Environment - June 2006

MCCONNELL’S POST ON PIANKA:

Dr. Pianka was named the 2006 Distinguished Scientist by the Texas Academy of Science. He’s an ecologist, a “doomsday ecologist” as he puts it, with a CV several pages long and results that have changed the way ecologists think, forever. And damn is he ever entertaining to listen to.

Dr. Pianka’s talk at the TAS meeting was mostly of the problems humans are causing as we rapidly proliferate around the globe. While what he had to say is way too vast to remember it all, moreover to relay it here in this blog, the bulk of his talk was that he’s waiting for the virus that will eventually arise and kill off 90% of human population. In fact, his hope, if you can call it that, is that the ebola virus which attacks humans currently (but only through blood transmission) will mutate with the ebola virus that attacks monkeys airborne to create an airborne ebola virus that attacks humans. He’s a radical thinker, that one! I mean, he’s basically advocating for the death of all but 10% of the current population! And at the risk of sounding just as radical, I think he’s right.

Humans are far too populous. We’ve used up our resources, and we’re destroying the Earth at an accelerated pace. The more technology we create, the more damage we’re capable of doing. We now consider keeping the forest natural to save a species of catepillar more important that using that space for humans to live and till. And I’m in complete agreement with that. It’s the harsh reality that many people alive right now should be dead. And even harsher to think that the world would be better off with them dead too. My grandparents, who I love dearly and am so incredibly thankful to know, are honestly being kept alive only through the technology that we have created via medicine. The same goes for the millions of other old folk alive and kicking and will continue to do so for another 5-10 years, using up more resources. Or think of all the babies being born every hour with abnormalities that 50 years ago would have kept them from living. Now, those lives can be saved, and we pat ourselves on the backs at how smart and charitable we are as a species that we can create and sustain life. For those against cloning, etc because it’s “playing God,” how is this any different?? Life has a built-in mechanism that keeps species from becoming too overpopulated, and it wasn’t until humans started messing with the system that it went out of whack. Now that we’ve killed off the majority of all top predators, we now must take on the duty of keeping populations in check and at the same time, allowing other species a fair chance at reproduction.

It wouldn’t have been so bad 15-20 years ago when we reached that threshold of sustainability if we as humans would have learned to control our population size then. But instead, we saw the Earth’s resources as unlimited and our authority over them exclusive, and we continued to reproduce when we should’ve stop. Dr. Pianka made a very profound comment during his presentation; he said that China has the right idea by limiting reproduction at 1. We’re past the point of replacement reproduction as a species. We’re too many for the number we’re at now! We need to decline in population. A virus is probably the fairest method of extermination (though still not completely fair, I admit) because it’s nondiscriminatory as to whom it targets. Rich, poor, black, white, brown, nice, mean, religious, agnostic - we’d all be targeted equally. The only difference is who can afford medicine and even then, if it’s a mutated virus that strikes fast, humans would have only the tiniest of a chance to find a cure in time so money wouldn’t matter.

It’d be nice if humans could learn to manage our population as successively as we’ve learned to manage the population of literally every other species on this planet with whom we share. We’re very skilled when it comes to killing off deer, snakes, rabbits, and fish for population control. But we’re a stupid species when it comes to managing ourselves. An insightful observation was made during the talk that education should be the key to learning how to take care of the Earth, but the problem is that the educated have fewer children and the uneducated have many children. So eventually, the uneducated will take over the Earth. It may have already happened.

2006-06-19 19:55:04 · 9 answers · asked by lacoste 3

Once a year for acouple weeks they fly around and bounce off things. I have yet to see their purpose. Whats the deal with them?

2006-06-19 18:22:04 · 10 answers · asked by Cartogirl 3

2006-06-19 18:07:28 · 12 answers · asked by VIP29 3

2006-06-19 17:59:45 · 24 answers · asked by loinkers 1

What do you do to help?

