It’s the end of the world and we know it

POSTED BY: 1kiki
UPDATED: Tuesday, May 9, 2017 20:40
VIEWED: 4280
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1KIKI

Tuesday, May 2, 2017 1:58 AM

Stephen Hawking - Now, more than at any time in our history, our species needs to work together. We face awesome environmental challenges: climate change, food production, overpopulation, the decimation of other species, epidemic disease, acidification of the oceans. Together, they are a reminder that we are at the most dangerous moment in the development of humanity. We now have the technology to destroy the planet on which we live, but have not yet developed the ability to escape it.

https://www.salon.com/2017/04/30/its-the-end-of-the-world-and-we-know-
it-scientists-in-many-disciplines-see-apocalypse-soon/

It’s the end of the world and we know it: Scientists in many disciplines see apocalypse, soon

While apocalyptic beliefs about the end of the world have, historically, been the subject of religious speculation, they are increasingly common among some of the leading scientists today. This is a worrisome fact, given that science is based not on faith and private revelation, but on observation and empirical evidence.

Perhaps the most prominent figure with an anxious outlook on humanity’s future is Stephen Hawking. Last year, he wrote the following in a Guardian article:

Now, more than at any time in our history, our species needs to work together. We face awesome environmental challenges: climate change, food production, overpopulation, the decimation of other species, epidemic disease, acidification of the oceans. Together, they are a reminder that we are at the most dangerous moment in the development of humanity. We now have the technology to destroy the planet on which we live, but have not yet developed the ability to escape it.

There is not a single point here that is inaccurate or hyperbolic. For example, consider that the hottest 17 years on record have all occurred since 2000, with a single exception (namely, 1998), and with 2016 being the hottest ever. Although 2017 probably won’t break last year’s record, the UK’s Met Office projects that it “will still rank among the hottest years on record.” Studies also emphasize that there is a rapidly closing window for meaningful action on climate change. As the authors of one peer-reviewed paper put it:

The next few decades offer a brief window of opportunity to minimize large-scale and potentially catastrophic climate change that will extend longer than the entire history of human civilization thus far. Policy decisions made during this window are likely to result in changes to Earth’s climate system measured in millennia rather than human lifespans, with associated socioeconomic and ecological impacts that will exacerbate the risks and damages to society and ecosystems that are projected for the twenty-first century and propagate into the future for many thousands of years.

Furthermore, studies suggest that civilization will have to produce more food in the next 50 years than in all of human history, which stretches back some 200,000 years into the Pleistocene epoch. This is partly due to the ongoing problem of overpopulation, where Pew projects approximately 9.3 billion people living on spaceship Earth by 2050. According to the 2016 Living Planet Report, humanity needs 1.6 Earths to sustain our current rate of (over)consumption — in other words, unless something significant changes with respect to anthropogenic resource depletion, nature will force life as we know it to end.

Along these lines, scientists largely agree that human activity has pushed the biosphere into the sixth mass extinction event in the entire 4.5 billion year history of Earth. This appears to be the case even on the most optimistic assumptions about current rates of species extinctions, which may be occurring 10,000 times faster than the normal “background rate” of extinction. Other studies have found that, for example, the global population of wild vertebrates — that is, mammals, birds, reptiles, fish and amphibians — has declined by a staggering 58 percent between 1970 and 2012. The biosphere is wilting in real time, and our own foolish actions are to

RIVERLOVE

Tuesday, May 2, 2017 2:35 AM

1KIKI

Tuesday, May 2, 2017 2:49 AM

I'm curious RL. Are you in denial, or are you really OK with it?

Care to try addressing the facts, again?

Or do you shoot nothing but blanks?

Originally posted by G:
"I coined the slogan "We Suck!"© many years ago."
G is an avowed Putin-loving, pro-Russian, anti-American troll.

SIGNYM

Tuesday, May 2, 2017 3:13 AM

DeNial. It's more than just a river in Egypt.

