Sorry.
Couldn't finish watching. What a lot of beautifully artistic load of horse-pucky. The whole climate change (a phrase used only because "global warming" has become anathema) is an offshoot of environmentalism which is the new religion substitute. It's not even a matter of the earth vs. man's mind, rather it is troubling over trumped-up inconsequentialities.

I also reject the idea as arbitrary that when we shape nature for the betterment of our lives we necessarily shape our own destruction. What's wrong with cutting down trees when they are a resource that can be replenished? Also, when you suggest that we have foresight do you mean to invoke the law?

Nature is a hostile unfriendly environment to man, if unshaped by man.

But is nature more important than human beings? Human beings can modify their behavior to help nature, but can nature modify its behavior to help the human? The relationship proposed indicates that humans must yield to an inferior conciousness--one that does not think, but reacts to circumstances.

Good thoughts.

Thanks, that's nice. As you know, art is supposed to be about invoking thought. By some of these comments, thought is being generated. : )

Outstanding. Txs

I can only comment on one theme: "At some point the modern worshipers of Mother Earth decided that the way to deal with these tragedies is to revert to the past worship of earth as a deity and to appeal to its sensibilities hoping that human life would be spared some of this tragedy."

I just think it's both shallower and deeper than that. So very, very few of us can really think and imagine beyond our own lives, our little eye blink of reality. Most can't even think very well about next year, some just next month - and don't want to do the work necessary to learn how to. Those are the majority that are the subject of so much of the manipulation of others, anyone that can gain their attention through the manipulation of their emotions. Cry for the little puppy, weep for the cow so cruelly murdered to feed and cloth you, bleed for nature that supports you. Be frightened of a god or just wild nature, express and share your pain, hear the message from the wiser men, save the whales, then go on with your day to day life feeling better about yourself and your own future. Learn from that, that humans are the evil by daring to try to do more than the rest of nature. We're describing the actuality of all religions and all supernatural worship.

You speak eloquently of the importance of the 'mind' and 'imagination' of man - but the majority don't really have the use of their minds and have very little imagination. There have always existed a very few that realize that their minds can imagine and create, can as you say actually release mankind from the binds of nature's whimsy. It's a fact that though we might be born equally, we all progress to different levels or steps of consciousness in different time frames, and that those at equal development can relate well and comprehend what their peers and those still developing, experience and think of. But those that lag in development or stop at some level, can't even begin to imagine or dream of what the more developed or progressed, experience and think of.

But again most of those more developed or progressed, don't really want to imagine and create. They want to control and gain power for their lives. A few of them want to pass that on to their progeny as foundations and trusts and governments. But regardless of how much of that control and power they gain, they still can't really use or trust imagination and they fear, they're frightened. Rather than rely individually on their own creative and imaginative ability, they've manipulated the emotions of the mass and/or controlled those masses in a way to advance their own purposes, and some in doing that so assiduously, have even convinced themselves. So the manipulation of emotions and control increase, and increase. It is the actuality of human nature.

It's a long and arduous trek ahead, as it's always been for those that wish to free the human mind's imagination and creativity. How many, even on a site such as this still maintain that hold on their emotional life instead of that life of the mind?

I agree almost 100%. I'll only talk about the very tiny disagreement. If someone events something that will produce 1 trillion dollars of value but will trash a lake, it might be worthwhile to do it. We could measure how much value people get from the lake by looking at the cost of cabins near the lake and far from it. We could look at how much people spend int travel to get there and how much they forgo in earnings to be there. If it's less than $1 trillion, it might be logical to trash the lake. I am very cautious about such a decision, b/c I'd hate to see all the lakes trashed, the market price of the few nice lakes go up, and have them only available for the rich. My point is I'm against blanket rules that attempt to protect the environment at all costs. I'm in favor of things like cap and trade where you develop a market for the release or sequestration of pollutants.

Those most likely to trash the good are yelling the loudest man is bad. But you make some excellent points cg

Your question poses a contrived choice. Why does advancement need to be destructive? I am for man but you can't destroy your environment without destroying yourself. So let's be responsible and take care of our water supply, our food supply and the land from which our food comes from. I believe we can live a responsible productive modern life without killing our ecosystems. So while cutting down the South American forests benefits a small segment of humanity now.... But may hurt us in the long run.
Let's have the foresight to create now without hurting future generations of potential human intelligent creativity. You cannot separate nature from humanity .... We are part of nature.

I agree we should protect our environment. Science can show us the costs of our actions on the environment. Engineering can find ways to reduce those costs.

Science can also tell us about genetics and avian flu. Medicine can give us ways to use them responsibly.

I agree we are part of interconnected web of existence. That does not mean the same thing as nature = good. I consider that to be the naturalistic fallacy.

We agree on most points though-- nature is valuable, so let's not trash it.

lana, are you for the advancement of man? sounds like you would be super happy to send us back to the stone age but we'd be surrounded and overcome by healthy foliage

I can't make myself watch the videos. But I LOVE your prose. thanks for that tonight overman. reminds me of walt whitman
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174...