Ok, so we all know, with celestial certainty, our sun will one day die. In this process, the earth will burn as the sun expands towards its death. Obviously, this isn't an overnight thing, and we're looking at what, 5 billion years before this happens? Anyway, do you think we will still somehow survive? Whether it be colonization of another planet, living in some sort of space station, whatever... The clock is ticking, will we have evolved enough by then (in any respect, it doesn't really matter at this point) to actually save our own asses? I chose "yes". On the basis that if I were to go back in time, let's say 1,000 years, the perspective from that point could hardly yield any imagination of today's world... Of course, it could be easily argued only in the last hundred years or so we've progressed, and the past 30 thousand some odd years life remained relatively unchanged...
We can't help but destroy ourselves, it is in our nature. Maybe mother earth will give us a hand in reaching the end of time here. Secondarily is the question of life elsewhere and if we ever could get to the point of going to (invading) other worlds before ours disappears.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee @ Apr 5 2006, 02:55 PM) [snapback]235495[/snapback]</div> I second this. As a species we act very short-sightedly. Only a very few amoung us (percentage-wise) are willing (or perhaps even capable) of taking the long view towards the preservation of the planet for the time-frame that it would require to get us off to other star systems, much less towards reaching a long-term sustainable global ecosystem. And we don't seem to be geared toward selecting for more individuals that can/will lead towards the long-term solution. FWIW, I don't consider myself amongst these leaders, but at least I'm cognizant of the problem. I try to do my part in reducing my energy and resource drain (no kids, Prius, compact flourescents, recycling, etc. etc. etc.). The number of people I talk to who don't even THINK about global warming and other ecological disasters really depresses me. Until people can get their minds off what they're going to buy next and how to look better than everyone else, we're pretty well doomed. Unfortunately we're going to take most of the planet's non-human inhabitants with us. (Such a happy person! :lol
I pretty much share the keen observations of the previous posters, at the rate mankind is destroying the planet in the scope of earth life-span is rather scary, we are supposedly treading on this planet for only 200,000 years as a H. sapiens and 20,000 years as proper H. sapiens sapiens. Very short span but what a grim history man has so far toward it's legacy. We have been destructive toward ourselves as a specie and others living organisms as well. Unfortunately in general we are too much preoccupied with power, greed and massive ego that resonated via conflicts in all parts of the globe. Granted we have had an exemplary individuals that tried to stir us and re-focus on a potential that our brains can render. Such true visionaries manifested either through spiritual or scientific avenues but they have always been marginalized by the powerful and ego-tripping. We tend to display insatiable appetite for consumption, very rarely displaying content with things we've either accomplished or amassed. Destroying things that we still haven't studied nor we are able to comprehend as yet. We're losing entire ecosystems and complex habitats with flora and fauna at the alarming rate. Not to mention pollution and distruction with effects that may be hazardous for many thousands of years to come. Soon mankind will copulate to such extend that the mass of men will surpass the mass of the planet, I know this may sound ridiculous, but somehow in the span of past century the population growth is out of control. The demand for resources soon will outgrow the capacities. Technologically we might be getting a momentum toward sustainability and conservation but socially we are still very savage, primitive. It looks like all material entrapments spur a deepest myopia that man can't escape from within it's very short span of life. Let's hope for the best, as for me it is time for star-gazing as Vega might be the only chance for us to survive.
we will kill each other off one way or another way before the end of the world. we live, we die, that is the circle of life. 99.999% of all species that have roamed the Earth is now extinct. why should we be so special??
Nope, gonna be God who ends this present earth. We are simply pilgrims passing through. "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end". Kinda nice not to worry all day! (as he hums and sings to himself as the world self-destructs)
No. At the rate we're going we will die here before establishing any viable, self sustaining colonies far enough away to do any good. And it will happen long before the Sun dies. We are our own worse enemy. If the we don't make the world uninhabitable to life, I think the insects will see the Sun die.
Nope, gonna be God who ends this present earth. "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end". I voted other. Simply because there was no GOD choice. I can't believe we crawled out of ooze and are all alone.
We can't destroy the Earth. But we can and will make it uninhabitable for us. And if little green men come from Uranus and prevent us from doing that, we'll go extinct in the course of time, as all species do. Of course, we'll render the Earth uninhabitable (for us) a lot sooner if we continue to elect bible-thumpers who believe judgement day is just around the corner and (in the words of the song) "Anything we haven't used will then have gone to waste."
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hjon71 @ Apr 6 2006, 02:58 AM) [snapback]235746[/snapback]</div> Ditto. I believe that God is shortly going to intervene in man's affairs, and "bring to ruin those ruining the earth".
We are clearly exceeding carrying capacity. Human population and resource demand is not sustainable. A classic case of "tragedy of the commons", but on a global scale. There are few mysteries and the outcome has been quantified and published. As a species we tend to think and act short-term. Just as reptiles had their time, then mammals and at present, humans. Our time will wane and the planet will recover - but at lower carrying capacity.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee @ Apr 5 2006, 05:55 PM) [snapback]235495[/snapback]</div> Ditto. Any wake-up call to this fact would be too late anyway.
I voted "no", but feel it's more a race against time. I do think the potential for intrastellar travel makes it possible we could one day find a new planet to inhabit (and ultimately make uninhabitable?). Is that time 500 years, 1000 years, 5000 years from now? I don't know the answer to that. A nuclear holocaust could either destroy or accelerate that possibility. I find it interesting that very few books are ever written that consider what life might be like for humans 1 million or more years from now, the limit of even the best sci-fi writers seems to be a few thousand years at best. But, the realistic side of me sees humanity becoming something more like the world of Mad Max one day as attritian (sp?) diminishes the number of humans thanks to war, environmental issues, resultant food shortages, polution of our water and envirnonment, etc. Maybe some repopulation will eventually occur thanks to the survivors, or maybe the more hostile elements will complete the process of wiping everyone out. I don't think any Gods will have any roll in any of this.
Curiously enough though, one would think expansion of the Sun has the potential to turn Mars into another Earth? Heats up enough to melt the ice Mars resulting in an atmosphere of sorts (think Total Recall :lol: )? Any astrophysicists in da hizzzousssee?!!!
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Mystery Squid @ Apr 6 2006, 11:51 AM) [snapback]235849[/snapback]</div> That would be pretty temporary as the sun would keep on expanding and then fry Mars as well. I think if we have a "soft landing" with the end of cheap oil (by cheap oil I mean less than $200/barrel), then we have a good shot at continuing our advancement and actually getting off the planet sustainably, and setting up a colony on Mars and eventually farther afield. A permanent colony on Mars would be doable today, if we wanted to spend the resources on it (would require some minor sacrifices from all of us), but soon oil will be too expensive for that and a military. But hopefully we'll be able to retain our science, readjust our resources and come up with new ways to do the same thing. I really don't know how to answer that poll. Our next few millenia really depend on the next 50 years. There's a famous statement that says we've extracted the easy resources (concentrated metal-ore mines, uranium, oil, etc.) from the Earth, and gone on to the not-easy resources (massive open-pit mines with low yields). Therefore any advanced civilization to come won't be able to even get started, let alone duplicate what we've done with the benefit of oil. But I think that ignores the fact that most of those metals aren't gone - they're just in building and landfills. Have to deal with the toxic aspects of some of the mixing, but I would posit it's even easier now than before, as long as you can find the cities and landfills to recycle the now-purified metals. Definitely an interesting question. I think it depends on us eventually getting past fighting each other and going for personal wealth and instead building common projects, as corny as that might sound. It's a star-trek type future, but it's a long road getting there. I'm still thinking how I should answer that question... nerfer