Because, curiously, you CAN stop the signal! Especially the one between the ears!

-----------

"Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor"- William Blake
THUGR, JONESING FOR WWIII
All those guns 1kiki, are pointed towards your beloved Russia. All those cyber capabilities, pointed right at Russia. Thanks Putin, and get ready to duck.

DREAMTROVE

Tuesday, May 2, 2017 6:49 AM

Uh oh, Hawking lost it. End is nigh, huh? I prefer the Trumpian solution: colonize Mars.

The Malthusians have been singing this tune for a while. Truth is, conspicuous consumption is trending towards zero, population growth is skidding to a halt, and so called global warming is a media induced panic over a very natural phenomenon that threatens no one.

If we don't do ourselves in, then we should be okay, says the terminally ill guy. Srsly, not about to panic over the planet's situation.

1KIKI

Tuesday, May 2, 2017 8:13 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by DREAMTROVE:
Uh oh, Hawking lost it. End is nigh, huh? I prefer the Trumpian solution: colonize Mars.

The Malthusians have been singing this tune for a while. Truth is, conspicuous consumption is trending towards zero, population growth is skidding to a halt, and so called global warming is a media induced panic over a very natural phenomenon that threatens no one.

If we don't do ourselves in, then we should be okay, says the terminally ill guy. Srsly, not about to panic over the planet's situation.

What I noticed DT is that you made claims with zero to back them up. Conspicuous consumption as indicated by per-person energy consumption, is still going up. Population growth is still zooming skywards. CO2 measured in the atmosphere - which is carbon released from storage under the ground into the atmosphere - has gone up quite unnaturally in proportion to fossil fuel burning. And rather than being harmless, ecosystems that we depend on are already collapsing as a result.

Here's the results of a google search on per capita energy consumption:

Now, if each individual (per capita) is using more energy, AND the number of people is still going up:

then it means that energy consumption is one graph MULTIPLIED by the other.

You with me so far?

Can you present any evidence that disputes this?

So I thought I'd add this on. In the lab we measure ambient CO2. And in the decades that I've looked at results, it's been going up.

Here are official numbers.

Care to try addressing the facts, again?

Or do you shoot nothing but blanks?

Originally posted by G:
"I coined the slogan "We Suck!"© many years ago."
G is an avowed Putin-loving, pro-Russian, anti-American troll.

1KIKI

Tuesday, May 2, 2017 8:43 AM

BTW

At one point - decades ago - people started thinking about global warming. They assumed it would be in the future.

But here we are now, decades later. And it's not just that the earth will get warmer in the future - though it will - it's that it's ALREADY WARMER NOW.

It's not just that the oceans will acidify in the future - though they will - it's that they're ALREADY ACIDIFIED NOW.

It's not that glaciers will melt in the future - though they will - it's that GLACIERS HAVE ALREADY MELTED.

It's not that the oceans will get warmer in the future - though they will - it's that oceans are ALREADY WARMER NOW.

Global warming isn't a theory about something that might happen in the future, IT'S A FACT RIGHT NOW.

Originally posted by G:
"I coined the slogan "We Suck!"© many years ago."
G is an avowed Putin-loving, pro-Russian, anti-American troll.

1KIKI

Wednesday, May 3, 2017 7:59 AM

One Hillary nuclear bomb will ruin your whole day.

You have to get past the immediate threats in order to deal with the less immediate ones.

Care to try addressing the facts, again?

Or do you shoot nothing but blanks?

Originally posted by G:
"I coined the slogan "We Suck!"© many years ago."
G is an avowed Putin-loving, pro-Russian, anti-American troll.

6STRINGJOKER

Thursday, May 4, 2017 12:19 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Riverlove:

lol

6STRINGJOKER

Thursday, May 4, 2017 12:22 AM

I don't, and won't, have any kids. Immediately my carbon footprint is reduced by a fraction of the number of kids you have.

