Warning – what follows ain’t rocket science, but it is a wee bit complicated now and then. Don’t try to share with people you know are mentally challenged and buy whatever the media spews at them, unless you have the time to reason carefully with them.

From the American Institute of Economic Research (AIER) comes this:

Several years ago, Oceanospirillales microbes devoured up to fifty percent of the 800 million liters of oil pumped into the Gulf of Mexico by the Deepwater Horizon spill. Gene sequencing by University of Texas researchers has shown how several bacteria could break down aromatic hydrocarbons. The largest population concentration of these oil-eating bacteria has been found in the still largely uncharted Mariana Trench. It has been proposed that these microbes be weaponized against future ecological disasters, until the world abandons fossil fuels (IF it does so).

Amazing! Maybe our fossil fuel use will NOT destroy our planet! But there is more.

 Other bacteria were isolated from a bottle recycling plant, and were found to degrade and metabolise Polyethylene terephthalate as a primary food source. These bio-remedial methods could be repurposed as a form of environmental antibodies specifically against the plastic pollution floating in our oceans after COVID. (Maybe, but there are some scary possible consequences to doing that. Again “weaponized” but weapons backfire now and then.)

AIER’s writer (Connor Tomlinson, a Brit) points out in good detail a point that many of us have discussed in the past. That is that for whatever reasons, our planet is surprisingly stable and able to endure significant impacts. Not only that, but the earth itself has a tremendous ability to heal itself and the worst that we can do to it – and far more quickly than most people have believed in the last two centuries or so.

But also, we have to remind ourselves that mankind is NOT the all-powerful destroyer of worlds that too many environists and lovers of Doc Smith science fiction sometimes think. There are elements and processes that dwarf anything man can do to or for the environment. Good old Sol, shining high “above” us, can launch masses of particles which can wipe out virtually every form of electrical and electronic equipment. A sufficiently-large asteroid – and even a “golden pebble” – can trigger complete destruction of this planet’s biosphere. And NASA hubris to the contrary, we can (and never have been able to) do nothing to stop it. A super-volcano (like the frequently touted Yellowstone – or the lesser known Long Valley) can erase the effects of centuries of so-called manmade global warming in a matter of hours.

Yet, throughout recorded history, NONE of this has happened. Or if it did happen, the planet (and humans) recovered very quickly.

Even though mankind now has abilities which have never existed in this planet’s history, we are not constantly verging on creating a catastrophe that will wipe out civilization, mankind, or the biosphere. I say again, we are NOT on the edge of destruction.

The why is a philosophical question – and indeed, a religious one. But let us calm down and take a deep breath and look at some facts.

A potential significant long-term impact of the Pandemic Panic, the Lockdown, and the insane campaigns to do so many other things has been (and continues to be) a massive, global depression. Tied to regulatory horrors, playing games with sanctions, quarantines, more and more government mandates, and the declaration of a new Cold War. It is actually on the edge of incredible that we have so far avoided such a disaster.

This is despite virtually every media organ, every government agency (around the planet), virtually every special interest group and non-governmental organization braying constantly about how we are seconds away from midnight and disaster. Despite the screams of outrage by politicians (each beating their own drum), social justice warriors, activists of every sort. Despite the incessant parade of victims and gonna-be victims on the media. And despite the tremendous advantage that such panic offers to those who want more power, more wealth, and more worship.

And despite mining of history to demonstrate how horrific modern society and civilization (especially American civilization) has been – how it has destroyed the planet and abused billions of people.

Pollution is something that usually naturally heals itself: excessive erosion and sedimentation is healed by the very same processes. Chemical contamination – both of manmade and naturally-occurring substances is neutralized, if not as fast as we want. Polluted water eventually washes out to sea and indeed “dilution IS the solution” to most of it. History shows this – that life goes on. Often worse for a while, but ultimately better. (Consider what it was like near the end of the Black Death in Europe – and compare to today.)

In some future commentaries, let us look at some of the great falsehoods that are fobbed off on us today to try and discourage us and surrender liberty for a false sense of security.