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O'Neil Poree

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Advocating Wilson's Principle (to protect long-continuing Human existence)

Edward O. Wilson, one of the great social psychologists of all time, proposed a clear "principle" to focus humanity on rationally attempting to protect continued human existence into a genuinely indefinite future. It is clearly stated in the final pages of his current book: "The Social Conquest of Earth". I also nominate that as the Book of the Year 2012!

IAs the present proposal, I will quote that concise idea:

"IF WE SAVE THE LIVING WORLD, WE WILL ALSO AUTOMATICALLY SAVE THE PHYSICAL WORLD, BECAUSE IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE THE FIRST WE MUST ALSO ACHIEVE THE SECOND."

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  • O'Neil Poree

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    Aug 6 2012: Wilson's Principle gains support from items like the book by Kathleen Dean Moore,

    "Moral Ground: Ethical Action for a Planet in Peril".


    We apparently need a lot more informing agencies which resonantly evoke strong spiritual feelings, as this book seems to do.
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    Derek Young 30+

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    Aug 5 2012: The best way to "protect long-continuing Human existence" is following some of the things I learned from environmental science:

    1) Protect the environment, so we have clean sustainable resources that won't deplete.

    2) Implement more programs towards planned parenting and protection plus prevention methods of stds.

    3) Preserve and nurse the limited habitats that have yet to be converted into living spaces for people or used to reap its resources from that area.

    4) Consume what is needed and not what is wanted, then store or protect the surplus.

    5) Spread awareness of pending issues that threaten human existence like pollution.

    Now some basic human logic:

    1) Be kind and spread the love.

    2) If you can't say anything constructive, then don't say anything at all.

    3) There is always more than one approach to any single problem, so analyze every detail on the issue.

    4) Lastly.....The people that are different from us are the people that we should try to get to know more, not to push and shun away.

    Peace. =)

  • John Allyn

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    Aug 2 2012: Personal emotional denial must be dealt with or the value structure which emerges no mater how logical will be biased toward death.
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      Eric Grovum

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      Aug 2 2012: The struggle of selfish greed vs. the foresight of the needs of our descendents. It seems to be a matter of realizing which human desires to value more: those which gratify our immediate desires or those which would truly provide the most good for the most beings now and in the future.

      • O'Neil Poree

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        Aug 3 2012: When our crops are all burning down or drying up, and our neighbors, hungrier even than we are at that time, pick up weapons to fight for what little we can scrounge, the priorities will come a lot closer to sorting themselves out. We can't do it now; mostly, it seems, because the powers that be are numb from the ears up, and will not listen to people like Wilson (and Hansen, and Martin Nowak) who know what is clearly upon us. Think, some of them even want to outlaw contraception: in a world with increasing population already? This is close to a variety of tribal insanity.

  • O'Neil Poree

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    Aug 1 2012: The living world is our own species and all the plant and animal species which account for our successful presence and continued healthy existence.
    The physical world is our entire planet Earth and its living constituency, which we are genuinely destroying with our behaviors and polluting byproducts.

  • O'Neil Poree

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    Aug 1 2012: In the book quoted Wilson presents the acronym HIPPO; this designates correcting present on-going HABITAT destruction; removing INVASIVE species (such as pythons in the Everglades);correcting POLLUTION, from oil spilled to climate-warming gases; controlling over-POPULATION, now and in future; and stoppIng OVERHARVESTING, including diverting foodstuffs to motor fuels.
    Elaborations of those initials are my own choice of examples.
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      Eric Grovum

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      Aug 2 2012: We will also have to stop pumping greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. How does that fit into HIPPO? Is it under pollution? I'm definitely going to have to read this book.

      • O'Neil Poree

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        Aug 3 2012: Eric,
        Climate warming gasses do generally come under Pollution, but our penchant for eating ruminants also contributes plentiful sources of one of the very worst: methane. Over-harvesting will help that situation when we wean ourselves from those meats, or else a much hotter world does it for us.If we don't fix it, that's just about certain, now.
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    Krisztián Pintér 200+

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    TED Translator
    Aug 1 2012: any details maybe? because the goal, namely to preserve humanity, seems to be the most widespread concept among humans. what is the proposal?
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    Debra Smith 200+

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    Aug 1 2012: O"Neil I consider this a spectacular kindness in alerting me to this book's existence and I thank you and I will try to find and devour it!
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    James Zhang 30+

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    Aug 1 2012: Hmm.. What would you define as the "Living World" and what would you define as the "Physical World?"
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