Donate Bitcoin

Donate Paypal


PeakOil is You

PeakOil is You

Carrying Capacity/Human Overshoot; Pt. 3, 21st century perspecti

Re: Carrying Capacity/Human Overshoot; Pt. 2, 21st century p

Unread postby onlooker » Fri 24 Mar 2017, 20:04:09

Wow,Sub, I think this paragraph says it all. "Welcome to Urban Monad 116. Reaching nearly two miles into the sky, the one thousand stories of this building are home to over eight hundred thousand people living in peace and harmony. In the year 2381 with a world population of over seventy-five billion souls, the massive Urbmon system is humanity's salvation."
Eight hundred thousand people out of seventy-five billion souls, One can only shudder of how those billions must be living, Similar to our world and to the world from the Star Trek episode "Cloud Minders" But in sheer numbers worse
"We are mortal beings doomed to die
User avatar
onlooker
Fission
Fission
 
Posts: 10957
Joined: Sun 10 Nov 2013, 13:49:04
Location: NY, USA

Re: Carrying Capacity/Human Overshoot; Pt. 2, 21st century p

Unread postby dohboi » Fri 24 Mar 2017, 22:18:05

N wrote: "... it seems better than what we have"

Truer words...
User avatar
dohboi
Harmless Drudge
Harmless Drudge
 
Posts: 19990
Joined: Mon 05 Dec 2005, 04:00:00

Re: Carrying Capacity/Human Overshoot; Pt. 2, 21st century p

Unread postby jedrider » Tue 28 Mar 2017, 15:51:45

onlooker wrote:So Kaiser,to be clear can this assimilation allows us it remove the more primitive/primate features we possess, which you sustain are so ingrained in us? And which in turn I also acknowledge and sustain are impeding our positive evolution. I must admit this assimilation along with bio-engineering or genetics offer much promise in prolonging health , well being and life. Above all it in conjunction with venturing into space now appears to offer the best hope for our continued survival as a species albeit a different one


In five hundred years, mankind will inhabit another world. However, it will still be what use to be called Earth, but they will have another name for it in deference for what use to be called Earth. Is this where climate change and ecological destruction is headed? Very likely scenario, more so that colonizing anything exoplanet.
User avatar
jedrider
Intermediate Crude
Intermediate Crude
 
Posts: 3106
Joined: Thu 28 May 2009, 10:10:44

Re: Carrying Capacity/Human Overshoot; Pt. 3, 21st century p

Unread postby onlooker » Tue 28 Mar 2017, 16:10:20

In five hundred years, mankind will inhabit another world. However, it will still be what use to be called Earth, but they will have another name for it in deference for what use to be called Earth. Is this where climate change and ecological destruction is headed? Very likely scenario, more so that colonizing anything exoplanet.

Given our huge population and its impact on the natural world and the legacy of poisons, chemicals and other nefarious substances we have bequeathed the Earth, I seriously doubt that much of Earth will remain hospitable to human life in five hundred years . I see it now as a race between our technology and its ability to either create special hardy/tough humans and/or artificial environments either here or somewhere else that allows humans to survive -and- our inexorable and continuous negative impact on the world culminating in a inhospitable planet for most life.
"We are mortal beings doomed to die
User avatar
onlooker
Fission
Fission
 
Posts: 10957
Joined: Sun 10 Nov 2013, 13:49:04
Location: NY, USA

Re: Carrying Capacity/Human Overshoot; Pt. 3, 21st century p

Unread postby vtsnowedin » Tue 28 Mar 2017, 18:40:33

onlooker wrote:
In five hundred years, mankind will inhabit another world. However, it will still be what use to be called Earth, but they will have another name for it in deference for what use to be called Earth. Is this where climate change and ecological destruction is headed? Very likely scenario, more so that colonizing anything exoplanet.

Given our huge population and its impact on the natural world and the legacy of poisons, chemicals and other nefarious substances we have bequeathed the Earth, I seriously doubt that much of Earth will remain hospitable to human life in five hundred years . I see it now as a race between our technology and its ability to either create special hardy/tough humans and/or artificial environments either here or somewhere else that allows humans to survive -and- our inexorable and continuous negative impact on the world culminating in a inhospitable planet for most life.

