If changing one's environment is a sign of success, then we as humans are incredibly successful. Pretty much every aspect of most people's environment was created or altered by humans. Let's run through an average person's day, who we'll call Person A.
Person A wakes up in his apartment, in a building made by humans in a city built by humans.
He showers with water from a tap, a system created and controlled by humans.
He eats cereal, which a processed food made from domesticated wheat in an industrial farm with pesticides. That farm has been made many times more productive by humans, with tools like machines that sow seeds, and pesticides that wipe out bugs.
After continuing to get ready, he drives to work in a car on a road. Both of those are completely human inventions. Humans have devised an invention to get them places quickly, along with a system and rules and a whole lot of paving. Where the pavement that Person A is driving on is used to be nature a few thousand years back. On the side of the roads, he sees some fields. It is one of the few elements that hasn't been created or altered by humans that he will see throughout the day.
I won't go through his whole day.
Along with all this human modification to the world what makes our lives easier and more pleasurable, come some downsides.
The car, which I mentioned earlier puts CO2 gas into the air which causes global warming. Humans have also contributed to the extinction of many animals.Some people could also argue humans were happier with a simpler, hunter/gatherer lifestyle without a mortgage to pay off or taxes to pay.
Person A wakes up in his apartment, in a building made by humans in a city built by humans.
He showers with water from a tap, a system created and controlled by humans.
He eats cereal, which a processed food made from domesticated wheat in an industrial farm with pesticides. That farm has been made many times more productive by humans, with tools like machines that sow seeds, and pesticides that wipe out bugs.
After continuing to get ready, he drives to work in a car on a road. Both of those are completely human inventions. Humans have devised an invention to get them places quickly, along with a system and rules and a whole lot of paving. Where the pavement that Person A is driving on is used to be nature a few thousand years back. On the side of the roads, he sees some fields. It is one of the few elements that hasn't been created or altered by humans that he will see throughout the day.
I won't go through his whole day.
Along with all this human modification to the world what makes our lives easier and more pleasurable, come some downsides.
The car, which I mentioned earlier puts CO2 gas into the air which causes global warming. Humans have also contributed to the extinction of many animals.Some people could also argue humans were happier with a simpler, hunter/gatherer lifestyle without a mortgage to pay off or taxes to pay.
ok, I really enjoyed your article. I thought that is was very clever to go through an average persons day(person a.) your introduction was also good and well thought out. However, I think thank you could have had a bit more of a conclusion and talked a little bit about HOW humans developed these things.
ReplyDelete