Agent Smith: Human beings are a virus

Agent Smith:
I'd like to share a revelation that I've had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species and I realized that you're not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment but you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply and multiply until every natural resource is consumed and the only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet. You're a plague and we are the cure.

The Guardian - Mar 30/2005
Two-thirds of world's resources 'used up' by Tim Radford, science editor
The human race is living beyond its means. A report backed by 1,360 scientists from 95 countries - some of them world leaders in their fields - today warns that the almost two-thirds of the natural machinery that supports life on Earth is being degraded by human pressure.

The study contains what its authors call "a stark warning" for the entire world. The wetlands, forests, savannahs, estuaries, coastal fisheries and other habitats that recycle air, water and nutrients for all living creatures are being irretrievably damaged. In effect, one species is now a hazard to the other 10 million or so on the planet, and to itself.

"Human activity is putting such a strain on the natural functions of Earth that the ability of the planet's ecosystems to sustain future generations can no longer be taken for granted," it says.

The report, prepared in Washington under the supervision of a board chaired by Robert Watson, the British-born chief scientist at the World Bank and a former scientific adviser to the White House, will be launched today at the Royal Society in London. It warns that:

Because of human demand for food, fresh water, timber, fibre and fuel, more land has been claimed for agriculture in the last 60 years than in the 18th and 19th centuries combined.

Published on Mar 1, 2012 by NASAexplorer
NASA | What Doesn't Stay in Vegas? Sprawl.
When Landsat 5 launched on March 1, 1984, Las Vegas was a smaller city. This image series, done in honor of the satellite's 28th birthday, shows the desert city's massive growth spurt since 1972. The outward expansion of the city is shown in a false-color time lapse of data from all the Landsat satellites.

Gigafytes.com - Dec 20/2011
Human Nature vs. Environmentalism by Hudds
The news has been full to bursting for as long as I can remember with the issue of ‘green’ living; What’s your carbon footprint? Are humans causing global warming? Is it cow farts? It goes on and on. But the real question is it even possible for us to fight our very nature to ‘protect’ Mother Nature?

Agent Smith’s comparison of humans to viruses struck a chord with me back in 1999 when The Matrix was released.

I had felt that way for some time at that point, but had never put it into words. He did so eloquently. As I get older and see more of the world, it still rings true. We do not form a symbiotic relationship with our environment naturally. We take and take until things can’t give anymore and then we move on. As we grow as a species, we do a better job of cordoning off the areas that are unpleasant but we don’t fix the problem, only keep it out of sight.

My eighth grade science teacher once said, “Human beings tend to make their habitat uninhabitable.” She was right.

Wikipedia: Voluntary Human Extinction Movement
The Voluntary Human Extinction Movement is an environmental movement that calls for all people to abstain from reproduction to cause the gradual voluntary extinction of humankind. VHEMT supports human extinction primarily because, in the group's view, it would prevent environmental degradation. The group states that a decrease in the human population would prevent a significant amount of man-made human suffering. The extinctions of non-human species and the scarcity of resources required by humans are frequently cited by the group as evidence of the harm caused by human overpopulation.

official web site: The Voluntary Human Extinction Movement
Phasing out the human race by voluntarily ceasing to breed will allow Earth’s biosphere to return to good health. Crowded conditions and resource shortages will improve as we become less dense.

May we live long and die out

Q: Are you really serious?
We’re really vehement. Many see humor in The Movement and think we can’t be serious about voluntary human extinction, but in spite of the seriousness of both situation and movement, there’s room for humor. In fact, without humor, Earth’s condition gets unbearably depressing—a little levity eases the gravity.

True, wildlife rapidly going extinct and tens of thousands of children dying each day [my bold-wqb] are not laughing matters, but neither laughing nor bemoaning will change what’s happening. We may as well have some fun as we work and play toward a better world. Besides, returning Earth to its natural splendor and ending needless suffering of humanity are happy thoughts—no sense moping around in gloom and doom.

Wikipedia: Child mortality
Child mortality, also known as under-5 mortality, refers to the death of infants and children under the age of five. In 2010, 7.6 million children under five died, down from 8.1 million in 2009, 8.8 million in 2008, and 12.4 million in 1990. About half of child deaths occur in Africa. Approximately 60 countries make up 94% of under five child deaths. Reduction of child mortality is the fourth of the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals.

References

Uploaded by agntsmth77 on May 2, 2008

Wikipedia: The Matrix
The Matrix is a 1999 American science fiction action film written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski. The film stars Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, and Hugo Weaving, and was first released in the United States on March 31, 1999. The success of the film led to the release of two feature film sequels, and the Matrix franchise was further expanded through the production of comic books, video games, and animated short films.

The film depicts a future in which reality as perceived by most humans is actually a simulated reality created by sentient machines to pacify and subdue the human population, while their bodies' heat and electrical activity are used as an energy source. Upon learning this, computer programmer "Neo" is drawn into a rebellion against the machines, involving other people who have been freed from the "dream world" and into reality.

The film contains many references to the cyberpunk and hacker subcultures; philosophical and religious ideas such as René Descartes' evil genius, the Allegory of the Cave, the brain in a vat thought experiment; and homages to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Hong Kong action cinema, spaghetti westerns, dystopian fiction, and Japanese animation.

2012-04-14

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