What is your opinion on the condition of Earth?

Yes it is.

I have a degree in Physics, but why should I explain it when there is a video by Bill Nye explaining the biggest problem with global warming. Ice.

BTW Bill Nye is amazing, and has lots of videos explaining the different aspects of climate change

https://youtu.be/b6CPsGanO_U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6CPsGanO_U

Im sure one of those will work. One is the embedding, one is the link... just watch it. Its freaking Bill Nye the Science Guy

 

Humans need to stop destroying the oceans and rainforests before we've studied them. Also if we don't make major changes soon, things will start to be irreversible. If a species in an environment grows too much, they will start to kill their ecosystem and it ceases to be sustainable, and the species dies.

 

Wolfwing,

Well in terms of mankind and society, it seems a lot of people think we're doing bad. I happen to think when you look at the big picture and history over the last 2,000 years that we're actually doing better than we ecer have- and we're on the right track - its not as bad as CNN would like us to believe anyways.
The only things that really has me concerned about society is PokemonGo and why we are in such a toot to eestablish a Mars colony before a moon base. Mars is what 9 months away at best? The moon is like 3 days away- a lot more room for error there lets have a cool moon base and open up a McDonalds there just so people can bitch about our western decadence, meanwhile we can iron out all the kinks in establishing Biodomes independant of the earth.

Now in terms of the earth itself a lot of things scare me.
Global energy usage and impleme ting greener alternatives cost effectively.

Our global population because sooner or later, a lot of people are going to need to die all at once. If this doesnt happen then we'll see our global population reach 14 billion in the next 10-15 years.

The polar ice caps. When chunks of ice the size of states or small countries that have been frozen for 1,000s of years suddenly break off or melt away then its time to get worried.

Those pesky rain forests that arent trendy to talk about anymore but are still getting chopped down at alarming rates.

And the extreme problem of all the fish and sea life dying out in all the oceans because of pollution and overfishing which also doesnt get the kind of press and atte tion it really needs.

Oh yes and lets not forget about Honey Bees - if they die off we die too. Google it.

And deserving of special mention are fracking, climate change, sinkholes (esp. Florida & Spain), earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, cattle flatulence (cow farts) and also the fact it takes 600 gallons of fresh water to produce one (1) quarter pound beef patty, EMP Pulse destroying anything electrical in agiven area not protected by a faraday cage, species extinction, tsunamis, pollution, gun control, big oil, big pharma, Justin Bieber, superbugs and viruses, oops wait did you forvet about those holes in the ozone layer? Do you think theyve shrunk any? Better check that UV index soyou dont get skin cancer. When are we going to run out of oil and have a permanent crisis? Never if you believe BP Oil, they are that ever so trustworthy corporate entity that dumped (spilled) 176 million (176,399,000) gallons into the gulf of mexico five years ago.

But hey, maybe all that isjust a bunch of propaganda from the shapeshifting lizard aliens bent on world domination and planting subliminal illuminatti messages in kesha videos. Either way, I say Nicki Minaj is an android.

Ë

-Scanner

 

My opinion on the condition of Earth is that we should be doing better.

Global warming is still a major factor that we have to deal with and resolve. Over-population is another major issue that has a huge impact on weather and resources. Also, it blows my mind that there are still places out there that practice things such as stoning or crucifying people just because they're LGBT. There are even places that barter women which I find, in a way, cruel. I think that there are a good majority of people that over-indulge in the planet's resources, unaware of how much we should be using it in responsible portions. Mankind wastes some 1/3 of food, and trash piles up at an alarming rate with no where else to put it. Forests are being cut down and disappearing. There are critically endangered animals like the amur leopard, black rhino, and hawksbill turtle - even plants that have gone endangered and extinct. There's an excess of light-pollution, making it difficult to see the star-filled sky at night.

I remember seeing a video a long time ago that introduced a card that accumulates credits for doing good deeds such as: washing a neighbors car, picking up trash, using natural gas, being Earth-friendly, visiting the elderly, etc. Y'know, the "good samaritan" type. With these credits, you're allowed to buy groceries, pay for specific bills, or earn your way to free communication; pay a cheaper water bill; or, get rewards. I think it's a great idea that not only gets people to get out of the house more often but also a great way to meet others and enjoy the outdoors. In Japan, you have the luxury of being paid to go to college which I think is fantastic. Another idea that sounds reasonable is learning your way out of jail or prison; of course, after taking a test.

On a global scale, generally, I think there are still plenty of optimizing that should be done environmentally, governmentally, socially, etc.; but, frankly, I think there is barely anyone taking it seriously. It's quite tragic in a way.

