Is Man Responsible For Everything On The Brink Of Extinction Today? And...

[KpAtch3s]

Mother nature has a way of controlling population. problem is we are not satisfied to living to our 70's

We want water and air that is more pristine than it was originally
We want medicine and health care that costs a ton
We want cars that can withstand any accident

The list goes on and on. I think there is a reason that things like aids and the plague happen. It is a way of thinning the herd. If we are going to keep extending live expectancies than at some point we are going to end up having another massive plague type event or we better find a way to control growth.

Controlling the growth is out the question though. Aside from the ethical side of it you create problems among your population where you end up with more of one sex than another. If it goes on for an extended period of time then it also effects the way new generations think as well. China is having some negative effects from their program.

As it is, it seems that nature has it's own way of dealing with this even within humans. You can see where certain civilizations die off or dwindle because they fall below the 2.1 replacement rate. I've seen reports that suggest that if the replacement rates fall below 1.5 (I think is the number) that the situation is irreversible.

 

[Tim]

Controlling the growth is out the question though. Aside from the ethical side of it you create problems among your population where you end up with more of one sex than another. If it goes on for an extended period of time then it also effects the way new generations think as well. China is having some negative effects from their program.

As it is, it seems that nature has it's own way of dealing with this even within humans. You can see where certain civilizations die off or dwindle because they fall below the 2.1 replacement rate. I've seen reports that suggest that if the replacement rates fall below 1.5 (I think is the number) that the situation is irreversible.

The US is currently at 2.05

the only reason the US population continues to grow is due to immigration.

Right now the world average is 2.55 it actually dropped 1/10th of a point from 2.65 since 2005

 

[PoopaSwoof]

I heard this morning that NASA wants to be back on the moon by 2020...

There might be a bit of water on the moon we can use and helium3 for all those fusion reactors we are building(sarcasm)
I really dont see our terraforming Mars or anything until we figure out how to not kill the planet we live on now.

 

[Minor Axis]

Man as a species IS a part of nature. Why are we not allowed to be considered as such? It's OK for a lion to kill a gazelle with it's teeth, but if a human uses his brain and a weapon created by using that brain it's not considered part of the natural predator/prey concept. It's stupid. MANY living things have adapted to the presence of humans and evolved to better survive. If some don't, THAT is natural selection at it's most basic.

I disagree with your conclusion. Man is above the animals in that not only we rely more on our brains to survive, but we have the ability to analyze our impact on the environment. And for the most part most animals do a much better job of staying in harmony with the environment. You don't see lions rounding up every gazelle on the plain and harvesting their meat for profit.

 

[cindy lou]

We are a part of nature and that's why we should work towards keeping it intact. We have a greater responsibility towards nature than that lion you mentioned because that lion will only eat his fill and effect his locality. But we are much more evolved and with a push of a button wipe every living thing off the face of the earth. And with such great power comes great responsibility.

I don't ever look at it in terms of saving the planet, because no matter what we do here the planet will recover once we are gone. Hell, there will barely be a trace that we were ever here.
I look at it as saving ourselves. We have the capability to turn this planet into a giant cesspool and that's not a planet that I want to live on. So it's our responsibility to keep the place clean and in order while we are in charge. Because like I said, no matter how bad we mess the place up, it will completely recover when the human race goes extinct.

The planet will recover once we are gone....It did for the Romas and Incas and everyone else. We are so blind we think if we dont make it knowone will. We will use up this planet and our civilization will die. Then the planet will recover. you can argue with history, but it wont do you any good.