waiting for the great destruction...

Approximately 250Mya, life on earth nearly ended. Though perhaps a contributing factor, most scientist agree that this crash was not caused by a bolide impact. In fact, life has been nearly wiped-out mulitple times by geo-environmental changes (see the "snowball earth" theory). But I digress, the Permian Mass Extinction began in Siberia. Volcanic activity pumped billions of kilograms of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere (as a side note, this volcanic activity was most likely the eruption of a cauldron volcano, similar to the one under Yellowstone, which is continuing to grow... moving closer and closer to an eruption, the likes of which could only be described as Biblical--and that would be the thoughts of an observer in NYC where God would be raining down fire and brimstone on the sinners and econorats that scurry up and down Wall Street, never mind what would happen to the politicks in DC). This increase in atmospheric CO2 led, as greenhouse gases (GHG's) tend to do, to a rise in earth's overall temperature. As tends to be the case for systems, this change triggered further effects. Frozen in the bottom of the ocean were vast quantities of methane, safely separate from the atmosphere, so long as it was frozen. An oceanic rise of just 4 degrees Centigrade triggered the sublimation of the methane, which is a far more efficient GHG than CO2. From here, the effects ran their course. This extinction event wiped out nearly 96% of all life, approximately 95% of marine life and some 60% of land life.

Scientists are now reporting that thawing Siberian permafrost is releasing methane into the atmosphere.

And still, we cannot curb our appetite for petroleum. This is what our entire culture is founded on. And still, we are moving toward peak oil production and the end of cheap oil. We are actively seeking our own demise.

Order and balance will establish itself, but we do not know what the new homeostasis will be. Human history has witnessed the rise and fall of numerous empires, and has continued. This is the best case scenario. With any luck, the US and the Capitalist (because, yes, there is such a group, organized under various corporate logos, "societies," and treaties) will recognize that their world-view rest on a dangerous fallacy and decide to simply step down. This, however, is mostly a non-likelihood; and their inevitable fall will have ripples because we do live in, and as part of, a system.

In order to understand just what we face, we must accept the other possibility. But in this too, there is hope. The earth has survived numerous mass extinctions. Life has survived. And life will survive us, eventually. It will grow in complexity and become intelligent. And just as we have discovered the tragedies before us, something will discover our tragedy. They will be gifted with the understanding that they can be their own destruction. They will not look to dominate the earth and sky trying to prevent extraterrestrial shots in the dark (which may or may not have ended the reign of the dinosaurs), because ours will be the top layer.

And with head phones on, I'll tune out the world...
waiting for the lights to change
the raindrops skip the wiper blades
buildings fall from the sky in panes
and it carries me down
if you gave me a chance to be sincere
do you think they'd let me outta here
gonna walk out in the traffic
if I promise not to make a sound
and the look upon your face
would be chiseled there forever
as the glass came through the windshield
and the car lifted from the ground
maybe at my funeral
they'll say I found the answer
they'll say I had it coming
they'll say I was just sitting around
waiting for the great destruction I am
waiting for Holden Caulfield to call
waiting for the great destruction I am
waiting for the sky
the sky
to open up
make me feel small
like a bird in bad weather
these engines won't stall
time enough to watch the free world fall
under the black and blue handle of
it will only take a saw
waiting for the lights to change
the lies they learn to rearrange
the truth they hold to exchange
and it carries me down
second hand to the greater fear
these words of promise disappear
so I wrote them down to make it appear
but nothing is what I found
but if it was really all that easy
don't you think I'd have given up by now
and if the questions had an answer
they wouldn't be believable out loud
and you know that I would tell you
even if it sounded like a lie
funny thing about the truth is that
no-one warned us to wonder why
and I will leave the car door open
as a symbol of my freedom
like the riddles of a dead man
who didn't always need them
and in the end they'll say I'm crazy
'cause I never give a reason
he always talked about tomorrow as if
he were always leaving
and I am waiting for the great destruction
waiting for Holden Caulfield to call
waiting for the great destruction
I am waiting for the sky
the sky to fall
--Matthew Good

But still mark your callenders and call Rummy and tell him you'll be there with boots and a cowboy hat on to show your support for the troops on September 11th.