I'll get my checkbook.

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Obama-e fungis nati homines....

True. And life does fine during ice ages.

I agree. Life can be tenacious. But there is still a danger that the greenhouse effect goes over the cliff, and we literally become like Venus. I know that such a possibility is extremely remote, but it is worth considering that the surface of the earth is not guaranteed to be habitable for life - there are many possible configurations.

Andrew

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Ethanol is a fabulous solution to our energy dilemma because it will provide more fuel for us to drive around and look for food.

-- Unknown

Yes, that IS remote since we live in an ecosystem that dedicates itself to maintain balance. I think anything WITHIN that system is just not strong enough to destroy it. Man could throw the system out of balance, but not for very long.

I can tell you that living here on the New Madrid fault line, I concern myself with becoming fossil fuel due to an earthquake far more than I do about global warming. That, too, is even a matter of perspective. When I lived in an urban area, I could certainly see the global warming problem. But here, this is an agricultural area. There are miles and miles of beautiful fields of wheat, corn, tobacco, soybeans. The ecosystem sure LOOKS to be working.

Those little rumbles in the earth that rearrange my china cabinet are far more alarming!

Yes, i find it unlikely that the earth would go so out of balance as to destroy life. But is is false to presume that anything within the system is incapable of destroying the natural systems that keep it in balance. It is easily conceivable that we could deforest the planet entirely or pollute the system beyond its ability to recover in human life spans, and it is likewise conceivable that we could use biological, chemical, or nuclear weapons to permanently alter these systems so as to make it impossible for most forms of life to survive.

Global warming is having an impact on agricultural areas. When you add higher temps (increased evaporation) to the problem of soil erosion and poor water management, not even agricultural areas are immune. No matter how beautiful it may appear at any given time. Everything seemed to working fine with the Titanic until it hit the iceberg, after all.

To see how climate change (not necessarily AGW) can effect agriculture and civil society, one need only look at Darfur or the entire Sahel region of Africa.


Ultimately im not so concerned about the destruction of all life (which we both agree is very unlikely), im concerned about human life and happiness - all the points of suffering between here and our possible extinction.

Andrew

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Ethanol is a fabulous solution to our energy dilemma because it will provide more fuel for us to drive around and look for food.

-- Unknown

really? and of course they all sppt. your doomsday scenario, am I right?

You know, I don't envision nuclear weapons being used again at all. And, I think if we knew then what we know now, they wouldn't have ever been used.

Certainly the weather can change. It HAS changed in parts of this country to the devastation of a lot of people. But they just went elsewhere. I'm thinking right now tillable land in Canada might just be getting more valuable. We had a drought here last year. But the sky didn't fall, and we have had ample rain this year. In fact, the crops are exceedingly beautiful.



I don't concern myself at all with human 'happiness.' IMO, if you are alive, it is up to you to create your own happiness.

Doomsday? WOW! That's heavy!

The fact remains that there is the capability within the system to destroy the system insofar as it supports life, specifically human life.

Yet soil erosion, the health of rivers, and drought remains a massive problem.


The health of the environment is a major contributor to human happiness. Both in physical terms and in spiritual/psychological terms.

Andrew

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Ethanol is a fabulous solution to our energy dilemma because it will provide more fuel for us to drive around and look for food.

-- Unknown

No. The possible configurations range from doomsday type scenarios to scenarios that are ideal for life to thrive.

Andrew

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Ethanol is a fabulous solution to our energy dilemma because it will provide more fuel for us to drive around and look for food.

-- Unknown

Yes. The earth will be just fine with or without humans around. It's *us* we should be concerned about.

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please click and help the eggs hatch!

"The only abnormality is the incapacity to love"
-Anias Nin

wow so you mean there's wiggle room in their projections?

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Obama-e fungis nati homines....

The point i was making is that when the earths climate systems inevitably attempts to correct itself from our destructive impact, to get back in rhythm so to speak, it is not guaranteed to be in a state that is capable of supporting us.


But on the other hand, we are capable of having positive impacts on the system, if we so choose. The forests, oceans, atmosphere, and life itself all play a regulatory role in the system, we need only promote the normal functioning and health of those systems, rather than the total exploitation of those systems.

Andrew

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Ethanol is a fabulous solution to our energy dilemma because it will provide more fuel for us to drive around and look for food.

-- Unknown

you don't know that. Exploitation is a relative term.

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Obama-e fungis nati homines....

Industrial civilization's main effect is to locate resources, deplete them, and move on to the next resource base, and deplete that one, and so on.

Andrew

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Ethanol is a fabulous solution to our energy dilemma because it will provide more fuel for us to drive around and look for food.

-- Unknown

yes and when the recourses are gone we move on to newer technology, Are you saying depleting the oil under ground is harmful in and of itself?

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Obama-e fungis nati homines....