A world event.

Discussion in 'Earth Science' started by Enmos, Feb 7, 2009.

  1. Enmos Valued Senior Member

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  3. EntropyAlwaysWins TANSTAAFL. Registered Senior Member

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    Humans are sentient and therefore more valuable then what is essentially a large rock, despite its nice colours.
    Although having said that, it would be foolish of us to destroy our only habitat, at least before we've colonised a few other planets.
     
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  5. Enmos Valued Senior Member

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    It's more than just rock though. In addition to humans, the Earth hosts many, many millions of unique life forms.
    To say we are the most valuable is at the very least arrogant. To what/who are we the valuable then ? Only to ourselves.

    But it is precisely because we are sentient that we can recognize that we need to be responsible in regard to our environment. It is both a blessing and a curse.
    We are so successful that we have begun to choke our own, and only, lifeline. However, we can acknowledge this. And so we can act to prevent any further damage.

    So when we find another home (which will be pretty much a necessity eventually), we just burn the cradle ? Don't you think the Earth deserves a little more respect than that ?
    Frankly, I find it abhorrent that you seem perfectly fine with destroying all other life on Earth once we are safely settled on a new world. Isn't this line of thinking precisely what's wrong with Western culture today ?
     
    Last edited: Feb 7, 2009
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  7. cosmictraveler Be kind to yourself always. Valued Senior Member

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    It was true, sadly enough, that we humans are going to be our own downfall in the very near future. Without anything that isn't polluted we will slowly just die off or mutate into something like a roach in order to exist within the polluted crap we will be living in.

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  8. Stryder Keeper of "good" ideas. Valued Senior Member

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    Actually you've kind of contradicted yourself, while you are right it is arrogant to suggest that we are valuable, we can however prove to be very important. Since it is true that us humans do tend to undermine many of those unique life forms (And this is proven with many species going extinct every year). There is always the chance that one day we might be able to compensate a little. After all if mankind got to the point of colonising other worlds, do you know what the first things would be that were be sent? Other than bacteria's, Plankton, Algae and various forms of fungi the answer would be Worms. At later stages it's possible that entire planets could be terraformed as "Nature Reserves" where what species survived could be allowed to continue to evolve in the absence of man.

    The earth in some respects is a bit like an Egg, in the essence that if we get to the point of colonising another world, it will only be so from consuming the resources (A bit like how the yolk is consumed) When there are no more resources, then all that will be left is a giant shanty town populated by humans, unless of course there is an Exodus and the planets left for nature to try and rekindle itself. (Of course it's more likely the sun will consume the solar system way before then.)

    I guess the main problem with humanity though is "Belief"... It's such a lazy way of living, leaving too much to chance and not defining an outcome from labour.
     
  9. laladopi time for change. Registered Senior Member

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    I find it relatively sensical.
    cute film.
     
  10. Enmos Valued Senior Member

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    I'm not sure that I see what you are getting at about the self-contradiction.
    I suppose you mean that we could disperse Earth life throughout the universe one day, which would (arguably) compensate a little.
    I don't know when we'll be able to do such, but there have to be still species left to disperse.
    Anyway, humanity fucking up Earth and then saving a few species sounds akin to an arsonist lighting up your house and next starts keeping your shed wet. I don't call that compensating. It seems more like damage control after the fact.
    And what if we find inhabited planets similar to Earth ? Should we rape those too ? Because that's probably what's going to happen.

    I find that disgusting. Your description here is rather accurate though (in my opinion), and it paints a clear picture of how humanity parasitizes the Earth.

    I don't know about that..
    That is 5 billion years from now (that is 1 billion years longer than the time it took from since life first evolved to now).
    I find it hard to believe that mankind is still occupying the Earth by then. By that time we either left a very long time ago because it was completely ruined, or we simply died out (probably by our own doing).

    Perhaps. I do think that ignorance and arrogance play a big role as well though.
    Is there a word for intentional, or willful, ignorance ?
    Or perhaps an undeserved sense of superiority is the source of all of the above.
     
  11. Enmos Valued Senior Member

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    Could you elaborate ?
     
  12. Stryder Keeper of "good" ideas. Valued Senior Member

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    I think it's often referred to as Criminal Negligence, since negligence can just be down to ignorance but intentional ignorance is criminal.
     
  13. ElectricFetus Sanity going, going, gone Valued Senior Member

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    We are talking monkeys, the idea of humans colonizing space, bring wars ans strife across the universe is horrific to me.
     
  14. Enmos Valued Senior Member

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    Ah yeah. Well, I wouldn't want to go that far. Law has to be involved for it to be criminal though, it seems.
     
  15. Enmos Valued Senior Member

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    I agree.
     
  16. EntropyAlwaysWins TANSTAAFL. Registered Senior Member

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    I didn't say that all the other forms of life are not valuable, what I did say was that if forced to make the choice between humanity and the earth that I would pick humanity.
    I'm not denying that that is arrogant, however, when I say 'valuable' I mean that in terms of what we have the potential to accomplish.

    And by acknowledging it we can potentially prevent even greater disasters then what we have wrought upon the earth thus far, e.g., an asteroid strike.

    I was trying, obviously unsuccessfully, to be ironic there but whatever.
    I am not "completely fine" with destroying the earth, but once we've set ourselves up in a few other places and brought much of earths ecology with us the inevitable demise of earth would be much less of a tragedy.
    Eventually the the earth is going to be destroyed regardless of what we do, although we might accelerate the process, and the only way to ensure the long term survival of us or any other species is by expanding into space.
     
  17. Enmos Valued Senior Member

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    I see.. I'm sorry if my reaction was a bit snappy.
    You'll have to understand though that a lot of people would actually mean it if they say such things.

    I kind of agree with what you've clarified in this post. Not completely, but close enough

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  18. EntropyAlwaysWins TANSTAAFL. Registered Senior Member

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    I am gradually coming to the realisation that irony is lost on virtually everyone in a text only environment such as this.

    Sometimes, close enough is good enough.

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  19. Enmos Valued Senior Member

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    It's probably just me. When I look for serious replies that's all I see

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  20. Challenger78 Valued Senior Member

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    Serious/not serious

    Here I draw the line.
    Enmos, Human is what you are
    Do you hate yourself?
    Like it or not folks, We're stuck with each other
    Therefore, Get into positions of influence, and then save the planet.
    You can't do that, and hate yourself at the same time.
     
  21. draqon Banned Banned

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    oh yes you can, and many do. Its just counter-productive.
     
  22. Enmos Valued Senior Member

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    I do not hate.
    Me possibly not liking myself is besides the point.
    I like other humans (some, not all), but I generally dislike humanity as whole.
     
  23. laladopi time for change. Registered Senior Member

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    Sure, um we destroy other things to build our own needs for survival.
     

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