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submitted 1 day ago by yogthos@lemmy.ml to c/science@lemmy.ml
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[-] susieq0044@sh.itjust.works 3 points 22 hours ago

Do we shape our environment to our needs?

[-] yogthos@lemmy.ml 2 points 22 hours ago

We very obviously do, most of the human population lives in cities and wouldn't make it through a single week in the wild.

[-] susieq0044@sh.itjust.works 3 points 21 hours ago* (last edited 21 hours ago)

I see, yes I see where you are coming from. On the other hand, I was thinking of climate change, plastic in the oceans, PFAS and so on. Human products that are damaging the ecosystem around us and that will mostly hit humanity in the back of its neck in the near future. So we DO shape our environment- but not to our ACTUAL needs.

[-] myszka@lemmy.ml 1 points 5 hours ago

That's just a contradiction of our current mode of production. The negative effect is sure there, but it's outweighed by the positive outcomes. This gigantic mechanized monolithic production system that turns the whole humanity into one big voracious machine is what eventually will allow us to fully decentralise the way we produce things while keeping the automation and thus avoid the destruction we've been causing for so long.

Think of this: you don't need packaging if you consume in the same place where you produce. You can also much more easily recycle used materials if you don't need them to travel for thousands miles and can instead use them right where you are. If you use local small and natural sources of energy instead of burning millions of tons of coal, you also don't pollute the enviranment as much. All of this will only be possible thanks to this destructive phase we're currently in. So ultimately we do cater our actual needs - somewhat contradictory at times, but still.

[-] susieq0044@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago)

That’s a lot of wishful thinking to digest ;-). There’s zero evidence to support this vision , and human egoism (wars, revenue-focus, …) seem to be IMHO completely ignored. I witnessed these type of predictions in the 70s, 90s, 10s… they never materialized.

[-] yogthos@lemmy.ml 5 points 20 hours ago

Sure, we create a lot of problems in our shaping of the environment, and we tend to prioritize short term needs over long term ones.

this post was submitted on 24 Oct 2026
33 points (94.6% liked)

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