"Human beings are doom riders," said author and thinker Howard Bloom (howardbloom.net(1)) in his appearance on Wednesday's show. "We are masters of disaster, and if we fail to realize that, we're in trouble," he continued. While our planet is on the verge of various environmental catastrophes, Bloom argues that nature "throws us curves and challenges us to overcome them," which in turn helps us to evolve.

There's only one family tree on this planet, said Bloom, and that's DNA. And in spite of any oncoming disaster, "DNA wins," because "it's covered its bets any way it can." For example, in the event of a nuclear war, some bacteria would thrive in the radioactive fallout. Cockroaches will survive too, he added with a chuckle.

"The next thing for us to come up with is defeating disaster before it happens," Bloom said. To prevent a worldwide drought for instance, he suggested harnessing natural forces such as tides, the advanced use of hydroponics and "giant eggbeaters in the sea."

1. http://www.howardbloom.net/

Bumper Music

Bumper music from Wednesday September 24, 2003