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Global warming and evolution: here's a discussion point. (pg. 12)
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| Ridexer |
| quote: | Originally posted by RJT
I find people like you to be more a nuisance than people who deny the issue to begin with. You're basically saying, "Yeah, I know there's a problem - but I can't do anything about it, and we're pretty much ed already, so who cares?"
Acknowledging that there's a real problem and then deciding to just contribute to it out of nothing but shear apathy is pretty sad. |
Well... For over decade there has been talk about drastic changes needing to take place, and what we get? Carbon emissions are higher than ever, and goverments struggling to make contract on cutting carbon emissions to level that still is way high. (and CO2 stays on atmosphere for average 30 years, so yeah it will take long time before any changes start to really make effect.)
At one point I paid lots of attention to stuff like shutting all electric apllications and telling people to do so (well yeah I still cut power off whenever possible) and returning the bottles etc.
But then I realized that all the stuff im bothering my head with is not going to make any significant impact. Yeah sure if many enough peoples do this and this, there won't be as drastic effects. Well, it's still all minimal, inviduals are hardly making much of the carbon emissions anyways, and if we get one big volcanic eruption, it will make the emissions saved by inviduals seem like fart on sahara.
Also, the thing with changing enviroments is, that species will adopt. Polar bear for example is, according to some study I read while back ago, is about 40 000 year old as specie, and grizzly bears in north america are more genetically related to polar bears than grizzly bears in asia/europe. So, polar bear has it's lifestyle adopted to hunting seals on ice, and as that get's impossible, polar bears have to either custom new lifestyle or dissappear. We can save polar bear at zoo's but it doesn't make big difference, it doesn't anymore have place to live on, it gets obsolete. If there will be sea ice on north pole area for example after next ice age, and there will be seals too, some specie will propably start to use the food source, and then have pretty similiar to lifespan as specie as polar bears have. We will lose species because of climate change and global warming for sure,but other species will claim their spots, or new one's will emerge.
And in the end, sun will eventually burn the earth anyways;) |
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| eRRaTiK |
| quote: | Originally posted by Ridexer
Also, the thing with changing environments is, that species will adapt. |
;) |
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| RJT |
| quote: | Originally posted by Ridexer
Well... For over decade there has been talk about drastic changes needing to take place, and what we get? Carbon emissions are higher than ever, and goverments struggling to make contract on cutting carbon emissions to level that still is way high. (and CO2 stays on atmosphere for average 30 years, so yeah it will take long time before any changes start to really make effect.)
At one point I paid lots of attention to stuff like shutting all electric apllications and telling people to do so (well yeah I still cut power off whenever possible) and returning the bottles etc.
But then I realized that all the stuff im bothering my head with is not going to make any significant impact. Yeah sure if many enough peoples do this and this, there won't be as drastic effects. Well, it's still all minimal, inviduals are hardly making much of the carbon emissions anyways, and if we get one big volcanic eruption, it will make the emissions saved by inviduals seem like fart on sahara.
Also, the thing with changing enviroments is, that species will adopt. Polar bear for example is, according to some study I read while back ago, is about 40 000 year old as specie, and grizzly bears in north america are more genetically related to polar bears than grizzly bears in asia/europe. So, polar bear has it's lifestyle adopted to hunting seals on ice, and as that get's impossible, polar bears have to either custom new lifestyle or dissappear. We can save polar bear at zoo's but it doesn't make big difference, it doesn't anymore have place to live on, it gets obsolete. If there will be sea ice on north pole area for example after next ice age, and there will be seals too, some specie will propably start to use the food source, and then have pretty similiar to lifespan as specie as polar bears have. We will lose species because of climate change and global warming for sure,but other species will claim their spots, or new one's will emerge.
And in the end, sun will eventually burn the earth anyways;) |
First, it is entirely feasible that human beings are one of those species that will be lost. More often than not it really seems like people fail to realize that we are no different than any other species on this planet - we aren't removed somehow from our environment.
Beyond that, you just took a lot of time and words to say "I just don't care." That's fine and well, and you're welcome to believe you have no influence and/or can't do anything to help, but you're wrong - and the biggest threat our planet faces isn't from global warming or loss of resources; it's people who choose to give up.
You're not asking for people to adapt at all - you're just saying "Well, the planet will adapt, and if necessary, kill us off in an effort to save itself. Oh well."
I think that's an incredibly attitude to have, but unfortunately you're more than entitled to it. |
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| Lebezniatnikov |
| quote: | Originally posted by RJT
You're not asking for people to adapt at all - you're just saying "Well, the planet will adapt, and if necessary, the animals and plants will die off to make room for species that can deal with our irresponsible lifestyles. Oh well."
I think that's an incredibly attitude to have, but unfortunately you're more than entitled to it. |
Fixed for greater accuracy. |
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| RJT |
| quote: | Originally posted by Lebezniatnikov
Fixed for greater accuracy. |
:p
It never ceases to amaze me how often folks who get sucked into the "natural cycles" debate fail to realize that human beings are a part of nature.
We aren't talking about conservation and responsible lifestyles from the outside looking in. |
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| Lebezniatnikov |
| quote: | Originally posted by RJT
:p
It never ceases to amaze me how often folks who get sucked into the "natural cycles" debate fail to realize that human beings are a part of nature.
We aren't talking about conservation and responsible lifestyles from the outside looking in. |
It's stupidity to ignore the effect of climate change on humans, but it's simply arrogant to say "oh well, the plants and animals can just deal with our apathy if they don't like it." |
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| RJT |
The thing that might drive me more crazy than anything is the constant beating of the "You guys are just buying into some apocalyptic, doomsday BS" drum.
I rarely see anyone who is legitimately tackling the issue of climate change and resource conservation making claims about how we're "doomed" - but folks who don't buy into global warming or oil issues always seem all too happy to say things like "Oh, you guys are just doomsday prophets - you're just exaggerating!"
Just a load of "see no/hear no/speak no evil" bollocks. |
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| eRRaTiK |
| 2012 is the year the earth as we know it ends, right? :D |
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| Clovis |
| We need to stop destroying the earth. |
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| MrJiveBoJingles |
Doesn't simple heat make a lot of people "more tired and more irritable?"
I wouldn't be surprised if heat itself had a direct effect on people's ability to concentrate on mental tasks, as I have a much easier time thinking something out when I'm cool than when I'm uncomfortably hot. Heat makes me feel drowsy and slow-witted, and I suspect that many other people are the same way.
The traditional explanation for greater intelligence evolving in cold climates was that people in cold climates had to plan more carefully and construct more robust kinds of shelters because of the long, harsh winters. |
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| Ang ' ela_ie |
| quote: | Originally posted by Ridexer
Also, the thing with changing enviroments is, that species will adopt. |
They won't adapt when these changes take place on unnatural time scales. Species adaptation takes a LONG time, and just because we have seen these kinds of temperatures on earth before doesnt mean that it's been this quick. It hasn't. We've proven that.
Its not the dT, its the dT/dt. |
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| gehzumteufel |
| quote: | Originally posted by Acton
The Earth is getting warmer as part of a natural cycle anyway, all we're doing is giving it a helping hand ;) |
The Earths warming cycle was supposed to have ended and we have kept the cycle continuing. This is a problem. |
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