The random pictures thread

[Dermott]

Firouz, this is a bit creepy. That supposed end of the world when do you think will come?

Perhaps our planet isn't dying, (despite all the climatic tragedies that happened lately) she is only changing into somenthing different.

I like to be optimistic.

[Sinbad]

Feb 8, 2009 16:19:07 GMT -5 Dermott said:

Perhaps our planet isn't dying, (despite all the climatic tragedies that happened lately) she is only changing into somenthing different.

This reminds me of a joke:

Two planets meet.
Planet 1: Oh sheesh, buddy you look ill. What is it with you?
Planet 2: I got humans.
Planet 1: Oh, well, never worry, that passes

[Dermott]

So, we should be the planet's illness? ;D

[Sinbad]

I was referring to the fact that Earth has been around quite a while. It has seen times when its whole surface was toxic volcanic fumes. There´s constant evolution going on. Scientifically speaking there is only so much harm we can do. As in... dunno... 10 million years from now there will very likely be no more hole in the ozon layer, vegetation will have changed drastically once again as it has so many times (after all, to give an example, Scottland was once south of the equator and the poles were covered with rain forest). Therefore: we can only harm ourselve but not Earth. Not in the long run.

[Dermott]

I understand, I've the same opinion as yours.

[Sinbad]

Heh, sometimes I´d like to have a time machine to see what people will look like some 10 000 or 100 000 years from now (if we manage not to blow us up). Scientists have noticed significant changes in the form of the human skull when comparing people from the middle ages and today, so it should be rather interesting to see where we are heading.

[Doubar]

Hmm, maybe we do not harm earth itself, but surely the life she carries. And isn't that just what makes her be so special???
And besides, never before in the chronicles of earth has it occured that a living form was reason for a mass-extinction of species as it is happening now...

[Sinbad]

I completely agree with you there, Doubar. We do harm life. Humans are the worst preditor this planet has ever seen and I hate what happens with so many animal and plant species becoming extinct just because of us. I was just regarding things from an outside, merely scientific perspective

[firouz]

Sinbad is right. Technically, there is no end to the world. The earth will still survive. It is us, humans, who will suffer. The world will adapt, but the question is can we adapt? And species are dying. People debate whether we are responsible for climate change or if it is just a cycle. Well, whatever it is, it is happening and are you so cold-hearted to sit back and watch those species die. That is the dark side I am warning. Greed and evil will prosper. Mother Nature will be abused for profit. Hopefully I can do something about it. I am no sorcerer or sorceress but I will not let this go. I have the word from God and that is all I need.

My environmental science professor said if we completely stop carbon dioxide emissions, which includes that we stop breathing, the earth will continue to warm for another 1200 years. He also said we have reach 400 parts per million of carbon dioxide, a number not reached in the last 400,000 years. One scientist said, “You can just kiss you asses’ goodbye, because it is too late.”

Oh, and for your question Dermott, it will be a least 100 years from now till we see total devastation. But the ripple effects will be much, much sooner.

[Sinbad]

I agree with a lot of this. Humans, biologically speaking, are the worst that can happen to a planet. Adaption is where evolution comes in once more. If we want to be optimistic there we could said yay after all we survived the Cold War. (btw this reminds me of some documentary about extraterrestrial life where scientists said the likeness that we find others is also so terribly small because this would mean we have to sort of catch a civilisation that is in the small time frame between developing a culture and history and destroying itself)

Also, I think people have to wake up and accept that global warming is a reality. Claiming that nothing is happening is wrong. Even though there is always also the question how much of it is global warming caused by us and where natural global warming comes in. After all, there is a natural change of warmer and colder periods. I´m kind of reluctant to see things as fatal, but "An inconvenient truth" was ... creepy.

[firouz]

Yeah, and all the people in Florida that did not vote for me (Al Gore) would be underwater.

[Sinbad]

*lol* Oh, irony.

[firouz]

Yeah, I love that quote. But I am thinking if there is a way to remove carbon dioxide that is economically affordable and won't destroy the earth. For example, if I release a chemical or microbe into the atmosphere to "eat" carbon dioxide, how do I know if it won't form acid rain? And how can I know how much carbon dioxide to remove? If I remove too much carbon dioxide, it could cause another ice age. What do you guys think? But we must remove the excess carbon dioxide one way or another. Storing it in the oceans is not a good idea. And it would take more trees than the earth can support to absorb all the carbon dioxide. I can help save the world, or I can help destroy the world.

If Greenland melts, the oceans will rise some 6 meters and every major city in the world would be under water except Moscow and Beijing.

[Doubar]

Well, problem is: how do you want to restore a balance of which you don't even know how it works? You're right with what you said, Firouz: some kind of gas or bacteria can't be the solution as they would be too hard to be controlled and could have side-effects that can't be foreseen (especially with the bacteria you wouldn't know what might happen if you put them under the pressure of evolution). Some technical solution however will be just as hard to find and even if we did ... as you already pointed out we don't really know how much dioxide to remove and how fast. And we can certainly not simply store it somehwere in the oceans or the ground. Maybe if we found a way to imitate photosynthesis ...
Sheesh, we ruined a balance that once has been in less than a glimpse of time and now want to restore it in even less? *sighs* Sorry guys. I don't have an answer to this. Guess for now not making it worse is the first step we have to realize...

[firouz]

Well , we need to find a solution, and we need to find it fast. Or we can just kiss our asses goodbye, because it is just to late.

Oh, that reminds me, some Japanese scientist said the best way to solve the earth's problems is to lower or eliminate the human population.