One of the biggest subjects that humans talk about is our survival on this planet. Most people believe the planet is in jeopardy. Look at all of the things that are happening on the planet that we started. We are pumping Carbon monoxide into the atmosphere from vehicles, pumping chlorofluorocarbons into the atmosphere which causes ozone depletion, nuclear power plants that could cause radiation hazards, sewage dumpings in the waters and oceans, landfills of trash buried in the ground, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch which is basically a small island made from trash that got trapped in the currents and built up in a spot of the Pacific Ocean, not to mention huge oil spills like the Exxon Valdez oil spill which is considered one of the worst human caused environmental disasters in history. However, despite all that I have listed here, we do not need to worry about the planet. The planet is fine.
The planet is fine?
Planet Earth
Compared to us, the planet is doing great. It has been around for more than 4.5 billion years, way longer than we have. Life has been on the planet for a long time too, about 3.8 billion years. First bacteria came, multicelled organisms appeared in the seas and on land. Ages of amphibians, reptiles, and mammals came and went over millions of years. Great chapters beginning and ending. All of this happening while mountain ranges are created and destroyed, asteroids impact the surface of the planet, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, sea levels rising and falling, continents drifting, the magnetic reversal of the poles, solar flares, ice ages, endless constant and violent change. Even today, the greatest geographical feature on the planet comes from two tectonic plates colliding, buckling to make the Himalayan mountain range over millions of years. The planet had survived all of that in its time, and it will certainly survive us.
What if something bad does happen?
Nuclear Explosion
What if something catastrophic happened because of something humans did? What if a radiation accident happened? One so big that temperatures all over the planet rose, making it inhospitable for plants and animals, killing them all. Life wouldn't be completely die out. Some would survive where the planet is coolest, frozen in the arctic, at the deepest depths of the ocean, underground. After the planet eventually cools back down and no more radiation is present, life would spread over the planet again. The process of evolution would continue as usual. It would take billions of years for life to get to it's present variety, and of course it would be very different from the what it is now, but both the planet and life would survive our accident. Only us humans seem to think they wouldn't.
What about the Ozone Layer?
Antarctic Ozone Hole
The ozone layer depletion is slowing down because we actually did something to help stop it, but what were we afraid of? Without the Ozone Layer, more Ultraviolet Rays will come to the surface of the planet. Ultraviolet Rays are very powerful energy and they even promote mutation. Many forms of life will thrive with more UV radiation. The humans of the world are afraid of skin cancer, and are concerned for their survival as well as other species survival.. We are afraid that it could cause many species to die out. However, are you aware there have been other times where many species have died out? They are called extinctions. They seem to happen every 26 million years, with five of them being mass extinctions. Do you know about oxygen? It is necessary for life today, but around 3 billion years ago when the first plant cells produced oxygen as a waste product, it caused a crisis for all other life. Oxygen was poisonous to them. The amount of oxygen in the atmosphere went up to 21% percent. An atmosphere with pure poison in it. However, life incorporated it into the system. Life can take care of itself.
Conclusion
From the perspective of a human being, one hundred years is a long time. One hundred years ago, we didn't have cars, airplanes, or computers. However, to the Earth, a hundred years is nothing. A million years is nothing. The planet lives and breathes on a much larger scale. We cannot even imagine the slow and powerful rhythms of the planet, and we don't have the humility to try. We have been residents on this planet for the blink of an eye. If we were to be gone tomorrow, the Earth would not miss us. Now, I'm not saying we shouldn't take care of the enviornment, because we should. As long as we want to live on this planet, we have to clean up after ourselves so that future generations are not personally inconvenienced. However, the planet is not in jeopardy. We are in jeopardy. We haven't got the power to destroy the planet or to save it, but we might have the power to save ourselves.