space invaders

I was running around today taking care of business.  Nothing really noteworthy.  Just the usual hunt for stuff we think we need when we have time to do it.  Today it was gas for the grill, an espresso maker, coffee, and a package waiting for me at the post office.  You know... the usual crap.

As I was getting around in my metal and plastic, fossil fuel consuming conveyance and looked out over a sea of houses, concrete sidewalks, manicured lawns, and people from every walk of life driving around in these tin-can constructs, it dawned on me.

We're not supposed to be here!

We've been in this artificial world for so long we think all this stuff is normal, as if this is the way it's supposed to be.  Now, I'm not advocating giving up air conditioning, central heat, apartment complexes or cars.  Hell, we need all that stuff in order to survive.  Our fragile species can't handle temps lower than 60 degrees or much higher than 90.  That's a 40 degree range we require in order to sustain life.  Sure, we can live in the Arctic or the Sahara but that requires suitable clothing, a decent shelter, a mode of transportation and enough food and water for as long as we're out there... and that's the bare minimum.

It's estimated that 40% of the forested land on this planet cannot sustain human life.  It's too far away from roads and without a road to get us there, we don't go.  Think about this.  When you go on a camping trip do any of you actually just go and leave the car at home?  You need that vehicle to transport all the stuff you need like a tent, food supplies, fluids, cell phones, MP3 players, DVD players, laptops, makeup bag, air-conditioned RV, gas grill, beer, fishing poles, extra clothing, etc.  No other species on this planet needs extra clothing let alone all that other crap.  We can't survive one night without a shelter strong enough to insulate us from everything we went out there for in the first place.  Every year guys gear up, grab a hunting rifle and head to the woods and some never come back because they got lost and died from exposure... and they even dressed for it AND had a meat killing weapon!  Show me one animal dumb enough to do that.

What amazes me is no one seems to realize just how unsuited to this planet we really are.  It's as if it's perfectly normal that we don't have enough body hair to keep us warm, we're incapable of producing our own vitamin C, and we need to invent Gore-tex, buttons, and electric socks to make up for what nature forgot.  Even natural selection has nothing to do with humanity.  We're all a bunch of egotistical freaks who think we're too smart to survive the old fashioned way.  And that brain we're so proud of?  We can only use about 10% of it.  We're the only Earth species that can't use 100% of what we pride ourselves with most.

It's as if we're all Robinson Crusoe aliens from another planet, constructing emergency bio-shelters, environmental life support suits, and machines to rapidly escape dangerous situations because we can't physically take on even the lowest life form.

We should leave now.  This camping trip is over.