Will the world as we know it survive ?

[rumak]

that's why i came to thailand.   surely the people must be slim and sexy here !

 

https://coconuts.co/bangkok/features/fattening-thailand/

[soalbundy]

8 hours ago, geriatrickid said:

Life expectancy has improved for some, but for others it has significantly regressed.

I draw your attention to many geographical  regions such as rural Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria, large parts of Africa where life expectancy has really reduced. It is certainly improving for Western and Northern Asian regions, but there is more to the world than those regions. I suppose if darker skinned people do not matter, then yes one can say life expectancy has improved.

Life expectancy yes but not quality.

[Hummin]

11 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

Life expectancy yes but not quality.

For most of people in our world, we can choose quality if we want! But very few do, or know life quality. Some belive they know, but again, what is life quality? How to realise it when we reach life quality?

 

I have life quality, because I have the best from two different worlds, choose to eat and drink as healty I can without being to dull and boring. Have time to make money, and exorcise, and have time for my loved ones. What more do I need? 

 

I own things to, but that doesnt give me quality of life, without the basic knowledge and things above. 

 

 

“No ethics, no morals, no conscience, no guilt.”

[Boon Mee]

The Nattering Nabobs of Negativism are always going to be with us. 

The best is yet to come! 

[dotpoom]

18 hours ago, sirineou said:

Has it ever?

My Dad died recently at the age of 94.....I remember him asking the same questions and making the same points since as far back as I can remember.....and complaining that the "stuff" he was hearing on the radio wasn't music anymore....just crazy jibberish? 

[impulse]

9 minutes ago, dotpoom said:

My Dad died recently at the age of 94.....I remember him asking the same questions and making the same points since as far back as I can remember.....and complaining that the "stuff" he was hearing on the radio wasn't music anymore....just crazy jibberish? 

 

May be crazy jibberish.  Or maybe we're all frogs on the way to the slow boil, and we just think we're still okay.

 

If the financial upheavals every 20 years or so teach us anything, it's that we never recognize the tipping points before they're upon us and it's too late.  (I'm forecasting the next big catastrophic tipping point being the Gulf Stream conveyor stopping because of glacier melt, sending Europe into an Ice Age.  But I do go for the wingnut stuff)

Edited June 10, 2018 by impulse

[lvr181]

19 hours ago, canuckamuck said:

Too much instability and polarization in the world, Lots of war weapons that need to be tested, lots of hubris among the leaders too.

The coming world war will change everything. 

The next world war will be fought with nuclear weapons - the one after that will be fought with bows and arrows!

[Hummin]

47 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

May be crazy jibberish.  Or maybe we're all frogs on the way to the slow boil, and we just think we're still okay.

 

If the financial upheavals every 20 years or so teach us anything, it's that we never recognize the tipping points before they're upon us and it's too late.  (I'm forecasting the next big catastrophic tipping point being the Gulf Stream conveyor stopping because of glacier melt, sending Europe into an Ice Age.  But I do go for the wingnut stuff)

Still some few years left for that one, but simultaneous happenings could occour and speed it up for sure. A couple of volcanos going off, some few nuclar bombs, Trump in charge another 6 years, yes we will be there sooner ? than later

[richard_smith237]

17 minutes ago, lvr181 said:

The next world war will be fought with nuclear weapons - the one after that will be fought with bows and arrows!

 

You forgot to quote: 

 

“I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.”

• Albert Einstein, in an interview with Alfred Werner, Liberal Judaism 16 (April-May 1949), Einstein Archive 30-1104, as sourced in The New Quotable Einstein by Alice Calaprice (2005), p. 173

[impulse]

7 minutes ago, Hummin said:

Still some few years left for that one, but simultaneous happenings could occour and speed it up for sure. A couple of volcanos going off, some few nuclar bombs, Trump in charge another 6 years, yes we will be there sooner than later

 

The problem is, we won't know when it's too late to reverse the process.  Once enough ice melts to reduce the gravity of the cold water, the conveyor stops and then, it's too late.  On the plus side, there will be skiing in England in June...

 

[Hummin]

12 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

The problem is, we won't know when it's too late to reverse the process.  Once enough ice melts to reduce the gravity of the cold water, the conveyor stops and then, it's too late.  On the plus side, there will be skiing in England in June...

 

You are right, no one knows! Thats how it should be, and I do not worry to much yet!

[Lucky mike]

The only constant is change !

[Krataiboy]

19 hours ago, jvs said:

We as the human species are just a temporary parasite on the planet

when we get wiped out the planet will be just fine.

I know plastic in the environment it very bad especially for marine life but it only takes 100 years for most plastic to break down.

100 years for the planet is absolutely nothing,animal species have been dying since the beginning of life.

Evolution will continue but without us.

 

Scientists say as many as 99.9 percent of species which existed on Earth have become extinct. Man's arrival on the planet has speeded up the process dramatically, with 60 percent of surviving species wiped out over the last four decades mainly as a result of human activity.

 

About our turn, I reckon.

[kokopelli]

"I see no hope for the future of our people if they are dependent on frivolous youth of today, for certainly all youth are reckless beyond words... When I was young, we were taught to be discreet and respectful of elders, but the present youth are exceedingly wise [disrespectful] and impatient of restraint".

(Hesiod, 8th century BC)

[SpeakeasyThai]

We as a species will be eventually  gone after amusing ourself to death. The planet will be a much healthier place after our extinction.

