The End of the World is Nigh, We're all Doomed!!!

[jaosals42]

maintain the opinion that our civilization will fall. I'd go so far, as I already have, as to assert categorically that, sooner or later, it must. The vast majority of civilizations that have ever existed on this planet have already fallen. It's just the way it works-- they're born, then they live, then they die.

 

This. If you look at all the civilizations of the world, they have all either changed or been dissolved (survivors being those like China and Egypt which exist still, but are far different now than 5000+ years ago).

 

Just because the world of humans will change again and again doesn't mean everyone is going to die for sure. Change has already happened countless times before. Now whether someone will die or not during these changes... Well, I highly doubt there won't be any death in the majority of great change. Just hope it isn't you (in general).

[IceDragon987]

Number of man-hours spent on global warming research at this point: Millions

Are you really qualified to say anything at all about this issue? NO.

Actually, you know what? This goes for all of you, both pro and con.

 

This is very true. None of us have authority over anything that deals with climate control. The men and women that are specialized in that area are still working on a way to either prove or disprove Global Warming.

 

Nobody here can prove it exists or doesn't exist until we hear a phenomenal announcement from the people that have proven/disproven it.

 

IceD

[Mr Ham]

Slight bump, but whatever.

 

Number of man-hours spent on global warming research at this point: Millions

Are you really qualified to say anything at all about this issue? NO.

Actually, you know what? This goes for all of you, both pro and con.

 

This is very true. None of us have authority over anything that deals with climate control. The men and women that are specialized in that area are still working on a way to either prove or disprove Global Warming.

 

Nobody here can prove it exists or doesn't exist until we hear a phenomenal announcement from the people that have proven/disproven it.

 

IceD

Yeah, because we debate on an online forum expecting to make some significant change.[/sarcasm] We debate because it enlightens us and allows us to develop and share ideas, not because we're naive and stupid enough to think we're making a difference.

 

As for those who continue to think that mankind has done little to affect Global Warming and the release of Greenhouse gases, anyone with even the slightest interest in the subject would be able to dig up evidence:

http://wwmm.ch.cam.ac.uk/blogs/murrayrust/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/mauna_loa_carbon_dioxide.png

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/Carbon_Dioxide_400kyr.png

Evidently the statement that "We have only been keeping climate records for the last 50 to 80 years." made earlier in the topic is untrue. The Vostok ice core has given us atmospheric gas concentrations from 400 000years ago. Sediment data from core drills are another method of obtaining climate data, as is rock strata. So no, we aren't limited to "50 or 80 years" worth of data.

Now, from the Vostok Ice core (below, the blue line), we can see that for the majority of the last 400 000 years, atmospheric CO₂ levels have peaked mostly below 300ppm. Yet data collected from Mauna Loa (above) show that in CO₂ levels have exceeded this since the 60's.

In much the same way, methane and nitrous oxide levels have also been rising since (at the very least) the 1980's:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Major_greenhouse_gas_trends.png

 

As for temperature itself:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/Instrumental_Temperature_Record.png

While the effects of such warming are still under scrutinous debate, there is little doubt mean global surface temperatures are rising.

 

As for commercialism, sure there are quite a few people making profit from the hype. But that doesn't discredit the science behind Climate Change. For every well-minded scientist hypothesising and evaluating evidence, there's always some mis-informed individual willing to disregard every fact and figure for an illogical faith that Climate Change and Global Warming is a facade for greedy fat-cats. For those who truly believe there is no science behind the hype, I have nothing but pity.

[antonkr]

If the world is going to end or not, I am going to die someday anyway. So I don't care if world ends or not.

[LordTenaim]

Hmm, this is definetly getting intresting but I fear i'm going to have to have a lie down after that most informing post by Mr Ham. :confused:

[Sanguine Assassin]

It's true that there is a causal relationship between carbon dioxide emissions and global warming, but how much? It's definitely above zero, but people range it from 1% to 100% in a lot of cases. The fact is there's no actual scientific data to show the actual amount.

 

To quote:

 

We're left with many intractable questions: How much can we do? How much should we do? How much do we need to do? How much can we afford to do? How much can we get away with? All things considered, where do lines really need to be drawn?

 

Lots of people pretend to have the answers to those questions. In any debate on global warming, both sides will generally say something like "When you actually look at the data, it shows X, not Y." Well, who actually has looked at the data? I don't pretend that I have. I haven't gone down into the cave myself and examined the ice cores under the gas chromatograph. I haven't looked up the raw data from ocean temperature measurements in the Aegean Sea. I haven't personally measured rainfall across southern Africa over the past 100 years. I've seen Al Gore's movie, but that's a meta-analysis of some guy's meta analysis of some other guy's meta anaylsis. None of the clowns out there who presume to speak authoritatively about what the actual data shows have looked at any raw data. They've looked at someone's meta-analysis of data collected from many sources. Please, next time you're having a conversation on global warming, don't tell us what the data actually shows, because you saw a guy on TV tell us what the data actually shows. No one person can or ever will "look at all the data." A person can look at an infinitesimally small chunk of data that's out of all meaningful context, but let's get real here: the Earth is about the most complicated system imaginable. NEC's Earth Simulator supercomputer, for years the fastest supercomputer on the planet, is dedicated to this task, and they still can't tell us whether it's going to rain tomorrow. Think about that. The Earth is simply way too complicated for any person to be able to claim to understand.