I have to wonder what you really have thought out as results for the planet five hundred years down the road.
Do you think the oceans have dried up and been sucked up and away to deep space? Do you think the continents will have changed shape or elevation significantly in just 500 years?
Will it not rain in the Amazon and the Congo? Will not the Sahara be a desert?
Will it not snow in Canada and Siberia?
Will the monsoons in India and South East Asia stop falling?
We face a lot of changes brought about by over population and some will be very hard to deal with and may well kill billions of humans but that does not mean that Earth will become the next Mars without water or breathable air.
User avatar
vtsnowedin
Fusion
Fusion
 
Posts: 14897
Joined: Fri 11 Jul 2008, 03:00:00

Re: Carrying Capacity/Human Overshoot; Pt. 3, 21st century p

Unread postby onlooker » Tue 28 Mar 2017, 19:17:49

V, if nothing more climate change and the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere is poised to unleash a probable mass extinction event. Look up the biggest one " The Great Dying", that happened roughly 250 million years ago and almost certainly caused by climate change .Oh and even all the nuclear reactors and their potential meltdown. Finally, we do not seem to be willing to ramp down our man made CO2 emissions even while indications are that self-reinforcing global warming feedbacks have now been triggered that do not require our contributions to CO2 buildup.
"We are mortal beings doomed to die
User avatar
onlooker
Fission
Fission
 
Posts: 10957
Joined: Sun 10 Nov 2013, 13:49:04
Location: NY, USA

Re: Carrying Capacity/Human Overshoot; Pt. 3, 21st century p

Unread postby Newfie » Tue 28 Mar 2017, 19:21:18

"Do you think the oceans have dried up and been sucked up and away to deep space? ". No, possibly poision oceans.

"Do you think the continents will have changed shape or elevation significantly in just 500 years?" SLR is significant. So measuring height against SL will actually change elevations. Places like Florida will have changed shape.

"Will it not rain in the Amazon and the Congo?" May well not. Then again, it still rains in Haitai, there just no topsoil left.

"Will not the Sahara be a desert?" Most likely. Along with Spain and Texas.

"Will it not snow in Canada and Siberia?" Rain yes, snow? Not so much. Already lost a lot of ice.

"Will the monsoons in India and South East Asia stop falling?" Likely.

"We face a lot of changes brought about by over population and some will be very hard to deal with and may well kill billions of humans".....very likely.

"but that does not mean that Earth will become the next Mars without water or breathable air"..........Unlikely, but some serious scientists see scenarios where that happens. And the ocean may become a very different soup frommwhat we know today.
User avatar
Newfie
Forum Moderator
Forum Moderator
 
Posts: 18451
Joined: Thu 15 Nov 2007, 04:00:00
Location: Between Canada and Carribean

Re: Carrying Capacity/Human Overshoot; Pt. 3, 21st century p

Unread postby onlooker » Tue 28 Mar 2017, 19:25:44

https://www.scientificamerican.com/arti ... e-changes/

"There have been three major greenhouse phases in the time period we analyzed and the peaks in temperature of each coincide with mass extinctions,"

They're is a reason they are called mass extinctions--Because many life forms could NOT survive on Earth during those times
"We are mortal beings doomed to die
User avatar
onlooker
Fission
Fission
 
Posts: 10957
Joined: Sun 10 Nov 2013, 13:49:04
Location: NY, USA

Re: Carrying Capacity/Human Overshoot; Pt. 3, 21st century p

Unread postby Tanada » Wed 29 Mar 2017, 04:31:05

onlooker wrote:https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/mass-extinctions-tied-to-past-climate-changes/

"There have been three major greenhouse phases in the time period we analyzed and the peaks in temperature of each coincide with mass extinctions,"

They're is a reason they are called mass extinctions--Because many life forms could NOT survive on Earth during those times


That is only partially true, in many cases different species could have survived if they had been able to migrate along with their climate zone of preference. This is why it was suggested months ago that Humans could be proactive by scattering seeds of every variety of plant possible at the northern edge of their current range and in the next climate zone north of that. By spreading the greenery as fast as the climate changes we would be providing niches for future animal migration, and with our technology we could also move viable populations of animals to the newly grown green belts as needed.

Instead we spend all our time whining about how politicians in every country everywhere won't do anything to 'stop global warming'. I guess it is true, whining is a heck of a lot easier than being proactive.
Alfred Tennyson wrote:We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
User avatar
Tanada
Site Admin
Site Admin
 
Posts: 17048
Joined: Thu 28 Apr 2005, 03:00:00
Location: South West shore Lake Erie, OH, USA

Re: Carrying Capacity/Human Overshoot; Pt. 3, 21st century p

Unread postby onlooker » Wed 29 Mar 2017, 04:48:52

Sounds like a good idea T, hopefully WE will implement soon
"We are mortal beings doomed to die
User avatar
onlooker
Fission
Fission
 
Posts: 10957
Joined: Sun 10 Nov 2013, 13:49:04
Location: NY, USA

Re: Carrying Capacity/Human Overshoot; Pt. 3, 21st century p

Unread postby Ibon » Wed 29 Mar 2017, 09:51:44

Tanada wrote: This is why it was suggested months ago that Humans could be proactive by scattering seeds of every variety of plant possible at the northern edge of their current range and in the next climate zone north of that. By spreading the greenery as fast as the climate changes we would be providing niches for future animal migration, and with our technology we could also move viable populations of animals to the newly grown green belts as needed.

Instead we spend all our time whining about how politicians in every country everywhere won't do anything to 'stop global warming'. I guess it is true, whining is a heck of a lot easier than being proactive.


If only it was a question of whining. The problem does go deeper of course. How to be pro-active? And I mean pro-active that is effective and not just a psychological feel good action. This is perhaps the biggest hurdle. There are many here on this site and probably very many folks out there who recognize the instabilities but really don't know how to be pro-active. We had the Planning for the Future thread which was great for specifics. There are a million and one small little steps each individual can take.

There is a sentiment which is false in my opinion that there is a futility in small actions since what is being undermined is the whole foundation that holds up this fragile house of cards. I think that is the first sentiment that has to be broken.

Folks, there is no foundation here being undermined. There is of course macro systemic consequences to human overshoot like climate change and biodiversity loss. Many folks interpret this to mean that the foundation of our biosphere is being undermined and that there is nothing to be done but to stare in slow motion with your jaws dropping as the metaphorical tsunami slowly comes ashore in the coming decades and washes away the human detritus and clears the slate clean. This sentiment that many have that hamstrings them from being proactive is basically a christian judeo biblical flood shit that many of you, especially the atheists among you, still hold on to as a residue of your cultures religious roots.

The truth is our biosphere is incredibly resilient. There will be an accelerated rate of extinctions. It has already started. There will be bio-regions devastated. There will be islands disappearing and coastal areas unlivable. There will be marine ecosystems obliterated. There will be melting ice caps. There will be methane farts. All of those are true.

Many of you research and read these events and interpret a fragility that is simply not there. There is also the mistake of homogenizing our planet into one big ball of fragility where consequences will be spread evenly across the globe. This is also patently false.

We are in for a ride make no mistake.

That we are moving into the opening chapters of external events that will eventually steer our culture should be a cause for celebration for all those brave of heart.

The past 50 years nothing humans have done has altered the hubris of our destructive ways. We are finally getting some feedbacks long over due. This is truly a cause for celebration because we finally have a hard edge to butt up against and hone our sustainability skills. And survival skills.

All of you immersed in indolence who do no rise up may very well perish in the purist Darwinian sense. This applies to individuals and nations alike. Those who pro-actively rise to the challenges will regain their integrity.

The consequences of human overshoot will give our species the opportunity to re-acquaint ourselves with integrity.

The hell is what we are going to leave behind.

How many of you understand this?
Patiently awaiting the pathogens. Our resiliency resembles an invasive weed. We are the Kudzu Ape
blog: http://blog.mounttotumas.com/
website: http://www.mounttotumas.com
User avatar
Ibon
Expert
Expert
 
Posts: 9568
Joined: Fri 03 Dec 2004, 04:00:00
Location: Volcan, Panama

Re: Carrying Capacity/Human Overshoot; Pt. 3, 21st century p

Unread postby jedrider » Wed 29 Mar 2017, 18:21:10

Ibon wrote:The hell is what we are going to leave behind.

How many of you understand this?


I understood that part!
User avatar
jedrider
Intermediate Crude
Intermediate Crude
 
Posts: 3106
Joined: Thu 28 May 2009, 10:10:44

Re: Carrying Capacity/Human Overshoot; Pt. 3, 21st century p

Unread postby KaiserJeep » Wed 29 Mar 2017, 19:05:50

I believe that 500 years from now, the Earth will still be here, but only marginally inhabitable from environmental damage from the overshoot population of human beings, a problem first recognized by the Reverend Malthus in 1826 when he published his document:
Image
Whether or not you believe that humans or worthy enough to have stewardship of the Earth doesn't actually matter. We do have this overshoot population, as a result of being fundamentally primates with primate instincts. We will continue to behave as primates behave, because that is our nature. If you happen to be of a spiritual inclination, that is how Mother Nature (or whatever diety you worship) made us.

