tabular_rasa | Writer's Block: Who wants to live forever?

[Error: unknown template qotd]

No, I don't. I'd be up for extending my youth and health, or extending my youth and health in addition to another 50 or 100 years of life, but I do not want to live forever. There are a lot of things to see, people to meet, and interesting changes to see unfold in the world, but I think I will be satisfied with seeing but 100 years' worth. The people who are centenarians now have seen some amazing things come about in their lifetimes-- electricity, telephones, cars, air travel, radios, televisions, vast changes in civil and human rights-- and stand on the cusp of a great many more to come, but you get the impression meeting most of them that much of it has ceased to be exciting long ago. Technology and culture may change, but ultimately there is nothing new under the sun: love, death, war, peace, the endless cycles of seasons and lifetimes.

And I believe humans even come to grow tired of their own minds. The human mind is only meant to be conscious in this state for so long; it becomes not only bored but exhausted. No matter how much a child wants to stay up and play, he eventually grows tired and succumbs to sweet sleep. Whether one wakes up a new soul of renewed energy, journeys to an alternate world, or merely drifts off to permanent, peaceful sleep, he cannot stay in his present state forever.

And because I didn't do it earlier:

[Error: unknown template qotd]

I'm positive the temperature of the earth is rising, and I'm positive that it is affecting weather and climate worldwide. I won't deny it may have something to do with the natural warming and cooling cycles of the earth, but I think it has something to do with humans as well.

I am not a green activist nor the most eco-friendly person you will ever met, but I do think people owe it to the planet, our fellow earth-dwelling creatures, future generations, and ourselves to make efforts to limit the negative effect we have on the environment. For me, this means a lot of small things: public transportation and my bike (and it may be hella hard if I end up in LA, but I hope to continue biking for close distances like the grocery store or bank), eco bags for the grocery store and reusable tupperware for lunches and food storage, recycling, and trying to be efficient about electricity, gas, and water use by turning things off when I'm not using them and choosing efficient methods like the cold cycle on my laundry machine and air-drying my clothes. These things are not difficult. When the time comes to purchase a home and make long-term investments in it, I'll definitely be looking into green options, not merely for their sustainability but the money I will save over time.

This is the green lifestyle I am in favor of. I don't think we should drop all our progress and go back to living like cavemen and deny ourselves comfort and modern amenities for the sake of environmentalism. (I mean, I would probably cut you and spit in the wound if you asked me to live one more year without proper indoor climate control and "just bundle up!"). I have full faith that we can create affordable green technology that will not only take the place of less eco-friendly amenities but do even better, and I'm excited that so many organizations are on-board with this because that means progress will only unfold faster. I'm optimistic that we will see a day soon when it is more financially viable to buy and fuel a hybrid car than a conventional car and the gas to fill it, cheaper to heat a home by geothermal, solar, or perhaps fusion energy, and more convenient to reuse and recycle than throw out and buy again.