It’s a feeling I’ve had for a long time now….maybe ten years or so? I don’t know how or why I came by it, just that it was there.

OK, here it is. Nothing brain bursting but…….

Man is doomed! This planet will screw itself up before too long and I can’t say I’m that concerned by it? Not really. Not at all, in fact. I mean, for one thing, I’ll be long gone. In fact everyone I know, or will EVER know, will be long gone too. Most of the animals and plant life on this beautiful planet will be gone, the water, air and soil polluted and, virtually, everything just….dead!

To many that would seem a sad a negative thing to say, but I just don’t see it that way at all? Rather I kinda see it in a positive way.

Am I mad? I don’t think so. Am I misinformed? Possibly. Am I mistaken? Who the hell can tell?

Why then am I not worried about it? Why indeed? Well, I’d have to say that I’m not worried because I have faith in the planet itself. I mean I could be wrong here, but I just don’t think that we can actually screw the planet up enough to kill it completely? That some time down the future – no matter how much the planet is sick and hurting – that life will go on and thrive, just as it has done for many millions of years.

I mean 65 million years ago a giant meteorite hit the Earth in the gulf of Mexico and 95% of all life on the planet was wiped out – but it came back again! Of course it was all different – different plants and wildlife – but it still came back.

Obviously it would be a shame to lose everything that mankind has achieved…….but then again if we go ahead and destroy the planet what have we really achieved? We’ve been very negligent in our ways – everyone knows that. Maybe it’s time for another dominant life form to rule the planet? After all most life forms on Earth only live for around a million years or so, and guess how long we’ve been around? Yup! A million years! The dinosaurs were around for a long long time of course but, as far as individual species were concerned, each type only lived for around a million years or so. Who’s to say we won’t go the same way?

Am I delusional in my thinking? I don’t know? I do take some comfort in thinking about this the way I do. When I see the havoc that we as a race inflict on the planet – cutting down the forests, overfishing the sea, polluting the air etc. I really don’t get that bothered about it anymore.

That’s not to say that I don’t care about it. On the contrary I think it’s atrocious and we should try and stop these things wherever possible! More people need to be made aware of these sorts of things and how they might impact on them. You’ve really gotta bring it home to people in a simple way for them to understand fully what the situation is.

For instance, off the north-eastern coast of Scotland there is a overfishing problem. The fishermen there have been given a reduced quota on what they can legally fish. This is causing hardship in the area but that’s how it has to be. There is a move by the fishing cooperative there to continue fishing at pre-quota levels, but the truth of the matter is that if they continue to do that then there will only be enough fish in the area for another five years. Five years! These people are throwing away the futures of their kids AND themselves for five years of fishing at the current levels. Why? Why are they doing this? Do they think that in five years time there’ll be some sort of “fish explosion” and everything will be fine again? As it is they’ve been complaining about the lack of diversity and the size of the fish they’re catching? Do they think it’s a never-ending supply of fish in the sea around them? I find it weird how some people are so narrow minded or in denial about things such as this.

For many years now I’ve been a woodworker and I’ve used lots of different and exotic timbers. Not a lot of it, mind you, but still. Wood is good. It’s a renewable resource. The people controlling the industry aren’t quite so good about it unfortunately. Well, most of them at least. They’re too caught up in quick profits and not nearly as concerned with longevity and sustainability. This is sad because wood is one of the few natural resources that are renewable and sustainable, but the timber industry – in most countries – is managed very poorly. So many of the things that should be done, aren’t being done at all. It’s getting better in some ways, but worse in others. If the Spanish and English traders of four centuries ago had started replanting Mahogany and kept up the practice over the years then we’d still have plenty of it today. Nope, in those days it was cut it down and move on. That’s just one industry of course. One that I have a great deal of knowledge on.

In the end though I just think to myself “Well, when we’re all gone the Earth can start afresh” and that makes me feel better about everything. A little simplistic perhaps, but there ya go!