tour of the island, in an African safari style zebra-stripped open jeep mind you. I did not see any giraffe or tigers, (evidently poachers stole some of them), but there were many gazelle sized deer who seemed to thrive there, not least because of the man-made shelters provided for them. There was also a recently constructed massive African style hunting lodge built from timbers logged on the Island, with a huge floor to ceiling stone fireplace at one end and private rooms off the main lodge room.
Later, back on the Saanich Peninsula near Victoria, I was told by some local residents on the higher hills that they had seen giraffe and other animals on Spieden Island with and without binoculars. This was just one example of many enjoyable flying experiences out of the Butler-Howroyd airstrip on the Saanich peninsula on Vancouver Island, which is sadly no longer in existence.
Its said we should “get a life”. Given our indulgence in ‘gadgets’, that often means “buy new batteries”!
Few products in common use today are more harmful to the environment than batteries. It doesn’t matter if they are ‘A’, ‘C”, ‘D’, ‘double A’, triple ‘A’, or you name it.
In fact the U.S. alone uses about three billion batteries annually, averaging about 32 per family or ten per person, not counting those little ‘button’ batteries in watches etc.
Batteries contain heavy metals such as mercury, lead, cadmium, and nickel, which can and do contaminate the environment. If they’re burned, some metals are released in the air and fall as ash. In landfills they leach into the ground and contaminate water with lead and acid. Dry cell batteries contribute about 88 percent of the total mercury and 50 percent of the cadmium in the municipal solid waste streams.
It might even exceed the damage of major oil spills, its that bad. But what is the point of this blog, besides mentioning yet another area of human folly?
Well, the least we can do besides properly disposing of old batteries, is to personally recycle them. What I mean by that is ‘re-use’ them.
Yes indeed I’ve found that its quite possible to extend the life of your average pair of household dry cell batteries, with no effort required mind you. “What?”, you say, “how can this be so?!”
I’ve found that by simply bagging up those old remote control, flashlight, and so many other device, batteries, over-time they will indeed recover sufficiently to make them quite re-useable again.
How long it will take depends on prior use, but after a good number of weeks or months its surprising how many recover a significant amount of their original charge, I’ve found.
Ironically my discovery was made simply because I hated the idea of throwing them into the garbage as had often been the case before, (shame on me, and probably you also). So I began hoarding them in a zip-lock baggy hoping for some enlightened recycler to come to the rescue.
After bagging batteries up for many moons, like several years worth, I decided to give them another go-around in my remote controls and other gadgets. To my delight and surprise I found that many of them, perhaps as much as 66% were very much good-to-go again. And I don’t just mean for a few days either, some even seem to last nearly as long as brand new ones!
So the moral of this story is; if you can’t find the correct recycler, and you’re a little on the ‘cheapskate’ side like me, bag those little beggars up, stuff them away where you will eventually find them again, and you will be somewhat of a blessing to that long-suffering friend of yours and mine… the ‘environment’.
