This dark earth is often referred to as terra preta which has been a subject of study for a long time. The debate on whether it was intentionally made vs other explanations has been going on for a while, the posted article adds more to the human-made explanation, more on terra preta here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_preta
Intentional creation of carbon-rich dark earth soils in the Amazon
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Re: Intentional creation of carbon-rich dark earth soils in the Amazon
#22Earlier quoted context omitted.
Some kind of external 'work' is necessary. War is the easiest form of such work, easiest meaning requiring the least momentum to get a society behind it. I would love to see us go to war on climate change, but that's not likely as long as we have charismatic politicians fighting to build a base by stirring hateful emotions. Whether that hate is against abortions, Palestinians, african-americans, muslims, or others. A…
Absolutely amazing. Hey kids we’re not killing enough innocent civilians and as a result people are beginning to follow “dreadful” people like elon musk. Do wars produce innovation? Sure. Is any of that innovation worth a single life? Bet ya wouldn’t think so if it was your loved one.
Childish and idealistic mindset. Grow up
Re: Intentional creation of carbon-rich dark earth soils in the Amazon
#23Earlier quoted context omitted.
Are you implying that war is necessary?
Some kind of external 'work' is necessary. War is the easiest form of such work, easiest meaning requiring the least momentum to get a society behind it. I would love to see us go to war on climate change, but that's not likely as long as we have charismatic politicians fighting to build a base by stirring hateful emotions. Whether that hate is against abortions, Palestinians, african-americans, muslims, or others. A…
Is your argument that in trying to avoid war as a source of external work, people are following anyone with an alternative vision for external work with Elon Musk being one person putting such a vision forward?
Re: Intentional creation of carbon-rich dark earth soils in the Amazon
#24Earlier quoted context omitted.
Are you implying that war is necessary?
Some kind of external 'work' is necessary. War is the easiest form of such work, easiest meaning requiring the least momentum to get a society behind it. I would love to see us go to war on climate change, but that's not likely as long as we have charismatic politicians fighting to build a base by stirring hateful emotions. Whether that hate is against abortions, Palestinians, african-americans, muslims, or others. A…
You should read William James's lecture 'The Moral Equivalent of War'. He was a founder of the anti-imperialist league and a pacifist, but recognized the benefits of war for a society (joint effort galvanizes a people together). He proposed we conduct "war on nature", which we would call "disaster relief" nowadays.
Re: Intentional creation of carbon-rich dark earth soils in the Amazon
#25Earlier quoted context omitted.
Some kind of external 'work' is necessary. War is the easiest form of such work, easiest meaning requiring the least momentum to get a society behind it. I would love to see us go to war on climate change, but that's not likely as long as we have charismatic politicians fighting to build a base by stirring hateful emotions. Whether that hate is against abortions, Palestinians, african-americans, muslims, or others. A…
Is your argument that in trying to avoid war as a source of external work, people are following anyone with an alternative vision for external work with Elon Musk being one person putting such a vision forward?
No. I wasn't trying to argue, but stating what I perceive. My perception is that our society has become more apathetic and depressed than before, and we seek distractions. Focusing on solving real problems that could be existential threats to humanity (climate change, all our eggs in one basket/planet, etc.) is the opposite of a distraction. Yet we as a people cannot sit still, or our apathy becomes impossible to ignore, so we find something. A war, just or unjust, is an easy something to find - there is always someone who we deem needs protecting; always someone we deem needs punishing.
Re: Intentional creation of carbon-rich dark earth soils in the Amazon
#26Earlier quoted context omitted.
Some kind of external 'work' is necessary. War is the easiest form of such work, easiest meaning requiring the least momentum to get a society behind it. I would love to see us go to war on climate change, but that's not likely as long as we have charismatic politicians fighting to build a base by stirring hateful emotions. Whether that hate is against abortions, Palestinians, african-americans, muslims, or others. A…
You should read William James's lecture 'The Moral Equivalent of War'. He was a founder of the anti-imperialist league and a pacifist, but recognized the benefits of war for a society (joint effort galvanizes a people together). He proposed we conduct "war on nature", which we would call "disaster relief" nowadays.
I'll take a look at it, thank you.
Re: Intentional creation of carbon-rich dark earth soils in the Amazon
#27Re: Intentional creation of carbon-rich dark earth soils in the Amazon
#28Earlier quoted context omitted.
"Hey kids, get ready to die because our society decided war is bad m'kay and now we don't have the ability to defend ourselves."
Not even close to the same thing. I’m fully prepared to defend myself in my own home. Multiple measures in place to insure specific boundaries are not crossed and if they are multiple methods to commit violence in defense of my family. Not sure how pillaging my neighbor for their underground orange juice would aid in that. In fact I would argue unjustified war makes the citizens of the country waging the war even mor…
I hope I am not user 2. Innovation through war happens, but it happens faster if we focus on innovation itself. Also, the innovations that happen in war are predominantly weapon-focused.
It is good to be able to defend yourself. However, if you have a high belief that your neighbor will attack you, then it's a good idea to ask why. The answer is usually ideology or resource scarcity, more often resources or a combination.
If you solve the problem of scarcity of resources, then there is a much reduced desire for war. Climate change is going to make food and land more scarce, leading to more conflict. Population growth is going to do the same (though we're seeing some signs that might be self-limiting in some countries). If we poured into space colonization and climate change half the money each year we spend on defense, we'd stand a good chance at solving those problems. I don't have the math in front of me, but I think half would be about $500 billion per year, counting regular spending and special aid packages. That's 20x NASA's budget for next year, or put another way, 20 years of NASA research at current funding.
Re: Intentional creation of carbon-rich dark earth soils in the Amazon
#29Earlier quoted context omitted.
Absolutely amazing. Hey kids we’re not killing enough innocent civilians and as a result people are beginning to follow “dreadful” people like elon musk. Do wars produce innovation? Sure. Is any of that innovation worth a single life? Bet ya wouldn’t think so if it was your loved one.
Childish and idealistic mindset. Grow up
Is this what passes for an adult and constructive comment to you?
Can you add something more substantial to the conversation