I thought this was interesting. The file I've attached are two pictures. One of deforestation since the early 21st century (provided by DailyMail.co.uk) & 79 countries that have laws against same-sex people (provided by 76Crimes.com). Am I seeing this right? But, I find it funny how where there is close to no vegetation, there are the countries that have anti-LGBT laws!

 

Humans are somewhat stuck between two options: kill the environment for survival (forests, honeybees, whatnot) or study the environment for survival (unknown species of plants, animals and insects, maybe a new plant that could be the cure for the next epidemic. Bacteria will become immune to our current medicines, after all.) However, destroying is indefinitely much easier compared to studying, and as a result, we're destroying at a faster rate then what we can recover.

In the long run, the earth may not be able to recover in time to replace what we destroyed, so...we're kinda screwed if that happens, and personally, I think it already IS happening. Slowly, but surely.

 

Doooooomed!!!!!!

 

"The planet is fine; the people are fucked." - George Carlin

---------- Post added 10th Sep 2016 at 04:16 AM ----------

Is this really true though? As far as I know, most of our big staple crops don't require pollination by honeybees. We won't be able to enjoy fruits and vegetables (actually you can pollinate them manually), but we should still have food. Unless it destroys our ecosystem in general.

 

The Earth is in a state a lot worse than it would be if we weren't around.

 

I don't think it's too bad at the moment, but theres no way that it won't keep getting worse.

 

In my opinion, a lot of these environmental theories are garbage. Yes, there is climate change, but there has always been climate change. My state was once covered by a glacier, then it melted away some 10 million years ago(according to scientists). Anyways, the point is that industrialization did not cause the melt. We have had ebb and flows in the climate for many many years.

Honestly, I find the whole thing an excuse to impose more taxes on the lower and middle class with carbon taxes etc.

You want to make an effort to stop people from throwing garbage everywhere? I am all for it. I support initiatives to hold big business dumpers responsible and make sure that raw sewage is not funneling into our drinking water.

 

^That there has been a cyclical ebb and flow of climate extremes (and indeed, there has been, as ice records will indicate, the earth has gone through cycles of greenhouse periods and ice ages over millions of years) does not mean that human-produced pollutants are not exacerbating climate change or that they cannot change the climate at all.

It's difficult to get people to see (let alone care about) changes that happen so gradually and are not likely to affect them in their own lifetimes. Why should I care what may happen to the earth in hundreds of years when I will be long dead by then? That's a common attitude and it's one that I can certainly understand. However it isn't my own attitude. This does not mean that I buy into the Al Gore-ian fear mongering climate change prophecies, but I do believe that the earth is not ours to trash into oblivion and that we should care about what may happen down the line, if not for anything, then for the future of humanity. Though I certainly do not believe the earth is in any state of irreversible damage, here are some of my own opinions on the state of the environment:

1. The rainforests are being depleted and as an important source of oxygen, this needs to stop at the rate it is occurring, and the methods (e.g. slash and burn) need to be replaced with less destructive methods.
2. Eventually fossil fuels will run out, and it is important to fund research into alternative cleaner fuels.
3. The population of the earth will not be able to increase exponentially for much longer, especially since it increases the most in developing nations, where resources cannot effectively make their way to the influx of people. Yes, there is plenty of "room" on the earth for more McMansions, but is there room for adequate resources? That's what needs to be considered above all.

In short: It is easy to be tempted by short-term lack of concern for the environment, but important to think ahead and halt human-caused destruction as much as is possible.

 

Earth can survive climate change and about everything else we throw at it (except multible nukes going of at once..because we indeed have enough fire power to blow up the earth multiple times.). Humanity at the other hand...probably won't.

---------- Post added 10th Sep 2016 at 07:26 PM ----------

Yes climate change always happened naturally. But that does not change humanities influence on climate. What scientists mean with climate change is that it is happening fast. Faster than ever before. See...if the climate change happens gradually and slow evolution has a chance to adapt. If it happens in the incredible speed it does now (and humanity is responsible for that) this sort of getting adjusted to a new environment over the course of generations isn't possible.

 

We don't take nearly enough responsibility for the amount of natural resources we consume, nor for how much waste we chuck out behind us. There are too many of us and the planet cannot sustain our current habits indefinitely.

 

It's in a horrible condition. All of the unnatural stuff we produce and all of the nature we destroy. The animals that went extinct or almost are. Look at the rainforest in South America. Look at the sea and all the plastic in there. The oil that kills so many animals when it leaks out of a broken ship.
We are like a giant plague. And the sad part is that we could stop being like that. But most people long for money and power. And that means they have no problem destroying the earth for it. Even though nature is way more important than those two things. We could survive without them but not without plants and oxygen.
I believe we will manage to die out through our own hands one day. Question is, how many innocent animals and how much of nature we'll take with us in the process.

