Benjamin+Byeon's+Collapse+Reflection

Benjamin Byeon 10G 4/11/11 World Geography HW: Reflection about 2210:The Collapse?

“When the world comes to an end...” The documentary, 2210:The Collapse?, gives the audience a clear prediction to what the earth may look like after 200 years. Although it may seem to one that such collapse of a highly developed civilization (Earth) is rather erroneous, yet it is may become the sad truth. I expected that the increase in temperature and scarcity of water would contribute to the collapse of Earth. However, I was perplexed by the other reasonable factors that can kill Earth, which includes, loss of oil, too much growth (overpopulation), sinking land/land fracture (water loss), dryness, and incapability to maintain resources to every one. I did not expect that our daily actions can potentially damage the earth significantly, making me feel like a murderer. I did expect though that such collapse is inevitable, as seen throughout history. The Roman Empire and the Mayan Civilization are just a few examples that show how an infallible, strong power can collapse and disappear as quick as sand falling to the surface of a floor. By watching the documentary, I came up to a conclusion that I need to limit what I do and tell others to stop since our daily actions, that we think will not do an iota of damage or incognizant of, can actually or is hurting the earth and bring us the Dark Ages. As mentioned in the documentary, I was shocked how ignorant and unaware I am about Earth’s health. I felt that I am a cancer to Earth, hurting the conditions, insidiously without me knowing. One conclusion is that the small actions I do may not hurt much, but the accumulation of what I do over time and what others do around the world do, each individually thinking that themselves are being “eco-friendly”, are killing the house they live in. And what is more important is that there is no going back. Thus, the world should take the issue more seriously and not think it is never going to happen or is far away because such collapse can be instant. The world should come with solutions and have a revolutionary period in which the way people live change. The Digital Age should end and the Saving and Prevention Age should arise. I came up with this conclusion because the documentary showed how the waste and use of cars (transportation) along with deforestation is killing the earth. Also, as seen in the Mayan Civilization, the Mayans used up their trees as the population got bigger for plastering, they soon became weaker. Each Mayan individual kept using the resources and soon it all ran out. This can occur to oil. The extra electricity and driving I do daily will pile up, destroying the world. Thus, I thought it is very probable for a shortage to occur because as the population increases (thanks to India and China) more resources will be needed, while there is only a limited amount of resource. From my experience, I recognized that the many people I see waste oil and pollute the air, making it drier and eventually making live unsustainable, as seen from the film. I see people driving to a market that is right in front of their houses. When I see such actions committed by some people in my neighbor, I feel guilty and shamed. I worry because I know that there will be more than one person who will commit such crime on daily basis. Day by day, changes do not occur fast, however as it accumulates, the effects gets gradually worse and worse, till it reaches the peak and bungee jumps. History exists to teach the future what not to do. Because there are never-ending cycles and correlations that we face today and that was faced in history, people today must look upon the history. Another conclusion is that such collapse is inevitable because people, to be realistic and honest, cannot stop people from wasting oil and water or prevent overproduction. This is how human cycle works. A civilization starts, becomes super power, and then collapses due to the exponential growth of human and limited resources used. There will be a climax where it reaches danger, and then the peak is subsequently followed by declines. However, there was one part I was not sure in the film. I was not sure whether the relation between the Roman Empire collapse totally works with the potential collapse of human beings because the Roman Empire were not the entire people. There were other people living in places other than Roman Empire and still prosperous. However, comparing such empire (or area) to the whole world seems unbalanced. The collapse of the Roman Empire was a fall in one area, whereas future collapse of human is decline of every one, not one area. Overall, I learned the many factors that people are unaware of can be a potential threat and a major factor in shaping the end of the world. Population growth with disappearance of water levels and importantly oil, can reshape the structure of how people live. Also, increase in temperature due to the waste we produce can make disasters like droughts or melting of ice caps and change Earth negatively. I never imagined such factors to be a cause for collapse. It was beyond my expectations. My expectations were minor compared to the ones described in the video, like unequal food distribution. As mentioned before, the number one way for people to fix and prevent collapse is to refer back to history. History is the mirror that reveals what has been done incorrectly. I believe the past is the best reference and teaching guidance. I feel that the past shows what people already have done that we might have done or will do in the future, and therefore pay attention and watch out for repeating a mistake done before. My reactions toward the patterns in humans seen throughout history shocked me and gave me the ‘heebie-jeebies’ because it is parallel. The actions humans do, despite when, is parallel and eventually produce similar results, collapse. Even in my own personal life, the past teaches me. For example, when I had experience how touching fire feels like, I would not repeat such action again if it was terrible. Therefore, people today should take more serious action and spread the news and warnings about the potential dangers every one is doing. And keep in mind that history reflects upon the actions committed before. Understanding history will lead to success. I am anticipated to see what will happen in 2012 after watching this film.