I barely buy anything besides food, and I recycle whatever I can. I just found out from my insurance agent that in the last 4 1/2 years I've driven less than 7,000 miles in my car.

I sleep okay at night.

THGRRI

Thursday, May 4, 2017 12:38 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by 1kiki:
One Hillary nuclear bomb will ruin your whole day.

You have to get past the immediate threats in order to deal with the less immediate ones.

It's amazing how deceitful you are. Hillary starting world war three is subterfuge. Deceit used in order to achieve one's goal. In your case to get people to vote for Trump. We still see you spewing the same shit today because of Trumps absolute incompetence.

Here's an idea. How about focusing now on Trump and forget Hillary. After all, it's Trump that is in the White House. It's what he does that matters.

1KIKI

Friday, May 5, 2017 11:49 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by 1kiki:
One Hillary nuclear bomb will ruin your whole day.

You have to get past the immediate threats in order to deal with the less immediate ones.

Quote:
Originally posted by THGRRI:
It's amazing how deceitful you are. Hillary starting world war three is subterfuge. Deceit used in order to achieve one's goal. In your case to get people to vote for Trump.

It was GEEBERS who brought up the election: "... so let's vote for the one candidate who doesn't give a shit about any of it 'cuz that would be doubling up on the stoopid (and completely in character) - check.", and doing his usual strawman shtick by misrepresenting my position. AND LOOK HERE! Not only are you misrepresenting my role in this thread - which is really stupid because anyone can easily scroll up to find the truth - but you're strawmanning as well!

Gosh.

Do you NEVER get tired of lying?

Quote:
We still see you spewing the same shit today because of Trumps absolute incompetence.

Only in response to your buddy troll-in-arms, GEEBERS.

Quote:
Here's an idea. How about focusing now on Trump and forget Hillary. After all, it's Trump that is in the White House. It's what he does that matters.

You know, I tried moving the discussion into a proactive direction. But all the Hillarities just kept pissing and moaning about Trump and how Hillary was done wrong, and no one was at all interested in what should be DONE about any of it.

They still aren't.

And neither are you.

Care to try addressing the facts, again?

Or do you shoot nothing but blanks?

Originally posted by G:
"I coined the slogan "We Suck!"© many years ago."
G is an avowed Putin-loving, pro-Russian, anti-American troll.

1KIKI

Friday, May 5, 2017 12:06 PM

So, this seems to be a dull topic. I don't know how that could be. In the near future life will get difficult and very expensive, and then a lot of people will die horrible deaths. What could be more gripping than trying to figure out how to stop this terrible destruction?

But I've come to realize that people just want to be left in their personal bubbles with their comfortable kvetches.

So let's discuss Trump some more, because everyone just has to watch to see if the plane's going to crash at the airshow.

6STRINGJOKER

Friday, May 5, 2017 6:57 PM

People have been predicting the end of the world my entire life... especially religious people. I still have a Jehova's Witness pamphlet I found in my grandma's basment dated 1985 called "AWAKE!" that has a picture of an atomic mushroom cloud on the cover.

I'm not saying that we aren't destroying our atmosphere, but the world will be just fine without us if we do indeed make it unfit for human life.

I'm all up for discussion about it if you have anything new to bring to the table. What do you propose to do about it? I have very little influence over anybody and even less power. All I can do is laugh about it when I hear these predictions of the end of the world, whether it's from religious nuts, conspiracy theorists or left-wing lunatics that would see us wiping our ass with our hands and washing our clothes on rocks.

When my brother starts talking about Nibiroo after watching too much Alex Jones, I just laugh and tell him that if I see a second sun in the sky tomorrow at least I'll die with all of my teeth.

I think Sheryl Crow said it best when she said....

My friend the Communist...
Holds meetings in his office...
I can't afford his gas...
So I'm stuck here watching TV...

