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Will Earth Expire By 2050?
_josh writes: "Will overconsumption force humanity off this planet in less than 50 years? It may sound sci-fi, but according to the WWF in this story at the Observer, it's entirely possible. Maybe now I can convince my brother not to buy that SUV ..." Take with as large a grain of salt as you think appropriate.
What do wrestlers know about the overconsumption of resources and its effect on habitable planets?
WWF as in "World Wrestling Federation"???
this has been predicted by tree-hugging morons every decade for the last god-knows-how-long. get over it. it's not "damning" because it's not true.
"Forests have dwindled by 12 percent." Yeah, get over it. People cut down trees, and 88% isn't exactly dwindling, especially given that in the past 30 years the human population has doubled. The article makes it seem that forests are the only things that "absorb carbon dioxide emissions". That's a load of crap; algae are responsible for the majority of carbon-dioxide recycling, and it's always been that way.
Sure, you can hug your trees, but know your facts. (Hug your librarian instead.)
I can't believe this article was posted. It is almost as bad as any troll. It isn't even an article, it is more the ramblings of a eco freak socialist. My god, we have been hearing these same apocolyptic predictions since the industrial revolution began.
These zealots unfortunately suffer from the same problems as all zealots. They are irrational, and unable to see reality.
Does any single sentence in this ridiculous article give any shred of proof to the assertion mankind can go extinct in 50 years? How did they come up with this number? Nothing but gobblygook to back up their outrageous claims.
If anything indicates this story was not based on sound scientific evidence it is mention that the evil Republicans headed by George W Bush will cause the collapse of civilization as we know it because Bushie pulled out of the Kyoto treaty.
Of course, the snivelling remark of every socialist was evidence the real nature of this article - and the environmental movement - in the following quote: "The report offers a vivid warning that either people curb their extravagant lifestyles or risk leaving the onus on scientists to locate another planet that can sustain human life"
This assertion does not give any indication who suddenly posseses the ability to see the future, to know which technological advancements will be available tomorrow to deal with this problems. This article is based on the absolutely absurd notion that a) current consumption of natural resources by britons increases at certain rate per year. b) this rate will forever remain the same for all humans c) this rate of increase in consumption will ultimately apply to all humans who indulge in the capitalistic pig fest.
Is it not logical to assume that history will continue to repeat itself? Technology will increase and solve these problems? As it always has? That we will ultimately kill the weaker persons who are stealing the natural resources to which we are the rightful owners?
Of course, as socialists, they don't understand nature. Nature always forces shortages on populations, the result of this is natural selection, competition. Those humans that can survive win, those they cannot die. But for all their clammoring about nature, they can't for a second realize the real problem in this world is we keep too many people alive who otherwise should die. Death, that evil word, sends chills down the spines of do-gooders everywhere. It doesn't matter, when the population competition does get that fierce, we will just have another war. Nothing really starts wars EVER other than competition for natural resources. Let the blood flow!!!!
I don't read or respond to AC posts
First of all, Bush has nothing to do with Kyoto. Congress must agree to international treaties, and the Senate voted it down something like 99-0 back during the Clinton administration.
And don't be fooled that Kyoto is the answer. Kyoto is nothing more than an attempt to cripple the US economy to allow other nations to catch up. And it is hidden behind a solution to a "problem" that scientists can even agree exists (global warming).
"The defense of freedom requires the advance of freedom" - George W Bush
Q) What's red and orange, and looks good on hippies?
:)
A) Fire.
(/me ducks for cover
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We should power our cars with the methane produced by it -- that ought to please the hippies who wrote this article. Hippies, that is, and third world nations who want technology handouts:
"Matthew Spencer, a spokesman for Greenpeace, said: 'There will have to be concessions from the richer nations to the poorer ones or there will be fireworks.'"
Fireworks? You mean the expeditionary force we're going to send to destroy their national infrastructure if they even look at us funny? Give me a fucking break. The third world can barely wipe their own asses, much less do anything to anyone. Fireworks, my ass.
Look, this is all a huge, stinking, pile of shit, pure and simple. I can't be the only person who gets tired of secondhand, sloppy pseudoscience and propaganda being shoved down my throat.
Ok, item 1: The Earth isn't going to suddenly "run out of resources". That's a load of crap. What IS going to happen is the petroleum reserves will be dry by 2050 and we'll all switch to hydrogen-based fuel cells. GM is working on a fuel-cell powered car named "AUTOnomy" which is lighter and cheaper than existing designs, and they're counting on it scooping the other car companies around 2010, when they're planning on releasing it. The hydrogen will be generated from nuclear, wind, hydroelectric, and methane power, and if you think that's unrealistic, I live in Albany and we've ALREADY got an electric plant that's powered by methane produced by a landfill, ok? Not to mention that New York is one of only a few states with the good sense to generate electric power with nuclear plants. Which, by the way, is why we sell power to the entire Atlantic seaboard, all the way down to Florida. I don't know about all of YOU, but WE'll all be using fuel cells in a few years, laughing at you "not in my back yard!" types who hate petrol but still won't allow nuclear or wind power for one pissy little reason or another.
As far as our water supplies going dry, well, not here in the US, unless you have the bad taste to live in LA. Here in Upstate New York, most houses have wells (point wells, dug wells, and artesian wells) which draw groundwater from hundreds of feet down. This water comes from the plentiful rain that falls here, and is filtered by the rich soil we have. In other words, buy a house anywhere in upstate New York, and you have a completely autonomous water supply. Shortage? Where?
As far as food supplies go, we produce most of the food consumed in the world, so I'm not exactly worried. Maybe some sub-saharan will have to move to Mars, but NOT I!
And, I don't know what forests you're worried about, but my state is forested from one end to the other, you can't even walk through much of it, it's so thick. And, reforesting isn't the horrible task everyone makes it out to be. Michigan was completely deforested at the turn of the century. They took truckloads of seeds and literally threw them around with shovels, so that they'd fall in a chaotic, natural pattern (the seeds in question have a half wing structure, so they tend to disperse). Now Michigan is so densely forested that it draws hunters from all over the country. The wildlife is so thick they have to thin the herds every year or they impact farming!
Another issue: most of the carbon dioxide removal is done by kelp and plankton, not by trees. And, the entire northern hemisphere is densely forested, in case no one around here lives in the north. Surely you're not all living in equatorial Africa, right?
I won't even get into how half of the scientists you talk to think the global warming is part of a 10,000 year trend related to the cyclical changes Earth goes through on a continuous basis.
As I said: this is all a pile of shit, and it stinketh.
Under most of it is a bunch of ridiculously misguided hippie bleeding hearts who think a few little white lies are okay if it benefits their third world friends. Who, by the way are clamoring for technology handouts so they can compete against YOU, fair reader, for your IT jobs. Witness India trying to be the "back office of the world".
IT'S POLITICALLY MOTIVATED. Sure, there are a lot of places in the world that totally suck! I get that! Oh, there are LOADS of countries whose environments are torn to shreds. Too bad for them. If they didn't have a corrupt, easily purchased central government, maybe they wouldn't be in this pickle. If they didn't let corporations come in and screw 'em, maybe they'd be ok.
Quit worrying. Wait a few years and buy GM's new fuel-cell car. Lighten the hell up already.