OUR earth planet has been in existence for over four and a half billion years, 4,500,000,000, and during that time change has taken place remarkably slowly, as continents formed, and the solar input increased. This led to the formation of very basic life forms well over three billion years ago.

However our species began the industrial revolution no more than 400 years ago, and the impact has been rapid, world wide and highly destructive, as we have introduced the elements of self interest and greed into a system that was always trying to eliminate extremes.

The natural passage of time has always showed a tendency to level things out rather than tolerate and extend peaks and troughs. Thus hot temperatures have cooled down, and cold ones heated up, and the same has been the case with seas.

Water has always flowed to the lowest point, and doesn’t tolerate peak values, and the same has been the case with our mountainous landscapes. High mountains are worn down, and plains build up though only over a remarkable time scale as new rocks are formed.

Successful mature landscapes are stable environments, responding very slowly to changes in climate and the impact of living creatures. The latter depend on local food sources, often each other, and they aren’t greedy, as cat owners well know.

The hundreds of thousands of living life forms depend on their immediate environment and their numbers only changed slowly, or did so until we arrived with our political and economic systems manipulating the natural world in our own selfish, and often national interest.

Because of medical advances the world population rose from 1.5 billion in 1900 to 6 billion in 2000, increasing four times in just a century, and it will be eight billion in 2024, in just five more years.

Our planet has never seen such an impact before with one species taking over and glorifying wealth and unlimited travel, often in large cars and by air. The impact, of course, is climate destroying carbon dioxide production.

Your grandchildren don’t need it.