History hints at a population bottleneck for modern man:

Woodruff and Gagneaux translated the variation in the DNA sequences within humans,
chimpanzees, and gorillas into a measure of genetic diversity. Chimps and gorillas, they
found, have roughly equal level of diversity. Humans, however, although we are spread
out over a vastly larger geographic area, have a significantly lower level of genetic diversity.
Woodruff sums it up succinctly: "There's more diversity in one social group of 55 chimps
than in the entire human population."


http://cogweb.ucla.edu/ep/Paleoanthropology.html

From that site, a link to http://www.jrmooneyham.com/lostcv1.html

where possible causes for potential bottlenecks are listed
(for instance climatological disasters)

Regarding most species, the loss of genetic diversity
doesn't bode well:

We found a 43% drop in genetic variability in the modern wolves,said Carles Vila, one of the team.
It is impossible for the wolf populations to recover this important diversity, which enables them
to adapt to different environmental challenges."

Bears and lions

Vila notes: "It takes thousands of years of naturally occurring mutations to build up such diversity.
And if the Canadian wolves - with such a large population remaining - have lost so much genetic
variation, what is the situation for other endangered species in North America, such as bears or
mountain lions?


http://www.newscientist.com/channel/life/genetics/dn6730

Taking into account that in ancient times there were no tsunamis but "floods",
that Hindu mythology mentions subsequent yugas with progressive worsening of
moral order (dharma) without mentioning the cause, the picture might be clear:
the Indian lore, corrected for exaggeration and beautification, doesn't contradict
the findings of modern science but describes the effects of subsequent population
bottlenecks ("die-off" events, reducing genetic diversity). Events like "the flood"
have become more actual since the discovery that meltwater trickles through snow
and ice much faster than expected: lubrication not just to accelerate the flow of
glaciers (Antarctica, Greenland) but also to enable a big chunk to plunge into the
ocean.

BTW this also explains the issue of what I label as "human emergency food", the
major cause of chronic diseases. Man's digestion is that of a primate for whom
uric acid, a metabolite of protein, is a powerful anti-oxidant in small quantities,
toxic in large quantities. The digestion system of all "true" carnivores and omnivores
secretes the enzyme uricase to eliminate uric acid.

Rarely the issue of "world ages" is taken seriously because (as could have been
expected) the Indian lore omits the transitions between subsequent yugas and
emphasizes the moral and ethical decline. The present civilization with its
abundance for few and poverty or worse for the majority of the population
is totally reliant on fossil fuel, which is running out. There are no substitutes
as the priority is to use remaining resources for warfare over possession and
or control of those (dwindling) resources for a population, still increasing.

The waste on a (yet) unprecedented scale already has severe effects on the
climate globally which is to affect harvests (especially of "optimized" GM
breeds) negatively. Add to that the use of crops for biofuel as a facade or
cover up for John and Jane Doe and it might be clear, you (blind too) have
been governed by the blind, the "resources are infinite" type of economists
and corporations for whom "the free market" is a holy institution. Unfortunately,
the corporations buy (and bribe) governments on a large scale, with the USA
the world champion in pluto- and kleptocracy.

So where does this link to nonduality (advaita)?

The term "advaita" just means "not two".
No sense of "mine" hence no sense of "thine": the planet is a shared resource.
Possession and control could be seen as diseases, being aware of accountability
and acting accordingly (situation, skills) is what constitutes "dharma". Instead
of a cult of waste, a sustainable society of temporary use and maintenance.
Leaving the planet in a similar or better condition than that at your birth...

When still in doubt, a few exercises might clarify what tons of books never will.
Working at it yourself will actualize what otherwise remains conceptual. So you
won't find an answer on this site: please, do the math!
(express amounts per year):

Exercise 1
A. find the amount of fossil fuel used globally
B. express that amount as the surface required to grow coconut palms
C. compare that surface to the area available (in the tropics of course)

Exercise 2
A. find the amount of alternative power generated from other sources than fossil
B. compare to the number from 1A
C. calculate the surface required for a solar power plant with an efficiency of
    60% that has to generate the amount of 2*(1A + 2B)
D. calculate the amount of aluminium or steel required for parabolic dishes required
     for the surface calculated in 2C
E. compare that to the use of aluminium and steel by the global weaponsindustry
     over a year
F. you have gained a profound insight in the major      disease of "endarkened" man!

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