 

I see grass outside with some trees and other foliage, and that's about the extent I think about my climate. Perhaps I'm part of the problem, but it more stems from not having to do anything on my part. I'm sure the more advanced minds of the earth can come up with a solution quicker than I can make a tiny dent.

 

I say it's pretty bad and we're headed toward total disaster. I would be deeply grateful to anybody who could convince me otherwise.

Let's get one thing clear: There is no debate about the existence or cause of climate change. Scientists have been telling us since the 1980s that modern climate change is real and caused mostly, if not entirely, by humanity's carbon emissions. The only "debate" comes from the 3% of climate scientists who are hired by the fossil fuel industry to confuse the issue in order to prevent any meaningful action from society. Fundamentally it is no different from when the tabaco companies denied the health risks of smoking.

A lot of people say that "yeah it's real and caused by us, but I don't think it's as bad as they say; I think they're just trying to scare us".
I think people say this because 1) they can't comprehend the idea of mass extinction and billions of humans suffering or dying, and 2) they think in their minds, "surely if it were THAT bad, we'd be doing more about it?"
I've read Mark Lynas' book "Six degrees: our future on a hotter planet" in which there are 6 chapters, one for each degree of global warming. His book is based purely on peer-reviewed scientific papers and not normal public news sources like Vox or CNN. I can confirm that the warnings are not exaggerated (at least, not by much) to scare us into action.

People are saying "act now before it is too late". But how long have we been hearing this? This has been the message for over 20 years. Every single time, we decide that our green pieces of paper are more important than the safety of the entire planet. This was the message in 1990... in 2000... in 2010... how is there still time left?
Exactly when the point of being "too late" occurs depends on exactly how bad you could accept the environment getting, and exactly how much effort you can expect people to put into saving it. And we've been stretching both those factors. Because who wants to hear, "We've already screwed ourselves over and our children and grandchildren, but hey if we start acting we can stop it getting worse yet!" ?

I'd like to believe that humans are going to save the environment and things are going to be okay for us, future generations, and the ecosystems, but I cannot make myself believe that fairy tale.

And to the people saying "Earth is going to be fine; it's us humans who need to be saved". Yes the earth will be fine in the end, as it has survived every mass extinction before this one. But this is like saying that you don't care to prevent yourself from getting sick because you know you aren't going to die from it.

 

I give humanity 100 years.

 

I give Earth another.... few hundred years- if that. Humanity? We will die out with this planet unless we either try to colonise another planet, or we try to come up with new technology that gives us more economical friendly power and then introduce that to the entire world.... I think the best option is to colonise a different planet.:help:

 

In addition to my last post in this thread,
I would like to add two things:

FIRST
OMG yes, climate change, global warming or whatever you want to call it is absolutely 100% real. If you're old enough and live in a part of the world that has seasons you might've noticed things are slightly different than when you were a child. There's the natural ebb and flow, but theres a lot more going on.

I think time will tell and scientists will eventually conclude that there's not just one specific cause but rather several key factors. Yes, theres pollution, but also over-population not only of people but theres our food supply - agriculture and livestock. A planted field is an unnatural manmade state remember. Then between the cattle and the humans, lets say we have 8 billion humans in about 5 years from now and 1 billion livestock. How many TONS of solid body waste would you suppose is generated in just one day - a week? - a year? If we produce it faster than the earth can recycle it into something else, eventually the surface of the earth is gonna go brown.

And Second
Second, I've notice many commenting that humanity only have a few hundred years or so left. I disagree with that. Its too simplistic. Although if our technology can no longer keep up with the growing number of people inhabiting this planet and things start to get bad, we might very well wish that it really was that simple and things would just come to an end because what we'll face when that occurs is going to be something really awful.

I think if our technology can't keep up with our out-of-control population status then we are going to see human live devalued on a scale never seen before. But if you think about it, over-population of the earth by humans is at the heart of every single global problem we face. Theres just too many of us.

Lastly,
ok I know I said two things but heres one more...
Of the many global problems we have theres not just one or two things, its a HUGE almost in comprehensible list of things that add up to the problems with global over-population.

For example, I've been watching those sinkhole videos on youtube a lot lately. Especially the ones in florida. They are caused basically when we drain too much fresh water out of the underground reserves and then those caverns, because the rock in that area is porous and softer, simply collapse. This is happening on a HUGE scale down there. They are working on ways to fix the problem by making houses more stable and such but not once did I hear anyone address what are they going to do when enough of those caverns collapse and shrink to the point that it retards the eco-system in that area and lessens the amount of available fresh water supply on tap for people to use by hundreds of billions of gallons. Those caverns aren't going to re-form...ever ...they won't ever be there again. This is just one of many problems that go on an ever growing list of things we just can't keep up with until things begin to fall like a house of cards. Its more than just rain forests and ice caps melting, so much more.

-Scanner