Group+Seven+Presentation

A Soliloquy by Sir Martin Rees media type="custom" key="562465"
 * [|Earth in its Final Century?]**

**Who is the presenter? Why should we trust him/her?**

Martin Rees is Professor of Cosmology and Astrophysics and Master of Trinity College at the University of Cambridge.

**Identify the issue and describe its context. Why is it important? Why should we care?** Rees speculates into the uncertain future of the Earth and mankind by examining our place in the world and our affect on our surroundings. He asserts that not only do humans have the ability to shape and change the Earth, but that we already have. Rees's speech is essentially a warning and plea for mankind to be conscious of our impact and aware of our unique situation.

“The science done by the young [|Einstein] will continue as long as our civilization, but for civilization to survive, we’ll need the wisdom of the old [|Einstein]: humane, global and far-seeing. And whatever happens in this uniquely crucial century will resonate into the remote future and perhaps far beyond the Earth.”


 * What philosophy or world view informs and supports the presenter?

media type="youtube" key="LeUcjqqhNxM" height="355" width="425"** [|The Big Bang Theory]

“One idea is that our Big Bang was not the only one.”

**What statistic, anecdote, and/or image do you find most compelling? Why?**



“And to the cosmologist, these galaxies are just the atoms, as it were, of the large-scale universe.”

“We are midway. It would take as many human bodies to make up the sun as there are atoms in each of us.”



"[|Darwin] showed we're the outcome of 4 billion years of evolution...[In 6 billion years] any life and intelligence that exists then will be as different from us as we are from bacteria. The unfolding of intelligence and complexity still has immensely far to go, here on Earth and probably far beyond. So we are still at the beginning of the emergence of complexity."



“But in just a tiny sliver of the Earth’s history, the last one-millionth part, a few thousand years, the patterns of vegetation altered much faster than before. This signaled the start of agriculture. The changes accelerated as human populations rose. Then other things happened even more abruptly. Within just 50 years, that’s one-hundredth of one-millionth of the Earth’s age, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere started to rise enormously fast. The planet became an intense emitter of radio waves, the total output from all T.V., and cell phones, and radar transmissions.”



“The stars aren’t just twinkling points of light. Each one is like a Sun with a retinue of planets orbiting around.”

**What does this video make you wonder about?** In the next century...What technological advances will we experience? What will our Earth look like? How much will it resemble our current world?

In a few million years...Will Earth still be here? What life forms will exist? Will we have found life on other planets? media type="youtube" key="NBk1i-64Sx8" height="355" width="425"

**How does the issue connect to your education and experience?** Connections, whether they are between subjects in school or within humanity's connection to our Earth, are essential. We need awareness of our situation before we can address any problems, or begin to think of any potential solutions.



Rees discusses how our universe could possibly be just one side of an even greater multi-dimensional universe, an idea that is foreign and unimaginable for many people. However, solving global problems that involve all of mankind and the Earth requires a willingness to think big, and to push into regions previously left untouched.

** How does the video inspire you? How does it make you think about your plans for the future? How could the information from this video lead to making the world a better place?**



Sir Martin Rees leaves the audience with a sense of urgency. We have been thrust into this situation, where every action has a consequence, where our actions now set the path for the future. It is impossible to remain unconcerned, or apathetic. Humans have a duty, a responsibility, and a debt to keep our planet healthy.