RIVERLOVE

Friday, May 5, 2017 7:16 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by 6stringJoker:

People have been predicting the end of the world my entire life... especially religious people.

Predicting the end of the world has been an annual crackpot event for centuries. The only difference today is that you can make a living at it.

Quote:
I think Sheryl Crow said it best when she said....

My friend the Communist...
Holds meetings in his office...
I can't afford his gas...
So I'm stuck here watching TV...

She also said everyone should wipe their behind using just one sheet of toilet paper. Funny thing is, risk taker that I am, I'm not ever gonna try that.

6STRINGJOKER

Friday, May 5, 2017 7:24 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Riverlove:
Quote:
Originally posted by 6stringJoker:

People have been predicting the end of the world my entire life... especially religious people.

Predicting the end of the world has been an annual crackpot event for centuries. The only difference today is that you can make a living at it.

Quote:
I think Sheryl Crow said it best when she said....

My friend the Communist...
Holds meetings in his office...
I can't afford his gas...
So I'm stuck here watching TV...

She also said everyone should wipe their behind using just one sheet of toilet paper. Funny thing is, risk taker that I am, I'm not ever gonna try that.

LOL... yeah. She did say that.

I bet you could try that with the triple ply clouds she's wiping her royal ass with. Try wiping your ass with one sheet of the 2 ply sandpaper you buy in bulk at Costco.

I'll refer you to my recent post on the thread about Joss and how celebrities should keep their political opinions to themselves.

Soak up the sun is a good song though.

1KIKI

Saturday, May 6, 2017 1:37 PM

Care to try addressing the facts, again?

Or do you shoot nothing but blanks?

Originally posted by G:
"I coined the slogan "We Suck!"© many years ago."
G is an avowed Putin-loving, pro-Russian, anti-American troll.

1KIKI

Saturday, May 6, 2017 2:07 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by 6stringJoker:
People have been predicting the end of the world my entire life... especially religious people.

And?

Would you count on religion to land men on the moon? Because as deeply as they believe, their religion just doesn't have the tools to get it done.

OTOH the scientists, physicists, astronomers, and engineers do have the tools. Their mathematical models of how things work allowed them to model the observations of the world and predict what they needed to do.

It's those same tools that scientists use today to understand the workings of climate, and predict the future.

If science could build rockets to transport men from one moving object to another moving object over vast distances, why do you presume it to be a failure regarding climate?

Quote:
I still have a Jehova's Witness pamphlet I found in my grandma's basment dated 1985 called "AWAKE!" that has a picture of an atomic mushroom cloud on the cover.

I'm not saying that we aren't destroying our atmosphere, but the world will be just fine without us if we do indeed make it unfit for human life.

With or without all the other species that will be extinct? Are you so misguided that you think humans will perish and everything else will stay miraculously intact?

Quote:
I'm all up for discussion about it if you have anything new to bring to the table. What do you propose to do about it? I have very little influence over anybody and even less power.

OF COURSE you have very little power by yourself. Guess what? I have very little power by myself, too. But how about raising enough concern to join others to change humanity's course? If enough people get together you can end up with Brexit. OTOH if enough people cower you end up with Greece. If nobody does anything - nothing changes. If enough people do something, you can change the world.

Quote:
All I can do is laugh about it when I hear these predictions of the end of the world, whether it's from religious nuts, conspiracy theorists or left-wing lunatics that would see us wiping our ass with our hands and washing our clothes on rocks.

Are any credible scientists suggesting that, by any chance?

Quote:
When my brother starts talking about Nibiroo after watching too much Alex Jones, I just laugh and tell him that if I see a second sun in the sky tomorrow at least I'll die with all of my teeth.

Well, if you think all the observations and all the measurements and all the mathematics by all the scientists over all this time around the whole globe are JUST LIKE Alex Jones ... you're pretty scrambled.

Care to try addressing the facts, again?

Or do you shoot nothing but blanks?

