Chemicals

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Why are we so dependent on chemicals? Seems we need this chemical or that chemical to do a certain task or need this chemical to sleep, to eat, to have sex, to not have sex, to be motivated, to be numb, to keep us from coughing, from sneezing, to get high, to focus. Also outside of our body too. We are so dependent on them in our lawns, in our cars, in our foods. You can't go somewhere nowadays without running into a chemical of some sort.

Technically we are made of chemicals which makes your point even more valid. Chemicals interact.

From the movie Drugstore Cowboy,

Without the drugz (legal or illegal) your choice is stay depressed, not sleep, not wake up, not have sex, etc. Not that popping pills like Elvis is a healthy or a good idea, but people take them because it gives them an option that they otherwise don't have (and which humans haven't had for most of history). Like people drinking coffee at work to increase energy and motivation.

I'm actually in favor of anti-depressants (even knowing that something like Zoloft works great for some people, doesn't do a damn thing for others).

I haven't yet taken any anti-depressants. I have struggled with bouts of depression. And if I do again in the future, now I'm kind of open to the idea.

Funny thing is, this isn't all that new. I got a book a while back on factory life in the late 1800's. Two chapters dealt with chemical factories. One was for bleach, the other for sulfuric acid. Another book I've got that dates back to that same time period has sections on the use of sulfuric acid and nitroglycerine for oil well work. "Industrial Biography" by Samuel Smiles has a section on chemical factories in England that pre-date the other two books. I don't think it was as wide-spread back then as it is now, but we've literally been doing this for centuries.

I don't use chemicals on my lawn. But I also don't have much of a lawn. If you want your lawn to look like Astroturf, it kinda comes down to two choices: rip out your lawn and install Astroturf, or use chemicals. Mine looks like a cross between weed-covered rocks and bare dirt. C'est la vie.

I also tend not to use chemicals for a lot of the internal uses you listed. So far everything's working more or less normally, so no need to monkey with it. Oops! No, I take that back. When I get a cold I suck down huge quantities of dihidrous oxide (a non-existent name for "water"). But yes, water is a chemical. It makes a great solvent, and is a good dilution agent for (drum roll...) other chemicals!