George Carlin - Saving the Planet

Look, I'm not one of those people who worries about everything, there are people like this in your country, now it's full of them, people walking around all day, every minute of the day, worried about everything, worried about the air, worried about water, worried about soil worried about insecticides pesticides food additives carcinogens worried about radon gas worried about asbestos worried about

saving

endangered species let me tell you about endangered species, okay,

saving

endangered species of extinction is just another AR attempt by humans to control nature, it is arrogant meddling, it is what has First of all, we are in trouble.

Doesn't anyone understand that interfering with nature more than 90% of more than 90% of all species that ever lived on this

planet

are gone, they are extinct, we didn't kill them all? they just disappeared, that's what nature does, they disappear here these days at a rate of 255 a day and I mean, regardless of our behavior, regardless of how we act on this

planet

, 25 species that were here today will disappear tomorrow, let them go with grace. nature alone we haven't done enough we are so conceited so conceited we are all going to save something now save the trees save the bees save the whales save those snails and the greatest arrogance of all save the planet what are these? people joking let's save the planet we don't even know how to take care of ourselves we still haven't learned to take care of each other let's save the planet I'm getting tired of that tired of that tired I'm tired of Earth Day.

I'm tired of these self-righteous environmentalists, these white Bgea liberals who think the only thing wrong with this country is that there are enough bike lanes, the people trying to make the world safe for their Volvos, plus the environmentalists, no . they care about the planet they don't care about the planet not in the abstract no not in the abstract they don't know what they care about a clean place to live in their own habitat they worry that one day in the future they might have personal inconveniences narrow unenlightened personal interests I don't care They impress also there is nothing bad on the planet nothing bad on the planet the planet is fine the people are different difference the planet is fine compared to the people The planet is very fine, it has been here 4.5 billion years.

Do you ever think about arithmetic? The planet has been here. 4.5 billion years we've been here, 100,000, maybe 200,000, and we've only been involved in heavy industry. for a little over 200 years, 200 years versus four and a half billion and we have the presumption to think that somehow we are a threat that somehow we are going to endanger this beautiful little blue green ball that is just floating around the sun. the planet has been through much worse things than us, it has been through all kinds of things worse than us, through earthquakes, volcanoes, plate tectonics, continental drifts, solar flares, sunspots, magnetic storms, the magnetic reversal of the poles, hundreds of thousands of years of bombardment by comets and asteroids and meteors around the world floods tsunamis around the world fires erosion cosmic rays recurring ice ages and we believe that some plastic bags and some aluminum cans are going to make a difference on the planet the planet the planet is not going anywhere we are going to leave pack your friends we are leaving and we won't leave much of a trace either thank God for that maybe a little styrofoam maybe a little styrofoam the planet will be here and we'll be long gone just another failed mutation just another closed biological error an evolutionary cue saac the planet will shake us like a bad case of fleas a nuisance on the surface you want to know how the planet's plan is ask those people in Pompeii who are frozen in their position due to volcanic ash how is the planet why off the planet is ok ask those people in Mexico City or Armenia or hundreds of other places buried under thousands of tons of earthquake debris if they feel like a threat to the planet This week, how about those people in Kilaa Hawaii who build their houses right next to an active volcano and then wonder why they have lava in the living room.

The planet will be here long, long after we are gone and it will heal itself. It will clean itself because that's what it does. It is a self-correcting system. Air and water. The Earth will recover, it will be renewed and if it is true that plastic is not degradable, then the planet will simply incorporate plastic into a new paradigm. The Earth will be more plastic. The Earth does not share our prejudice towards plastic. The plastic came out of the Earth. The Earth will probably see plastic as one of its children could be the only reason the Earth allowed us to be born from it in the first place wanted plastic for itself didn't know how to do it needed us could be the answer to our age - old philosophical question why we are here plastic so the plastic is here our job is done we can be eliminated now and I think that has already begun, right?

I want to be fair, the planet probably sees us as a mild threat. something to deal with and I'm sure the planet will defend itself in the same way that a large organism like a beehive or an ant colony can form a defense. I'm sure the planet will think of something, what would you do if you were the planet trying to defend yourself from this annoying and troublesome species, let's see what my H viruses are. Viruses could be good. They seem vulnerable to viruses and, uh, viruses are complicated, they always mutate and form new strains every time a vaccine is developed.

Perhaps this first virus could be one. that that compromises the immune system of these creatures, perhaps a human immunodeficiency virus that makes them vulnerable to all kinds of other diseases and infections that could appear and perhaps could be transmitted sexually, which makes them a little reluctant to participate well in the act of reproduction. that's a poetic note and it's a St and I can dream, I can see, I don't worry about the little things, bees, trees, whales, snails, I believe we are part of a greater wisdom than we will ever understand, a higher order, Call it whatever you want.

I want to know what I call it the big electron the big electron whoa whoa whoa doesn't punish doesn't judge at all it just is and so are we for a while thank you for being here with me for a while tonight thank you very much thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you new york city take care Take care of yourself and take care of someone else, thank you, good night.