Originally posted by G:
"I coined the slogan "We Suck!"© many years ago."
G is an avowed Putin-loving, pro-Russian, anti-American troll.

1KIKI

Saturday, May 6, 2017 2:16 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Riverlove:
Predicting the end of the world has been an annual crackpot event for centuries. The only difference today is that you can make a living at it.

So you're saying that all scientists are crackpots?

You know who you remind me of? An ISIS adherent. Despite that modern science has located the oil to run the vehicles designed by modern engineers, and metallurgists made their modern guns possible, while physicists, engineers and mathematicians make their cell phones possible, and Einstein's theory of relativity corrects for the time dilation to make their gps accurate ... they haven't left the medieval world of magical religious beliefs.

Care to try addressing the facts, again?

Or do you shoot nothing but blanks?

Originally posted by G:
"I coined the slogan "We Suck!"© many years ago."
G is an avowed Putin-loving, pro-Russian, anti-American troll.

6STRINGJOKER

Tuesday, May 9, 2017 8:40 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by 1kiki:
And?

Would you count on religion to land men on the moon? Because as deeply as they believe, their religion just doesn't have the tools to get it done.

OTOH the scientists, physicists, astronomers, and engineers do have the tools. Their mathematical models of how things work allowed them to model the observations of the world and predict what they needed to do.

It's those same tools that scientists use today to understand the workings of climate, and predict the future.

If science could build rockets to transport men from one moving object to another moving object over vast distances, why do you presume it to be a failure regarding climate?

Well first of all, to answer your question, climate change is a highly politicized topic compared to space exploration and as such I don't believe what they're telling us about it. Second, I've seen scientists give compelling evidence that even the moon landing was staged and we've never actually stepped foot on it. I'm not a denier of the moon landing myself, but I don't necessarily believe it either just because they told us it happened.

I think I've already stated that I believe that we're not doing the environment any good with how we treat it. Once again, overpopulation should be taking the front seat in the conversation. You're NEVER going to get people to willingly give up the little "luxuries" in life to save the future. Sad but true, but it's not going to happen. It's why J0 and I agree that he's a scary dude when it comes to his presidential election bid. Things are going to have to get a hell of a lot worse and people will have to see immediate things hurting them like a sun that gives you cancer in a day if you're not wearing a burka or black rain that creates lesions and blisters your skin on contact. By that time it would likely be too late.

I feel the only answer to this and many other problems is depopulating the planet. Hopefully we can figure out a way to incentivize it so it's voluntary, but I think the real answer is going to be something much more sinister.

Quote:
With or without all the other species that will be extinct? Are you so misguided that you think humans will perish and everything else will stay miraculously intact?

Of course not. These types of questions are why I don't enjoy debating with you 1kiki. There are many shades of gray. I don't deal in absolutes.

I believe we have already wiped out a large amount of species since we've "mastered" nature. There's probably more species we've already killed that we don't know about than ones we've cataloged. Assuming we are to believe the history of the world as it is taught to us, this planet has suffered at least one cataclysmic event and yet, here we are.

When we're gone, the planet will go on without us, and in time will likely thrive again without us. Maybe none of the life as we know it will ultimately survive and whatever takes its place would seem alien to us now.

Quote:
OF COURSE you have very little power by yourself. Guess what? I have very little power by myself, too. But how about raising enough concern to join others to change humanity's course? If enough people get together you can end up with Brexit. OTOH if enough people cower you end up with Greece. If nobody does anything - nothing changes. If enough people do something, you can change the world.

Yeah. And if we all say we believe in fairies, we can save Tinkerbell.

I'll refer you to my thoughts on that issue above.

Quote:
Are any credible scientists suggesting that, by any chance?

Asking what? Your question here could have referred to a lot of different things I said.

Quote:
Well, if you think all the observations and all the measurements and all the mathematics by all the scientists over all this time around the whole globe are JUST LIKE Alex Jones ... you're

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