Reinventing the already existant?

Question

As a species, we've accomplished great things, and also accomplished some not so great things.. We've managed to conquer the oceans, space, air, and some of the most inhospitable terrain on the planet.. We've engineered fire from sources such as piezoelectic crystals, photoelectric metals, and engineered gunpower. We've put a plaque on the moon, and robotic astronauts in orbit around every planet in the solar system that we can reach. We can unify our efforts on a global scale to accomplish great things and expand our horizons to those that are unseen by the naked eye, and actually "get it done" when we really try. We are artists, poets, engineers, scientists, and just plain creatures of intellect. We are also murderers, rapists, convicts, consumers, and destroyers of everything that we touch, or is affected by our presence. We've managed to create great mechanical devices that have assisted us in attaining almost every single goal we've set before us, and continued to improve upon them daily. Some of these devices that are our TOOLS, utilize our enviorments natural resources with reckless abandon. Some contribute to the well being of the enviorment, but the percentage is so miniscule it's irrelevant.

How long do you believe we will continue to exist in this give and take relationship with our enviorment, before it adapts a new behavior that forces a consequencial alteration of our relationship with it?

On a microbiological scale would we as humanity be equal to a colony of bacteria, infecting a host?

What do you think?

Answer 1

As you probably know, Agent Smith discussed this very subject in "The Matrix" and concluded that the human race behaves more like a virus than a mammal, consuming resources without putting anything back, then moving on.  Sadly, he had a point.  Although many of us are concerned about conservation, I would say that on the whole as a race we take away a lot more than we give back.  This is especially true of Americans.  If every country used up resources as rapidly as we do on a per-person basis, they would already be used up.  We need to make more of an effort to conserve and encourage others to do the same.

Answer 2

you watched the movie Matrix too much.

Answer 3

"before it adapts a new behavior that forces a consequencial alteration of our relationship with it?"

  Isn't that what climate change is about supposedly?