Do you feel man is superior over all other species?

Of course you do.

Our species has been to the moon and back!

How do we compare with other species?

Darwin’s work proved that humans evolved from monkeys.

The major difference between us is brain size, in other words, intellect.

Humans are good at inventing things and being creative.

How smart are we?

Was creating the atomic bomb really such a good idea?

Evidence is that humans are to blame for global warming, melting ice caps and rising sea levels, plus pollution.

Which means millions of people and other species could perish.

ARE WE SO CLEVER AFTER ALL?

Is man or nature best for looking after balancing life support systems on our planet?

This is the Great Debate.

Man’s dominion was backed up by the inventing of guns and gunpowder.

Then came transport linking up continents using ships to transport goods.

Man was doing great things!

Then in 1800 something happened–POPULATION EXPLOSION!!!

Despite wars, disease and natural disasters, the world’s population rose to one billion people!

What did Thomas Malthus, the economist, say about this?

He predicted disaster!

With the population explosion there would NOT be enough food to sustain human life.

Nature would have to take over producing disease, famine and starvation until balance was restored.

This shocked the World!

What happened next, how did the World respond?

Malthus’s predictions became a challenge to the creative minds of Europe and America to make sure they didn’t come true and man could break free from Nature’s limitations.

So what did the minds of the World come up with?

Britain found coal under the ground to replace wood burning.

BUT the World still relied on wind and water power.

In other words, energy came directly from natural processes. Nature was still king!

Then steam was perfected with the steam engine. This machine didn’t rely on the earth’s natural forces.

The steam engine could pull a wagon without the help of gravity, wind or water.

All it needed was the raw materials of the earth itself, such as coal, oil and gas.

By burning coal in an oxygenated atmosphere water could be heated in a high pressure container to produce an independent source of power.

Then the railroads were built.

After steam power came electricity.

Then mass production of products in factories followed.

Now man and nature were in competition for the earth’s finite resources.

Nature needed them for sustaining habitats and species.

Man needed them to keep the machines going to maintain a lifestyle for the people.

Man made materials, such as rubber and plastics, were on the rise.

So these advances were made without regard for nature or other forms of life.

What problems did all this progress create?

The man made materials have NO place or function in the natural eco systems.

Nature’s products degrade and decay over time.

But man’s products create waste and clog up the earth’s environment.

What has this to do with population increase?

Man’s manipulation of nature has led to population boom.

Better farming methods produce more food.

Better health and hygiene (vaccinations and drugs).

Motorized power and insecticides help the boom.

Today the population grows by approximately 211,000 everyday!!!

What will the future bring?

In the next 30 years the earth’s population is expected to be almost 10 billion!

Right now there is enough food grown to feed 10 billion people.

BUT the food is NOT evenly distributed, that’s why the Third World countries are hungry.

The other problem is food waste.

Most developing countries don’t have refrigerated warehouses and trucks.

So lots of food spoils fast.

What are the negative effects of population growth?

More infrastructure is needed in developing countries.

Undernurishment do to lack of food, which lowers productivity and poverty emerges.

Poverty breeds large numbers of children which increases poverty further–a vicious cycle.

The the overall consequence of population growth is to lower standards of living.

In conclusion:

Man’s intervention stopped Nature from having her way and keeping things under control!