Women and children first!

kinetic · Jul 9, 2002, 09:44 AM

The World Wildlife Fund have just released alarming statistics. It says that since 1970 a third of the natural world has been destroyed by mankind. The Earths forests have shrunk by 12%, fish stocks in the North Atlantic have fallen from 264000 tonnes to 60000 tonnes and a third of all ocean life has died. They also say that 55% of fresh water ecosystems in rivers and lakes have disappeared and the worlds Tiger population is down 95%. Americans are taking the brunt of the criticism for refusing to support the Kyoto agreement on climate change and pollution and according to the WWF the average American uses more than 25 times the amount of food and fuel than the average African. Having been to Florida I think that is a conservative estimate

. They conclude that, unless we consume less, extinction is inevitable. The eventual colonisation of distant planets may seem far fetched at this moment in time but at this rate we had better start building the spaceships now!

Zardon · Jul 9, 2002, 10:09 AM

yes mankind has a tendency to destroy everything

DallasStar · Jul 9, 2002, 10:32 AM

I hate people. People suck.

digitalwanderer · Jul 9, 2002, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by dallasstar
I hate people. People suck.

I'll second that one, I take no pride in calling myself a human being.

UberLord · Jul 9, 2002, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by digitalwanderer
I'll second that one, I take no pride in calling myself a human being.

We are what we are.
We have created some true wonders - but also some true monsters.

We have to learn through our mistakes
But history teaches us that we never learn from history - and that's our greatest mistake

Ryoko · Jul 10, 2002, 02:39 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by digitalwanderer
I'll second that one, I take no pride in calling myself a human being.

always take pride in calling yourself a human being. it means you have the ability to change the world for the better.

Ijustwannaknow · Jul 10, 2002, 11:08 PM

who cares

Zardon · Jul 10, 2002, 11:12 PM

I care. If you dont, not much point in doing anything.

if you put a little bit of effort into everything you do, it shows.

[/]boring old fart lecture.

~~Crash Override~~ · Jul 10, 2002, 11:35 PM

I think humans on the whole are an evil creature with the ability to be noble...

When I watched The Matrix I realized in some ways I relate more to the agents than the "heroes"

Mankind is a plague of the planet........every other creature finds a natural balance and thrives.....we consume...destroy...and spread.

Makes ya wonder are we really mammals or a virus like Smith said?

JavaFox · Jul 10, 2002, 11:54 PM

In the 1970s, there was a widely popular book called "The Limits to Growth" published. My father still has a copy of this book, along with a critique of it written shortly thereafter.

Among the predictions made in this book were:
-Population of 7,000,000,000 by 2000,
-Farm land shortage by 2000
-Unbearably expensive resources such as metals and oil by 2000
-Collapse of industrial civilization by the end of the 21st century

They also argued that, even if we had ample resources to continue growth, pollution would eventually destroy the world.

The book was, of course, off the mark, as 2000 brought the world population to 6,000,000,000, a small increase in farm land usage, and relatively cheap resources.

The point of all this is: read everything with a little bit of skepticism. Humans do bad things to the environment. I know that everytime you see a tree surrounded by a jungle of concrete, you can't help but feel a little sad. But maybe environmentalists are over-exaggerating, and maybe we're not as doomed as they say?

They were wrong in the 70s, that's for sure.

Jul 9, 2002, 09:44 AM	#1
kinetic DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Manchester England Posts: 2,559 Rep Power: 0	Women and children first! The World Wildlife Fund have just released alarming statistics. It says that since 1970 a third of the natural world has been destroyed by mankind. The Earths forests have shrunk by 12%, fish stocks in the North Atlantic have fallen from 264000 tonnes to 60000 tonnes and a third of all ocean life has died. They also say that 55% of fresh water ecosystems in rivers and lakes have disappeared and the worlds Tiger population is down 95%. Americans are taking the brunt of the criticism for refusing to support the Kyoto agreement on climate change and pollution and according to the WWF the average American uses more than 25 times the amount of food and fuel than the average African. Having been to Florida I think that is a conservative estimate . They conclude that, unless we consume less, extinction is inevitable. The eventual colonisation of distant planets may seem far fetched at this moment in time but at this rate we had better start building the spaceships now!

Jul 9, 2002, 10:32 AM	#3
DallasStar Junior Join Date: May 2002 Location: Wave Existence Posts: 2,065 Rep Power: 0	I hate people. People suck. __________________ "A picture of my existence... would show a useless wooden stake covered in snow... stuck loosely at a slant in the ground in a ploughed field on the edge of a vast open plain on a dark winter night." --- Franz Kafka

Jul 9, 2002, 10:09 AM	#2
Zardon DriverHeaven Founder Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 32,480 Rep Power: 179	yes mankind has a tendency to destroy everything

Jul 10, 2002, 11:08 PM	#7
Ijustwannaknow Driverheaven Senior Membe Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 241 Rep Power: 0	who cares

Jul 10, 2002, 11:12 PM	#8
Zardon DriverHeaven Founder Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 32,480 Rep Power: 179	I care. If you dont, not much point in doing anything. if you put a little bit of effort into everything you do, it shows. [/]boring old fart lecture.

Jul 10, 2002, 11:35 PM	#9
~~Crash Override~~ Banned Join Date: May 2002 Location: Olympia, WA Posts: 2,448 Rep Power: 0	I think humans on the whole are an evil creature with the ability to be noble... When I watched The Matrix I realized in some ways I relate more to the agents than the "heroes" Mankind is a plague of the planet........every other creature finds a natural balance and thrives.....we consume...destroy...and spread. Makes ya wonder are we really mammals or a virus like Smith said?

Jul 10, 2002, 11:54 PM	#10
JavaFox E Pluribus Unum Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 3,203 Rep Power: 0	In the 1970s, there was a widely popular book called "The Limits to Growth" published. My father still has a copy of this book, along with a critique of it written shortly thereafter. Among the predictions made in this book were: -Population of 7,000,000,000 by 2000, -Farm land shortage by 2000 -Unbearably expensive resources such as metals and oil by 2000 -Collapse of industrial civilization by the end of the 21st century They also argued that, even if we had ample resources to continue growth, pollution would eventually destroy the world. The book was, of course, off the mark, as 2000 brought the world population to 6,000,000,000, a small increase in farm land usage, and relatively cheap resources. The point of all this is: read everything with a little bit of skepticism. Humans do bad things to the environment. I know that everytime you see a tree surrounded by a jungle of concrete, you can't help but feel a little sad. But maybe environmentalists are over-exaggerating, and maybe we're not as doomed as they say? They were wrong in the 70s, that's for sure.