2006-06-19 17:47:21 · 15 answers · asked by mockingbirdkiller 3

2006-06-19 17:05:12 · 17 answers · asked by d 1

Would you be upset, i would not care, why not just continue on our current course and when the earth cannot support life, we move on. Its that easy, evin a virus can figure that much out, they do it all the time, arnt we more advanced than a virus.

2006-06-19 16:34:17 · 18 answers · asked by Full Disclaimer 1

what would the envirmental effects be if someone were to obtain six 20 megaton weapons and detnate them in 2 sets of 3 in a large circular patern, one set on the northern and one set on the southern ice cap.

2006-06-19 16:26:13 · 8 answers · asked by Full Disclaimer 1

This pump will have to lift water about 40 feet into a storage tank and cut off when it is full. The well is only 25 feet deep with 20 feet of head water and the well is 5 feet by 5 feet square. The pump also needs protection if well runs dry. Thank you for any help.

2006-06-19 16:06:54 · 2 answers · asked by Desert Rat 1

i have heard the USA justifying having Nuclear energy saying it is the cleanest one but they do not have where to put all the waste . how can it be clean if any place the waste is put on will be contaminaed forever ???

2006-06-19 15:05:09 · 6 answers · asked by game over loves evanescence 6

I understand nuclear waste is a problem and appearently we are not properly disposing of it, only creating problems for generations to come. I understand this fungus (light blue/green moss like fungus) sucessfully rids 90% of the waste in a very short amount of time, why are we not using this method?

2006-06-19 13:56:12 · 8 answers · asked by ree 1

2006-06-19 11:37:29 · 9 answers · asked by cihuatl 3

Sometimes I leave my car idling in the parking lot while I am in a store for a quick 10 minutes or so...and I would like a way to calculate how much fuel I am wasting at each stop...

2006-06-19 08:44:06 · 27 answers · asked by Firehawk 2

All i hear is that we cannot make hydrogen fuel cells a reality because of some technical problems, or it is too expensive.

Now i hear that Iceland is going totally fuel cells and they already have hydrogen pumping stations al over the country.

Why isn't the US leading the world?

2006-06-19 07:47:44 · 7 answers · asked by BigD 6

2006-06-19 07:44:48 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous

2006-06-19 07:33:59 · 6 answers · asked by johnkermitabbott 1

I am getting my BA in Environmental policy and I want to go into environmental law but I don't know what kind of jobs will be available after I finish school.

2006-06-19 07:08:21 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous

Titled: Bottled water, a natural resource taxing the world's ecosystem.

2006-06-19 05:31:07 · 2 answers · asked by walkerwoman46 1

2006-06-19 04:38:50 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous

2006-06-19 04:38:39 · 11 answers · asked by blondey_jen 1

I've seen more than one person mention that ecological cleaners are more expensive than regular ones. The one's I get on-line are actually cheaper than regular products in the grocery store. So where do you buy yours? A specialty store, organic or something?

2006-06-19 04:23:09 · 1 answers · asked by enternet 2

2006-06-19 04:22:11 · 4 answers · asked by tarangela_spyder 1

My cats love junk mail, especially the catalogs. For them it's some kind of play treasure that makes them feel special.

2006-06-19 04:02:14 · 1 answers · asked by Zelda Hunter 7

Where can I locate information about all types of solar energy for my home.

2006-06-19 02:48:30 · 3 answers · asked by shwingo 1

2006-06-19 02:25:09 · 4 answers · asked by Avinash 1

2006-06-19 00:19:04 · 12 answers · asked by rossingnol@btinternet.com 1

wat are the source of water havesting?
give the answer in details .
plz

2006-06-18 22:32:28 · 11 answers · asked by katrina 1

Vegetable oils and animal fats are biodegradable. These are found in most normal hand soaps. How is biodegradable soap different and what makes it more biodegradable?

2006-06-18 21:15:00 · 19 answers · asked by wbtuffin 1

2006-06-18 19:00:39 · 8 answers · asked by scientist_shrey 1

2006-06-18 18:21:46 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous