We are the environment, everything else is simply in the way.

This isn't directed at anyone in particular, but I'm really sick of the way that some people act like humans are some disgusting plague and the world would be better off if we just vanished. Yes, we need to have more respect for the consequences of our actions, but let's not be ridiculous. Our advances in communication and science have made it possible to live a life where we don't need to worry about mere survival, and can instead focus on learning, building, interacting with each other, and whatever makes us happy. If that is not the most impressive example of evolution, then I don't know what is. And if we were gone, eventually something else would fill the same role. It is inevitable that the most advanced species will eventually exploit all other forms of life and resources of the planet to allow its own advancement. Being conscious of this, it is our job to find sustainable ways to continue the advancement of humanity.

Greed is what's holding back progress on renewable energy.

THANK YOU!

You have no idea how my lit. professor keeps banging that notion over and over again with the books we're reading now. We're apparently nothing more than disgusting apes with delusions of grandeur, and niceness is just a facade we put up, because we're always looking for ways to one-up each other. Yes, even that kind old lady is a selfish little turd that wants to rob you of everything you own.

We make mistakes, but eventually we learn from them. Look at how much progress we've gotten from 1913 to now. Here's to another century of learning and progress. Let's hope we can learn from our mistakes now and move onward.

EDIT: Yes, we need to respect the Earth, just like you said. Before we can even think about living on other worlds, we need to learn to handle our world with better care, because Earth's the only home we've got right now. But we learn, and even if it takes a hundred years to figure it out, we'll get there.

There is such a thing as the http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/16/worlds-first-vertical-for_n_1097867.html. It's useful for reducing pollution levels in a city, or boosting oxygen levels in an area where they need more oxygen. This is the same technology that's supposed to keep us alive when we leave the Earth, and go to another planet someday.

Yes, I've known about this idea for years. It would be nice if someone could get a move on and actually build one of these things and demonstrate that it's practical. We should have been greening our cities in a big way decades ago.

As you've probably gathered from my posts so far, I think it's likely too little and too late.