The End of the World
In my whimsical youth, I used to devise means of inflicting the death penalty that were unusual. Inspired by "death by chocolate," I thought that "death by lung cancer" was an interesting idea. Convicted criminals would be forced to smoke 10 packs of cigarettes per day. At three minutes per cigarette, they would spend ten hours a day chain smoking to fulfill their "quota." I assumed that the lung cancer would start within a few short years, and would have claimed their lives within 15 years, or so. That's about how long it takes now to execute a condemned person. Another idea I had was "death by melanoma." It was the same idea, only a different mechanism. Sunburn them repeatedly, until it develops into malignant melanoma. This was clearly an ironic exercise to point out the absurdity of the death penalty.
Well, it seems that the universe is much more ironic than I had ever dreamed. We are using more water than can be replenished. We are cultivating more land than ecosytems can tolerate. We are warming the oceans, transporting invasive species to ecosystems where they have no natural predators (and thus no checks on their growth). We waste EVERYTHING. Now it is catching up to us. The article linked below reports on a recent collaboration among 1,360 scientists, who conclude that we have already depleted two thirds of the planet's "natural resources." We have over-fished, over harvested and under-planned ourselves into a corner. If all the polar ice caps melt, everyone just moves to higher ground. If the days are warmer, just buy a bigger air conditioner. But what if the bees die from the heat, and there is no way to polinate our food crops? (This happened in The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver.) What if the gulf stream that feeds the fish in the North Atlantic and keeps western Europe habitable ceases? What then, motherfuckers? We all die, and the rest of the planet is left in ruins. Nice legacy, gang.
All is not lost. We should be optimistic that so many people are noticing this, now. There is much to be done, though, if disaster is to be averted. Now is the time to start. It's time to get apoplectic about the right things.
Check out the link to the Guardian U.K.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/science/story/0,12996,1447921,00.html
posted by schloctor at
1:37 PM
2 Comments:
I like this idea of "death by lung cancer" 1200 people die a day from tobacco and tobacco related diseases; it was probably their free will to smoke or be exposed to second hand smoke. If we enforced smoking to people that deserve the death penalty they would evenually die, to what they deserve and it would be socially acceptable. So in the amount of time it will take to make this act of putting to someone to the death penalty they will have already have a disease and be suffering. It would all work out.
Bridget
By
Bridget, at 7:15 PM
Bridget, I'm glad you like the idea and decided to post. I hope you realize, though, that I was being ironic. In fact, I think the death penalty is barbaric and unjustiable in a so-called civilized society. My point was about how we are all killing ourselves by going about our daily lives, polluting the environment. Why do you think that those who have gotten the death penalty deserve to die a painful death?
By
schloctor, at 8:16 PM
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