The limits to human domination of nature

Issues of war and peace, racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, and economic oppression are the result of humans interacting with other humans. These dysfunctions are as old as humanity, and they cause great pain and suffering. As an optimist, I hope they are receding, but as a realist, I know they will never go away. While humans have always battled, as my colleague Peter Coleman has observed, much more often, they have made peace together. We cooperate more than we fight, even if it's the fights that history takes note of. As the journalists often say: "If it bleeds, it leads." When someone helps a mom carry her baby stroller up the subway stairs, it's not news. Push that mom down the steps, and there is a photo on the front page of the New York Post. Anyway, carrying the stroller is a common occurrence; assault, fortunately, is not. Humans interacting with humans is an old story. So too, have been our efforts to use the planet's resources for food, clothing, and shelter. But there is something new in the world—we not only use the planet, but our technology has begun to enable us to change the planet and its fundamental systems.