So the Earth is dying, from a multitude of reasons, all of which can be summarized with one short statement: Too many people, not enough stuff. In this context, "stuff" is all-inclusive, it includes, energy, wholesome food, clean water, arable soil, crops, food animals, and most certainly the worst shortage of all, not enough people who care about our fate.

I'm not anybody who is wiser about this than any of you. I have been grappling with these concepts for more years is all, since Apocalyptic SF started being written centuries ago and became really popular in the late 19th and early 20th century, and I have been reading the stuff for 55+ years.

I actually believe that the human race on planet Earth is going to decline sharply in numbers, at some point in the not too distant future, almost certainly within 100 years, and likely within 50 years. But I also believe that the knowledge we have we will retain forever, the last remnants of humanity, if it comes to that, will have access to bit perfect digital records of everything we did wrong - not that it will help. I possess these beliefs because humans are now a cybernetic species, a combination of apes and networked digital devices. YOU have been assimilated.

Whether or not we continue to prosper depends upon whether or not we are wise enough to populate space. (Again, just short and sweet.) We have come too far, learned too much, and we will never lose that hardfound knowledge. But whether or not we are a shrivelling remnant on a planet that has lost most of it's attractions, or a vibrant species spreading through our solar system, and evolving beyond the creatures we are today, is entirely up to us.
KaiserJeep 2.0, Neural Subnode 0010 0000 0001 0110 - 1001 0011 0011, Tertiary Adjunct to Unimatrix 0000 0000 0001

Resistance is Futile, YOU will be Assimilated.

Warning: Messages timestamped before April 1, 2016, 06:00 PST were posted by the unmodified human KaiserJeep 1.0
KaiserJeep
Light Sweet Crude
Light Sweet Crude
 
Posts: 6094
Joined: Tue 06 Aug 2013, 17:16:32
Location: Wisconsin's Dreamland

Re: Carrying Capacity/Human Overshoot; Pt. 3, 21st century p

Unread postby Ibon » Wed 29 Mar 2017, 21:45:05

GASMON wrote:No disrespect to you Ibon but your view on the world isolated up your (very beautifull) mountain is not 100% correct. A LOT of positive things ARE being done to better the (our children's) future. Perhaps not enough in a lot of places I agree.


My post is really focused on a positive vision for a young millennial today who is staring down the barrel of the consequences of human overshoot recognizing that he will not have the material affluence of his parents. And so he or she must find other values, not material in nature.

Your examples of improved infrastructure, nature preserves, cleaner rivers and air etc. are real improvements. I acknowledge this. I would like you to think back to the 1950's when a family got their first washing machine and the appreciation was enormous. Same with electricity, hot water etc. These simple physical improvements that greatly enhanced the quality of life are not even on the radar of most entitled 21st century 1st world citizens. This is actually one of the points I am trying to make.

Most folks are not satisfied with the joys of plumbing, a washing machine, electricity, hot water, an internet connection. These are assumed as givens. The goals and aspirations and wants of your average citizen are so finely tuned and expectations are so inflated and removed from physical reality. Most folks do not even know where the power comes from when they turn on a light or run hot water. These are fundamentals that are largely ignored in today's world. Somebody buys a peach in the store. Do they know where it came from. Who grew it? Most do not have a clue. Most in fact buy food that is so processed they do not even know the original grain or fruit or animal that it came from.

Here at Totumas we had to tap a spring and store it above our cabins to have pressured spring water coming out of the taps. We added a pelton wheel to produce 7.6kw of electricity that runs all our appliances, refrigerators. All the propane we use for cooking is hauled in tanks 10km up a 4WD road.
We are acutely aware of where our food and power and water come from and we had to grow it or install it and this causes us to have this deep connection to power and food. We know exactly how many watts all our appliances run on. We had to put in bio-active septic tanks and drain fields to manage our waste.

Imagine living in a world where everyone got back to these basic appreciations and did not assume any entitlements. One day this will happen when consequences force this contraction. This is the silver lining in all of this. What I was trying to express. Most folks today are not connected to organic concerns appreciating their shelter, clean water, knowing where their food comes from, power, etc. This is indolence at its worse in a society.

Long story short, hell is what we will leave behind. The hell of having these expectations that take for granted the entire bedrock of the physical infrastructure, power,food and clean environment which is just assumed as a given, as if it is there by magic or something. We were sold on a consumption dream that promised liberation from all the toils of the physical world. And most folks today just throw away something that is broken and don't know how to fix anything. This is insolence at its worse. This is a society that is mentally ill.

About those wicked Trump corporatists. Here is what I have to say. Don't feed the corporations. Starve them. Do not be a consumer. Fxxk them up the ass by not buying anything except your most basics. Render into Caesar the bear minimum to stay legal and literally make it you life's vision to starve the corporations. This does not require you to go out and protest. You live by the sweet rhythms of nature and the stars and you buy only the minimum and take your pleasures from your friends, the woods, the gardens, the community, your family and screw everything that symbolizes consumption.

This is something everybody can do. If they want to. Otherwise they are hypocrites and suffering from indolence which is really what consumption culture is.

So many of the worlds citizens are waiting in line to feed into the corporate matrix. Wage slaves in factories etc. This will go into contraction once consequences really hit home. This is going to put a major dent in the whole globalist corporate matrix. All those chinese in factories exporting what to where once the consequences bite??? What a major major reconfiguration.

I celebrate all of the upcoming disruption, knowing it may kill me or my loved ones. This is what contraction is all about by the way, even the most prepared and conscious can fall when chaos starts to break down the social fabric. The best preparation is to humbly accept that.

Hell is what we will leave behind.
Patiently awaiting the pathogens. Our resiliency resembles an invasive weed. We are the Kudzu Ape
blog: http://blog.mounttotumas.com/
website: http://www.mounttotumas.com
User avatar
Ibon
Expert
Expert
 
Posts: 9568
Joined: Fri 03 Dec 2004, 04:00:00
Location: Volcan, Panama

Re: Carrying Capacity/Human Overshoot; Pt. 3, 21st century p

Unread postby ralfy » Wed 29 Mar 2017, 21:55:43

As I explained several times elsewhere, many people world already live such conditions, but not in a way that's imagined by the middle class, and not out of choice. That's because they earn less than $10 a day.

And the irony is what they want is what U.S. families in the 1950s had.
User avatar
ralfy
Light Sweet Crude
Light Sweet Crude
 
Posts: 5558
Joined: Sat 28 Mar 2009, 11:36:38
Location: The Wasteland

Re: Carrying Capacity/Human Overshoot; Pt. 3, 21st century p

Unread postby Ibon » Wed 29 Mar 2017, 22:00:45

KaiserJeep wrote: But whether or not we are a shrivelling remnant on a planet that has lost most of it's attractions, or a vibrant species spreading through our solar system, and evolving beyond the creatures we are today, is entirely up to us.


KJ, this is binary black or white thinking at its worse. You have to create this bleak future for our planet to make jumping to other planets as the only counter point. Either OR but no shades of gray. That is what Christian fundamentalists do. Either satan or god and nothing nuanced in between.

You know KJ I could hold you to the same standards that you hold the AGW fanboys and ask you to prove with models and graphs and scientific facts how our planet will end up trashed in a couple of hundred years form now. But I wont. In four hundred years from now my guess is that our planet is green and verdant with a fraction of humans living on it and natural ecosystems having almost completed the recolonization of former human landscapes. Where I agree with you is that the fraction of humans still here may very well have held on to enough technology to have evolved culturally to something we today can not even recognize.

Hell is what we will leave behind....even those billions who may die will have left this hell behind because they will be dead! I am truly looking forward to the upcoming disruptions and I fear them not although I recognize they may at any time take me or my loved ones out of the gene pool. For the consequences of human overshoot are the very long sought after solutions that have so very long alluded us.

We fear where we must go and yet it is the only exit sign in the darkness. Embrace it. My daughters know this.
Patiently awaiting the pathogens. Our resiliency resembles an invasive weed. We are the Kudzu Ape
blog: http://blog.mounttotumas.com/
website: http://www.mounttotumas.com
User avatar
Ibon
Expert
Expert
 
Posts: 9568
Joined: Fri 03 Dec 2004, 04:00:00
Location: Volcan, Panama

Re: Carrying Capacity/Human Overshoot; Pt. 3, 21st century p

Unread postby KaiserJeep » Wed 29 Mar 2017, 22:29:47

Ibon, which one of us is right depends entirely upon how badly the ecology crashes. I think it will still be crashing in 500 years, and won't come back for millenia (i.e. thousands of years). The extinction of most ocean plankton and most soil nematodes will have a far-reaching impact. If mankind were to propagate such surviving species and restore soils and oceans, that would make a difference. But I believe the assault on the planet (i.e. the biosphere) by humankind is a solid body blow, causing damages that will take a long period to even bottom out, before healing begins.

