History of Humanity

"How did the human condition of today come to be? We live in a world created by human energies and activities, in which "nature" is receding steadily. The cities in which most of us live are the results of human construction-out of concrete, asphalt, iron, glass, and bricks. Even the wooden elements of cities are cut and reshaped by human energy. Water is piped in or transported in bottles; we bring gasoline in tanks and natural gas by pipeline. We communicate by electronic telephones, televisions, and computers that are built in factories. Even the countryside depends heavily on human construction and creativity-while the wonders of nature are a pleasure to see, the rural world is charted and exploited by humanity. The crops on farmlands have been bred and protected by chemical and biological engineering. Our cattle, sheep, pigs, and chickens live and die under human control: these domesticated species are the majority of all the large and medium-sized animals. Even the insects and the bacteria fall increasingly under human control. Fishing has transformed the populations of oceans, while plastic waste materials mark the oceanic currents and shores. Of course, the Earth remains in its orbit so that the sun appears to rise and fall each day, yet even the seasons are changing"--