Our wonderful world
Our wonderful world is changing rapidly. I think we can all agree about that. We seem to be sharply divided over whether the changes are natural, man-made, or simply the will of God; we disagree even on whether the changes are good or bad.
The industrial revolution and its reliance on fossil fuels has certainly changed our wonderful world. Some will view this revolution as the springboard to fabulous cities and amazing machines, or it may be viewed as a system of exploitation of resources for an exclusive portion of the world population.
One of the foremost problems facing all of us is climate change (global warming). If we view this problem through the lenses of science and philosophy it becomes inescapable that human’s use of fossil fuels is contributing to the dramatic increase of global temperatures and natural disasters all around the world.
I do not want to see our wonderful world go up in flames with famine, mass extinction, displaced billions of refugees, and flooded or destroyed cities.
We have existed as civilized humans for hundreds of thousands of years and have relied on fossil fuels for only about the last 160 years. We now have the science and technology to support our incredibly comfy existence without the continued use of fossil fuels.
Take a long view of our wonderful world. Do we wish it to continue? Or throw it away for a few dwindling jobs and the enrichment of the fossil fuel companies?
David Thomas Roberts, Bellefonte
This story was originally published January 16, 2018 at 10:55 PM with the headline "Our wonderful world."