text: Sea. Navisko.7 Earth 203 YTR 3.50021 (Extra Credit: May 28th 3004) Note: Per assignment requirement Earth units used. Humans have been on Earth for about 2 million years. They have lived through three separate extinction events and survived all of them. However, in each event their numbers are reduced drastically, and they do not maintain a bridge of knowledge between the periods. In the current period, they believe their existence is about 200,000 years old. They agree on this number given the information they've found buried in the shallows of Earth's surface. Earth is currently experiencing an extinction event. As recently as 60 years ago, there were about 11 billion humans on the planet, that number is now down to a few hundred thousand. It will likely contract further in the coming millennia. The current estimates are a stable population of about 80 thousand humans spread across the globe with no clusters no larger than a few hundred. How did humans see such a drastic reduction in population in such a short time? There are many factors to this, but the underlying cause was ignorance. Humans saw themselves as disconnected individuals rather than parts of a larger human body. Their choices were limited to how they would be individually impacted. They rarely considered the impact beyond their own lifetime. Though humans had developed the technology to eliminate the need for wealth disparity, they went in the opposite direction. They used the technology to further the gap between the few and the many. This was not done by mistake, but as a coordinated effort by those few who wanted to keep everything for themselves. What's remarkable is that it worked. It's well documented that the only way for the few to rule the many is for the many to adopt the belief system of the few. The view is that everyone is separate from each other. People can work together, but they are fundamentally different. If the many adopt this view, then they become divided and ineffective. The few create arbitrary lines and divide the many into parts, telling them that their experience is the only true one. The many are told the others are responsible for their misery. This lie works because This type of division allows for the few to do as they please, and in the case of humans, the few wanted to separate themselves more. The problem is the few failed to see the greater human body, much less the greater Earth body. That larger body was neglected, decaying, and rotting until it finally toppled over. Once it was known that Earth was finite, the water shortage should have been easily preventable. The evidence of the impending danger was evident at least 100 years prior to the tipping point. Human society was in such poor health, that even when some of them spoke of the dire situation, they were ignored. There are arguments to be made that if humans had decided to focus on water responsibility, they could have significantly reduced their chances of destruction. Afterall, their planet is covered in water, though most of it is high in minerals that humans can't consume. They developed technology to remove the minerals, making the water safe for consumption. Still, with their chosen system of self-focus, it's no surprise that these projects were not widely implemented. Even if they'd solved the water problem, they still had a major pollution issue which would have kept them on the same course. Human bodies require a constant replenishment of air. Despite this being evident in every human, they did not take care to keep their air optimal for health. As with water, we saw the few prioritizing themselves over the larger human life. Lead is a neurotoxin. It can cause irreparable harm especially in the young. However, some humans were so desperate to be individuals that they lied to each other about the harms of exposure, even though the dangers had been known 2000 years prior. There are countless examples of a few humans deciding they are more important than others and willingly causing them harm. Even without the toxins, pollution was still a problem. Humans developed many one-time use items which would take thousands of years to decay into useable matter. These items would be placed in landfills where humans buried unwanted items in the dirt. It doesn't take a rocket scientist (extra credit, culture; Human humor), to know that the math doesn't quite work. If something takes a day to use and 30,000 days to become useable material again, then that’s a problem. Again, this demonstrates their fatal flaw; they couldn't see past themselves. Even without the pollution, humans were consistently engaged in violence and resource competition. They would routinely murder each other to get more than they needed. They would also watch others die so that they could live instead of seeing others' lives as being as valuable as their own. While a few typically benefitted from wars, the many suffered. Still, the many would be the ones killing and fighting despite being the ones to suffer most. It feels like beating a dead horse but, this is the result of humans seeing themselves as different from one another. In truth, humans are fundamentally the same. Their differences are the product of environmental factors. If they recognized this, they would have been able to avoid catastrophe. After all, that is the understanding that has been foundational to our longevity. We know that helping each other benefits everyone. There are no downsides to seeing each other as part of the larger body. In that body, every part is equally valued. The problems arise when one part thinks it’s more valuable than another. &#x200B; Extra Credit: Possible Future Given that humans have already grown past the population capacity twice, it doesn't seem likely that they'll reach the next stage of evolution. This is unfortunate as Earth is truly a remarkable planet. Maybe it's blind desire more than fact-based, but I still think they have a chance. The number of people waking up to the problems was rapidly increasing prior to the tipping point. The odds are good that the survivors will accept our message and believe us when we explain their intended path of evolution. If the humans understand that we can only provide the means and it's up to them to do the work, then their odds will dramatically increase. Personal Note: Professor! I got a job on the re-stocking crew! I'm going to be one of the animal caretakers (Woolly Mammoths!!!) and will get to meet some real humans! My heart hurts for them, I just want to hug each one and tell them that they are loved. I hope they make it this time.