What A Mess

Since the advent of life on earth ions ago there have been several events that we can only classify as extinctions. Each time we have lost species including humans. Each time we have taken several hundred thousand years to recover.

The disappearance of many animals and plants at the hands of man in prehistoric, historic and modern times will eventually show up in the fossil record as mass extinctions. (from BBC article). Will there be humans to find these fossils? Will the next disappearance be total? Will we be so stupid?

What a mess to overcome, but humans are clever and it is just possible that with the Earth progress we have now achieved here and the potential for a colony planet in this huge universe of cosmic matter, it is just possible we can do it.

This blog note is no more than this person’s optimistic view of things to come. I hope that my wish for an outcome in favour of all life on earth turns out to be true.

PRAY FOR LIFE TO CONTINUE NOW

NB: Real AI? What about SOUL?

Beware Sci-Fi. Hullo AI

We all watch Sci-Fi. Short-cuts are taken to make a good story. Danger though because we come to believe in the short-cuts and we continue to think of what we see as truth.

We see Earth resources running out. When that happens we think “Oh well we’ll simply colonize space” Meanwhile we are a clever race, clever enough to reverse the ongoing rapid population increase. Clever enough to better use the sources we have. Clever enough to have a high standard of living, though not perhaps the same. Clever enough to stop creation of long and degrading wars. Clever enough to do these things in the time it will take to find a solution.

Colonizing Space Will be Hard. Will take perhaps a century to start.

To start with, successful life requires many kinds of creature and they each require to be nourished, they each carry in their frames all kinds of bugs & so on….

Meanwhile we have to scratch our heads and be clever humans. Humans as a race compose themselves of all types of individual, good bad etc. & since we have needed them all  in the past we will need them in the future.

We have to preserve life on earth for more centuries & not be the 6th. extinction

Perhaps we will make good use of  AI to help us.

Earth Day & AI for Human Good

On this two-year anniversary of the Paris climate accord, the world’s government, civic and business leaders are coming together in Paris to discuss one of the most important issues and opportunities of our time, climate change. While the experts’ warnings are dire, technology advances can help us better understand and address the environmental issues facing our planet.

Artificial intelligence may well be a game changer if we use AI so its features and capabilities are put to use by individuals and organizations around the world to improve real-world outcomes. There are few societal areas where AI can be more impactful than in helping address the urgent work needed to monitor, model and manage the earth’s natural systems.

See: AI for Earth

Much is talked about the possible evil effects of AI. Yes being the human race some will construct negative outcomes but time has shown that they will be combatted effectively by human good. There are many potential uses of AI that are positive for mankind.

April 22. Earth Day. Earth where Humans Live & Vow Good for Human Life.

World Wildlife

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) was the subject of an April Resident discussion led by Sherry of Recreation. Wildlife needs protecting against extinction as it contributes in so many ways to human life on earth. We want to help the WWF and even though we don’t have much to spare this lodge does.

Wherever one looks there are wilderness lands being used to build for humans and reducing the space formerly the habitat of wildlife but equally important is the haphazard provision by humans of food and inadvertent impact on wildlife of creatures becoming unable to find natural food on their own. Fortunately the WWF staff and volunteers know what to do.

We learned about wildlife and people of the world. A good discussion.

 

 

 

Education Today-We Care

We all want our grandchildren to do well in this changing world and it is really changing.

Gone are the days of our youth when the biggest plus to have was physical strength. Becoming less important in the working days of our children who learned control of engine powered machinery we have witnessed decline in the sole need for physical strength.

A Nobel Prize was won by Bob Dylan for the song “Times They Are A Changin”.

Advanced controls are & will more & more be used to control our machines. Our grandchildren will need broader & current new education to succeed the way we want.

Enter the era of Life STEM education. Let’s get our families to support it.

Life STEM I learned is “Life” & in my mind includes all ARTS which, no matter what the tongue is so important to understanding human living, & STEM which is just one of those, oh so popular, acronyms in this case meaning S (science), T (technology),  E  (engineering), M (math).

Discussions: Arctic, Cellphones.

There are all kinds of programmes that Recreation manages for Residents and I am not about detailing these here, but I will tell you a little of the discussion Ashley, of Recreation, ran the other day.

Part was based on the purchase in Canada of some underwater robots to be used beneath the ice in the Canadian Arctic Sea and manufactured in Vancouver. It was explained by a group Resident how important Arctic Canada security and sovereignty is to us.

See: Automatic Under Water Vehicles

The other part, and of great present and future importance here, is the cellphone. Fortunately Ashley has a recent model that she showed us and all it’s wonders. We heard that simpler older models can be purchased these days and for much less cost than when they first came to market.

A very good feature is that the same message, which can be texted rather than verbal, can be sent to several recipients by the touch of a single button and retrieved by a receiver later when it suits them.

A resident at the discussion explained that they send messages morning and evening to family members who can reply at their convenience or send group messages themselves.

Action from past Memories

When but a child aged three I first noticed and asked about the paintings on the living room wall of my grandparents home. Canada I was told was depicted and the furry large cattle-like animals, were buffalo. In the parlour book case was a book, complete with wood cuts titled “Settlers in Canada”. Being so young I didn’t spare a second thought.

Nowadays, settled in Canada myself since 1953, I can’t help thinking they had many years ago thought of moving here. They didn’t but I did along with my bride to be.

When I was seven my parents bought me an encyclopedia for children. There was a chapter describing the wonders of Canada. For me that was a clincher and I decided that when I grew older I would emigrate here. As you can discern I did, in fact spent my whole working life happily living and raising my family here.

My wife to be and I entered Canada at the end of 1953 determined that over time we would travel all this vast country from east coast to west coast and north/south too. We were lucky to be able to do just that.