 

Basically speaking, it's true that humans have contributed to global warming, and that our goals should be to make our contribution 0%, but is that really feasible? We don't know how much we have to do to make global warming a non-issue, and we don't know how much we are able to do.

 

Lots of people will cry that the evil corporations don't care about the Earth and are continuing to pollute it to take your money -- but it's quite the opposite. What's really happening is that lots of people are having their money taken because of the alarmists spreading the rumor that the Earth will die if we don't stop polluting! Well, maybe it will, but there's no real data that will show us that; there's nothing to make a reasonable person who actually does a bit of research (other than going to Google and typing "global warming") alarmed about global warming.

 

Instead of alarming everyone with information that's either unsupported or not meaningful, and then marketing it, we should be promoting real thinking towards improving our emission output. That doesn't mean that everyone should buy a hybrid car or an electric car.

 

What we should be doing is taking a few small steps that won't affect us too much, such as turning off the car when you're parked, or not leaving on the AC or lights all night. But that's something we should be doing anyway, and not because GLOBAL WARMING WILL DESTROY THE EARTH! What we shouldn't be doing is pitching out tons of money for no real reason other than "because you saw a guy on TV tell us what the data actually shows." It might sound politically incorrect to say this, but money is more important than "saving the Earth by buying PRODUCT X," when in reality you can "save the Earth" by taking the aforementioned small steps, without you (or the government) spending any more money than necessary.

 

To conclude my argument, I'm not really on either side of the debate about global warming. I do know that humans have some contribution towards it, and that we should take steps towards improving it. However, I don't really think that all of this alarmism and worry about the end of the world should exist. Though, of course, it's human nature to ponder the end of the world, and fear it, and as was previously mentioned a while ago, humans have been doing since we first descended from the trees.

 

Scientists are already developing cleaner and, most importantly, cheaper technology. Let's face this fact: spreading alarmist doomsday prophecies and promoting needless worry ("BUY A HYBRID!") isn't going to help "save the Earth" any more than taking a few small steps and reminding friends to do the same will. Most importantly, keep living your life (perhaps a little cleaner), but don't go out of the way.

[Ethre]

Hello everyone - long time no internet. Good to see you.

Whether or not there is really global climate change, I can tell you that things are changing where I am working right now. The last 10 to 15 years have brought such an increase in precipitation that fields which were broken up during homesteading (~1880s for this area), are now close to 50% slue.

Maybe its part of a large climate cycle, but its definitely not something they've seen in this area for a long time.

 

Well I do believe the sun will go boom and end Earth one day. But I believe I won't live to see that. And neither will all of us nexus members.

Not much use talking about it is it?

 

Why not? I'm planning on sticking around (at least in atomic form) until the energy death of the universe. :P

[Mr Ham]

It's true that there is a causal relationship between carbon dioxide emissions and global warming, but how much? It's definitely above zero, but people range it from 1% to 100% in a lot of cases. The fact is there's no actual scientific data to show the actual amount.

 

Basically speaking, it's true that humans have contributed to global warming, and that our goals should be to make our contribution 0%, but is that really feasible? We don't know how much we have to do to make global warming a non-issue, and we don't know how much we are able to do.

But you must admit that passivity is the last thing we need. Whether or not we have a definite goal, we should be aiming to reduce our emissions. Nullifying our contribution probably isn't feasible with our current level of technology (and commitment) but that doesn't mean we shouldn't at least try.

[Deleted54170User]

If there is any truth to the basic scientific analysis that we are a culmination of smaller organisms that developed over a long period of time, yes, our present form's may fall and become extinct. Organism's are, of themselves, responsible for all living things being animated. Atom's, molecule's, and amoeba size living creature's.

 

Oooh! :wacko: Did my skin just crawl? lol :rolleyes:

 

Will the End of the Earth as we know its population vanish some day? Of course. By that time though, hopefully, the children of today will wake out of their Led Zepellin stairway to heaven :teehee: attitude and realize they are the children of outer space. Or, they will doom :wallbash: us all to the cataclysmic end when the Sun goes Super-Nova.

 

I feel almost positive that someone has a vehicle, in design at least, that in this horrible last possible event would manage to get it built in time and leave for greener pasture's before disaster took them down too.

[species5478]

I'll try to be brief...

In my humble opinion, if we don't start populating the galaxy and or universe, we're going to die. Simple as that. If we don't destroy ourselves, then a meteor, or solar flare, or worldwide earthquake, or SOMETHING will bring about the end of all life on this planet. Doomsday is an inevitable fact of nature; not to mention God.