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.

Comments

Oh, come on...

[mikethegeek]

This is crank "science" by the same bunch of idiots who said that we were going into an ice age back in the 70's, and who put in children's readers in the early 80's (I remember this in school) that you wouldn't be able to go outside in the 1990's without an oxygen mask.

This trash is funded by the WWF. No wonder they wanted to divorce themselves from the wrestlers (now WWE), their science is just as fake.

Re:In a related story...

[IamTheRealMike]

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.

More fool congress. Actually, America was nearly kicked out of Kyoto by the rest of the world, as your diplomats were constantly harrassing the others and making things difficult - ie opposing any attempt to reach a resolution. They said outright in fact, "we're not going to go with this, as it'd damage our economy". Needless to say, that attitude pisses off pretty much everybody who isn't American.

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).

WTF? What kind of stupid paranoia is that? Last time I checked in fact the dollar was a 1:1 parity with the Euro. We're doing just fine thanks, and this mindless protectionism is just a feeble excuse to not change your ways. America preaches free trade to the rest of the world, but the moment other countries threaten its economic interests, suddenly it's all trade barriers and diplomatic sabotage.

What, the US steel industry is inefficient? That's OK says Bush, we'll just impose huge trade barriers and flood Europe with cheap foreign steel to protect voters in the rust belt. The rest of the world is developing digital TV faster than us? That's ok, we'll just invent our own (inferior) transmission systems to give US manufacturers a boost. But the moment the rest of the world attempts to do something about global warming, suddenly it's us who's attempting economic meddling.

Do you guys realise just how much respect America lost abroad when it pulled out of Kyoto? At least here in England Bush is a laughing stock, most people are of the opinion that he's simply in the pockets of american business. There are people here who HATE his guts because of what happened to Kyoto. It wasn't much, but it was something, and it was sacrificed because American voters didn't want to give up their lifestyle.

Re:Another option?

[Zordak]

ok lets face it teachers are stuipid, i mean they are teachers, i.e. they couldn't get a real job

Please, please, please tell me that this is a troll. If not, has it ever occurred to you that perhaps the root of your poor educational experience is not that you have had bad teachers, but simply that you are stupid?

a problem of dumb illiterate fucks

Perhaps you feel that being able to spell "31337 h4X0r" constitutes literacy? Whatever your definition is, it obviously does not include a firm grasp of the English language. For all of your ridicule of educators, I certainly hope that you are literate in some other language, because if you are not, I'm afraid I'll have to repeat my assertion that you are stupid.

also proves that GRADES don't mean shit

Despite your stunningly well-constructed argument, I'm not quite sure what it is you believe "proves" this. At face value, it would appear to be simply a convenient argument for someone who is accustomed to receiving poor grades, but still likes to imagine he is somehow intellectually superior. Do you realize that while you sit and whine about how your report cards do not accurately reflect your intelligence, the content of your whining removes all doubt? You are, indeed, a perfect example of the sad, degraded state the world would be in without good teachers. Next time you feel inclined to post, perhaps you could keep your "$.02" to yourself and put it in a piggy bank. You can get a good used grammar book for around $10. I'd leave calculating how many posts you would need to keep to yourself before you could afford a grammar book as an exercise for you to complete on your own, but I don't want to strain your intellect, so I'll offer you this hint: The answer is 500. I'll be looking forward to an intelligent comment from you sometime after your 501st inclination to post.