Message no. 875[Branch from no. 837] Posted by Thomas Culhane (1311520071) on
Dawn you have once again introduced some very very interested heuristic concepts into the discussion. The most valuable of them, in my view, is your recognition of the concept of RATE. As you point out, it matters very very much HOW FAST or HOW SLOW we are able to proceed with certain processes. When you ask, "How fast can we expect to recycle waste? How fast will plants and animals grow to feed the swarms?" you are hitting upon the most important issue in environmental science -- obviously if we had infinite time our wastes would degrade to safe levels, and our resources would regenerate. The problem with overpopulation is primarily a rate problem -- relative to the speed at which biological and geological processes can occur, we are overburdening the ecosystem and our own nervous systems. Whether the waste is physical or the burden is emotional, overpopulation interferes with our ability to process the negative stimuli and find balance again.
If we think "rate or reaction" everytime we percieve a problem, and try to figure out how to solve the problem within the time and energy budget constraints imposed on us, we may see solutions more clearly.
Thanks for bringing the concept of rate into all of this!
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