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Humans Could Go the Way of the Dinosaur

nautil.us

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Re: Humans Could Go the Way of the Dinosaur

#41

Post by einpoklum »

BizarreByte wrote: post #30

The fate of humans is extinction, saying otherwise is simply wrong. Be it 200 years or 2,000,000,000 at some point our species will go extinct, or whatever species we evolve into. I understand why people get angry when you say it, but anger won’t change it because on a long enough time scale nothing will survive.

Well, eventually the sun will explode into a red giant; and if we make it past that somehow, the universe will cool down and spread out so much that we won't be able to have enough energy to do stuff. So, even if we don't "go extinct", either our solar system or our universe will.

Still, I think the question on people's minds is whether it's 2 Billion years, 200 years, or - if the US and Russia play their nuke cards - maybe less :-(

Re: Humans Could Go the Way of the Dinosaur

#42

Post by zpeti »

Tagbert wrote: post #26
zpeti wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean, I get the sarcasm, but at the same time we could probably monitor all asteroids from what we’re spending on climate change atm. This is one big issue I have with the hysterical end of the climate change debate, there are 100 other threats to humanity, yet we don’t really care about them, probably because the media doesn’t care as much. Covid is a pretty good example also, it’s killed way more people than the…

Have you missed the people dying in major, atypical weather events? As climate change increases, those events and death will increase. Hurricanes, flood, drought, etc. Tropical diseases migrating into new territory are another thing to look forward to. Once things get bad enough, you start to have population migrations and political instability. Add in hunger and thirst and that leads to societal collapse and war. Cl…

You should google deaths from climate events over time. You’ll be surprised.

Re: Humans Could Go the Way of the Dinosaur

#43

Post by FpUser »

>"Humans Could Go the Way of the Dinosaur"

Yes Sherlock we can. So fucking what? If there are actionable things that can be researched and developed to protect us from some potential existential disaster I believe we have started doing it.

If however something that we can not prevent comes crushing down, what's the point thinking about it?

Re: Humans Could Go the Way of the Dinosaur

#44

Post by neerajk »

zabzonk wrote: post #17
onychomys wrote: post #9

> We could see the collapse of not just one, but all human civilization, and possibly the extinction of our species—or even all the species on the planet. In short, it would be really, really bad. We should probably note here that there's been exactly one sterilizing event in the entire history of life, and that was the formation of the moon. So even if we go, something else will survive. Even the end-Permian left su…

while i agree that the moon formation would almost certainly have sterilised the earth, i don't know of any evidence that there was anything to sterilise.

Right! And per some theories it was the Theia collision that brought carbon and nitrogen to Earth to kick start life in the first place.

Re: Humans Could Go the Way of the Dinosaur

#45

Post by palata »

Tagbert wrote: post #26
zpeti wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean, I get the sarcasm, but at the same time we could probably monitor all asteroids from what we’re spending on climate change atm. This is one big issue I have with the hysterical end of the climate change debate, there are 100 other threats to humanity, yet we don’t really care about them, probably because the media doesn’t care as much. Covid is a pretty good example also, it’s killed way more people than the…

Have you missed the people dying in major, atypical weather events? As climate change increases, those events and death will increase. Hurricanes, flood, drought, etc. Tropical diseases migrating into new territory are another thing to look forward to. Once things get bad enough, you start to have population migrations and political instability. Add in hunger and thirst and that leads to societal collapse and war. Cl…

Agreed. And it gets attention because it is a consequence of our actions. If we stop consuming too much, it won't change the asteroid situation (there we should actively do something). But the biodiversity/climate problem is the opposite: the problem is that we are doing too much!

Re: Humans Could Go the Way of the Dinosaur

#46

Post by alright_scowl »

seper8 wrote: post #21

People are so skeptic and negative about humans nowadays. We are an incredibly hardy species. We are clever. We find ways to survive in deserts, mountains, small islands, icey tundras and anything in between. We plan ahead, we can eat and digest pretty much anything (except for cellulose) and we have as much drive to survive as your average cockroach. Sure our species is vulnerable. And I wouldn't rule out large perc…

> People are so skeptic and negative about humans nowadays.

Any positivity I might sometimes happen to feel about humanity quickly proves to be misguided as soon I read what other humans have to say on the internet.

Just go to Twitter, Reddit, or some comments section on YouTube, and you'll quickly come out hating the species too.

Re: Humans Could Go the Way of the Dinosaur

#47

Post by zpeti »

palata wrote: post #40
zpeti wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean, I get the sarcasm, but at the same time we could probably monitor all asteroids from what we’re spending on climate change atm. This is one big issue I have with the hysterical end of the climate change debate, there are 100 other threats to humanity, yet we don’t really care about them, probably because the media doesn’t care as much. Covid is a pretty good example also, it’s killed way more people than the…

Are we spending on climate change? I see a lot of greenwashing, but it's more marketing than spending. This said, I think you kind of miss a few points regarding climate change. First, it hasn't happened yet, it's just starting. We are living a mass extinction right now, and that's not a computer model or some prediction; that's a fact: we can count how many trees, mammals and insects have already disappeared (someth…

> That's not the climate change problem, it's the biodiversity problem.

I agree with you. The state of our oceans is a much more current and verifiable problem than the actual EFFECTS climate change will have in the future. I’m not denying it exists.

But there’s a lot of conflating the mass extinction with climate change, but they’re not the same thing. And climate change gets all the money right now. Because it’s fashionable. Not because it’s necessarily optimal spending wise.

Re: Humans Could Go the Way of the Dinosaur

#49

Post by theandrewbailey »

reactspa wrote: post #25

I've noticed an uptick in car accidents in my area. Students sit in the classroom scrolling tiktok. I don't think we're going to make it.

Every generation has said similar despairing things about the next, yet there always is a next generation to complain about. No, it's not different this time.

Re: Humans Could Go the Way of the Dinosaur

#50

Post by cjohnson318 »

korroziya wrote: post #31
nathanvanfleet wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And you know, we've been poisoning ourselves for a really long time amiright? The industrial age, smog, bpa, micro plastics. THERE IS NO LIMIT TO THE ABUSE WE CAN PUT ON OURSELVES. Woo

This but unironically. Spare me your left-wing progressive snark. Humans thrive despite our propensity for self-harm. Something to celebrate, not criticize.

Conservation and awareness of our natural resources is not a "left-wing progressive" thing. Exhibit A: Ducks Unlimited. A lot of very right-wing hunters contribute millions of dollars every year to preserve natural habitats. They see and understand the impact humans have on the natural environment, and pay good money to preserve those habitats.
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