Humans have gone Ape shit

Humans have gone Ape-shit

Where did Humans come from?

1. The Earth is about 4500 million years old.
2. Geologically speaking, the vast history of the Earth is divided into five eras. The present era is the Caenozoic(or Cenozoic) Era which started about 70 million years ago. To put things into perspective, the extinction of dinosaurs happened 66 million years ago.
3. Tree Apes - the common ancestors to chimpanzees, gorillas and humans, lived around 10 million years ago. (lived in trees)
4. Ramapithecus - the most well known common ancestor to modern apes and humans, lived more than 8 million years ago. (walked on two feet)
5. Earliest homo sapiens (Modern Humans) lived on around 40,000 years ago(~38,000 BCE)
6. Earliest human civilisation existed around 3,500 BCE.
7. Industrial revolution begins in the 18th century AD ( steam engine invented in 1,712 AD).

What have we done to the Earth?

As far back in human history as one looks, it is evident that humans used resources abundant on the earth.

Initially. we used all the resources at our disposal for our sustenance and development. But the population was very less. Moreover, the nature and the magnitude of the activities humans indulged in didn't put a strain on the environment.

But as the saying goes, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions." And that's exactly what happened. We kept using the conventional resources. It was during the "Industrial Revolution"(see 7.), when the use of natural resources transformed overnight (with respect to 1,2,3,4,5 or 6.) into exploitation.

From Wood- to Coal- to Nuclear-powered 

Even the nature of natural resources in demand changed gradually; from trees for fuel before Industrial Revolution, to coal as a major source of fuel for transportation and manufacturing in factories. And as the steam engine-powered train kept using increasing amounts of coal every successive moment, the speed of the train kept increasing and the rate of exploration and exploitation kept increasing with it. But that wasn't enough for us. It wasn't enough for us that from travelling on the backs of horses, camels, elephants and horse-drawn carriages and wind-powered sailing boats; we started using steam-engine trains, steam-powered ships and eventually, individual automobiles.

I say "us" here because you and I wouldn't have done anything different. These are just the inherent dangers that came with the awesome innovations of the human mind.

Fast forward to the 20th century; the thundering fast train of the 18th-19th century had given way to roaring race cars, faster than sound airplanes, lightning fast rockets & missiles.
From the fire-wood of pre-industrial times to the coal-steam of the industrial revolution, the petrol-,diesel-powered automobiles, ships, trains and airplanes, further to the nuclear-powered submarines.

What have we done to our humanity?

From the bow, arrow and the sword to the gunpowder firearms to the TNT and dynamite bombs to the atom bomb and the nuclear bomb

From exploiting every resource available to us, to polluting every stretch of land, water and air. 

From endangering every other species on earth, by us humans. We began exploiting our fellow humans.

As the speed and modes of travel increased, the world increasingly became a smaller, more connected place. And as we came in touch with civilisations in other parts of the world hitherto unknown or unseen. Some humans began the exploitation of other fellow humans.

The rich overlords of the industrialised nation-states, who had become rich by subjugating, suppressing, tyrannizing, oppressing, dominating, exploiting, persecuting and enslaving their fellow countrymen for temporary, individual profits; they sailed across the oceans of the world and enslaved whole countries, whole continents. Millions of enslaved, powerless, "backward" people were colonised by the "Modern","Developed" Imperialist-overlords for "the colony's development".

(To be continued ...)