Re: OT:Way to go Al

In article <5nfk69Fi8vigU1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
"Alex W." <ingilt@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

"Miss Elaine Eos" <Misc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in
message
news:Misc-C1758E.14160014102007@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Why do we care what happens to the habitability of the
planet, once we're dead?"

because such self-destructiveness
threatens the survival strategy of your genes.

Until we get to the bottom of it, a lot of my responses will boil down
to "yeah, ...so?"

If you are a Christian or Jew, then you accept that the
Earth belongs to God and we are merely tenants (for example,
Psalm 24:10 makes an explicit claim of ownership). This
imposes a responsibility for good stewardship.

Yeah, I suspect that most people's view boils down to some variation on
faith-based-guilt, such as this.

(Not saying it's A Bad Thing, although I will say it's a bit odd...)

In commonsense terms, it makes sense to be careful, tidy and
low-impact because we cannot know that any selfish, wasteful
and polluting behaviour won't come back to bite us in the
arse in our old age.

Yeah, that's a good one, too. Like: what if I trash the planet then,
when I'm 80 yrs old, some smarty-pants scientist figures out how to let
me live to be 180? Nice goin'!

In terms of personal impact, we may be dead but our children
will not be. If you are at all concerned about the future
and wellbeing of your children and grandchildren, that
should include behaviour designed to reduce risk to them
along with passing on a material inheritance and the best
upbringing you are capable of.

Is that enough to be getting on with?

Sure, sort-of. I think a lot of people, when asked, will mention their
heirs. FWIW, *I'd* like to leave a nice planet for baby-Misc and any
grand-baby-Miscs that come along. But I'm not exactly sure why. I
mean, I'll be DEAD! On the surface, I can say "because I'm a nice guy,
and can't just bring myself to say '*** 'em'" -- but that's not really
a first-principle REASON, if you get my meaning.

<shrug> Maybe this is boring stuff to most; I find it interesting...

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