The recent technological singularity with our digital slaves is relatively minor and less important than the biological/technological singularity of our expansion into space, and our use of genetic engineering to adapt to those places off Earth. Which is lots faster than natural eveolution on the ruined planet we will have left behind.

But in a way you are correct. Isolated packets of green will remain on the surface (I hope one of which is Mt Totumas) and isolated waters that contain life will persist in corners of the globe. The remaining biosphere will be a lot less complex following so many many extinctions. But with proper management and digital assistance, we could probably manage and restore the Earth the same way we manage the closed system of a space habitat.
KaiserJeep 2.0, Neural Subnode 0010 0000 0001 0110 - 1001 0011 0011, Tertiary Adjunct to Unimatrix 0000 0000 0001

Resistance is Futile, YOU will be Assimilated.

Warning: Messages timestamped before April 1, 2016, 06:00 PST were posted by the unmodified human KaiserJeep 1.0
KaiserJeep
Light Sweet Crude
Light Sweet Crude
 
Posts: 6094
Joined: Tue 06 Aug 2013, 17:16:32
Location: Wisconsin's Dreamland

Re: Carrying Capacity/Human Overshoot; Pt. 3, 21st century p

Unread postby Newfie » Thu 30 Mar 2017, 10:03:46

What to do?
That is the question I keep asking.
And it's a damn hard answer.

On thing folks could do is to band together to buy land to keep it out of production. Sequester the land so that it is not clear cut and stip mined. This could be done on a personal basis, if you have some wealth. Or a communal basis, by throwing money into a common pot to increase buying power.

And it's not a whole lot either. I think if each one of us in the USA tried to buy a couple of acres, somewhere in the world, we could make a meaningful difference. If all of Western culture did it, it would be better. If all the world bought just 2 acres each we could really do something.

Of course there would be consequences, and we don't want them.
User avatar
Newfie
Forum Moderator
Forum Moderator
 
Posts: 18451
Joined: Thu 15 Nov 2007, 04:00:00
Location: Between Canada and Carribean

Re: Carrying Capacity/Human Overshoot; Pt. 3, 21st century p

Unread postby onlooker » Thu 30 Mar 2017, 10:28:23

The way I see it, in a sense we have two options pretty much in all countries. We, can either continue as usual with the power structures in place and hope to effect change by pressuring said power entities or we can attempt to overthrow, the power structure in place. I am not seeing those in power allowing this to happen. So, it could get very messy.
As for the situation with our planet, I respect and defer to the opinion of some here because of their expertise however from my vantage point the damage to the planets life support systems being done and in some cases irreversible in times scales relevant to humanity is enormous. Look at the reports from the oceans, of masses of fishes of all kinds being found dead, look at the key ecosystems around the world and the poor condition, such as the Amazon, the Great Barrier Reef and of course the melting ice on both polar regions. Look at the soil erosion , the contamination and pollution with all many kinds of chemicals. We are changing the biochemical properties of this planet. We are also interfering with the crucial carbon cycle. So, I cannot help but to stand aghast at the assault being done intentional and unintentionally by virtue of our huge population upon the planet. We can casually say well our industrial civilization will collapse soon and our numbers will dwindle consequently soon. Yet, some of you have admitted that we may be able to prolong the downfall of industrial civilization and maintain our population levels for some time yet. Well, that all means more cumulative damage to Ecosystems which sustain life. At some point according to environmental theory, ecological tipping points are reached whereby "Ecological threshold is the point at which a relatively small change or disturbance in external conditions causes a rapid change in an ecosystem. When an ecological threshold has been passed, the ecosystem may no longer be able to return to its state by means of its inherent resilience . Crossing an ecological threshold often leads to rapid change of ecosystem health. Ecological threshold represent a non-linearity of the responses in ecological or biological systems to pressures caused by human activities or natural processes.[1] Critical load, tipping point and regime shift are examples of other closely related terms." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecological_threshold
"We are mortal beings doomed to die
User avatar
onlooker
Fission
Fission
 
Posts: 10957
Joined: Sun 10 Nov 2013, 13:49:04
Location: NY, USA

PreviousNext

Return to Environment, Weather & Climate

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 30 guests

cron