[Mac98]

Would I want to be there? That depends on whether global warming results in shorter skirts.

[Nurseynutcase]

It saddens me to see the current state of wildlife on this planet.  The destruction of natural habitats, the killing of animals for so called health benefits, the use of animals for the entertainment of humans, it is all so sickening and unnecessary and inherently cruel

 

The over population of the planet is the driver of all of this and the sooner the population decreases, by whatever means, the better.

 

Before anyone tries to point a finger at me 40 years ago I made the decision not to have any children and add to the planets problems.  This I stuck to.

 

 

[TKDfella]

Oh I think will be okay until the 2135 (or there about).

The asteroid Bennu is on its way and NASA says it has a one chance in 2600 (about 0.00385 of a %) of hitting Earth at that time (the present estimate but stay tuned for the update every 20 years, Ha!). So make sure your ticket for the Mars Colony is paid for and maybe from there you can watch...if it happens. Well, it won't be us will it, but make sure your great grand children have it their not book.

Edited June 10, 2018 by TKDfella

[Kerryd]

"Our world" (as a species) will come to an end eventually, and probably not that long into the future.

We are the only species with the ability to totally destroy ourselves and almost every other living creature on the planet. We breed without any kind of control and have no natural predators to "thin out the herd". This has allowed not only the strongest to survive, but, unlike other species, also the weakest. 
Overpopulation in most species often results in an increase in the predator species, or the spread of a disease that wipes out a large percentage of the population. Or both. However, being at the top of the food chain and being able to (mostly) counter any diseases that come along has allowed Homo Sapiens to overpopulate the plant to the extent that it is almost unsustainable. 

We have already seen the effects of our voracious appetites. Some of you may recall that the Cod fishery off the Grand Banks by Newfoundland had to be shut down for years as over fishing had almost completely wiped out the entire species of fish. Fishing fleets from the other side of the ocean were competing with local fleets to scour the area of virtually every living creature without regard to the effects it was having. The fishery was shut down in 1992 when it appeared that there was approx 1% of the biomass than had previously been reported ! 15 years later it was reported that stocks had recovered by 69%, but that only represented 10% of the "original" stock (what the levels had been at their peak). 15 years of recovery and they haven't made it back to 10% of what there used to be !!

There's an almost constant cry of warning about other fish species as well like Tuna and haddock being depleted to dangerously low levels.
Certain companies are toying with genetically enhanced crops which will be more resistant to insects and disease and thus return larger yields every season. Other companies are developing ways to mass produce items such as poultry and fish using methods that makes you wonder why they aren't being picketed 24/7 by the various environmental and animal welfare groups. Many restaurants in BC and other places refuse to serve salmon raised in "farms" which are often fed growth hormones and anti-biotics and are prone to infestations of things like sea lice. Much as been made about the condition of the ocean floors under areas where fish farms operate (and how those areas tend to be devoid of aquatic life).

 

Massive increases in the amount of pesticides (natural and "organic") are playing havoc not only with the insect species that feed on the various crops, but with other species that prey up those insects (further up the "food chain") as well as beneficial insects like honey bees. Residual pesticides end up in the water systems and eventually reach the oceans where they can decimate algae populations, thus depleting essential food sources for other creatures. 
Most of Nature works in a common cycle. Little thing eats something. Big thing eats little thing. Much bigger thing eats big thing. Much bigger thing dies. Little thing eats much bigger thing and the cycle continues.
Until man comes along and screws it up and suddenly the things that other things used to feed on are no longer there. Welcome to extinction.
 
And what do we see as a result of all that ? According to poverty.com, approx 21,000(+) people a day are dying of starvation in some parts of the world while (according to a different site) 7,500 people are dying everyday from obesity related problems in other parts of the world. 

However, over population is not the only problem "we" face, but it can (and will) have a huge effect on the other problem.

 

Religions have been vying for absolute power ever since the first of our ancestors clued in that pretending to be able to talk to imaginary beings could give them power greater than that of the best hunters or fighters in their clan. Almost every civilization has, at one point or another, come under the sway of their religious leaders (now go back and read the first word of this sentence). Whether that was the native Medicine Man or the shaman or the cleric or priest, even the mightiest of warriors and kings have bowed down to them. History is littered with wars that were started by, or on behalf of, various religions.
It happens to this day, even in countries that are supposed to be "secular" but still make laws (or repeal) them based on religious decrees and the followers of those religions.

Religions thrive on the poor, the needy and the desperate. They don't actually help them, but sell them empty promises of a better life in exchange for they undying devotion. To people who have nothing, those promises are something to live, or die, for. The problem religions have is that, as populations get better educated and smarter, they tend to believe less and less in those "imaginary" beings and the religions start losing support. That means less money and less power for those religions.
They try to counter that by, in some places, denying education to their followers where possible, or by trying to influence the curriculum in the places they don't have control over (remember their ongoing attempts in some places to use "Intelligent Design" as a cover phrase for "god"). 
Dumb, stupid people who can't (or won't) question their religious leaders are the ideal supporters. Dumb, stupid people who are hungry and desperate are far easier to control than educated people with full bellies that might ask questions for which there are no good answers. 

Look around at the various conflicts in the world today. Take a wild guess at how many there are currently going on.
1 ? 2 ? Maybe 3 ?
Most people will point to Syria/Iraq as the only conflict currently going on, however, according to some sources there are dozens of conflicts going on around the world currently. One site breaks them down by the number killed in the last year.
For example, conflicts where 10,000 or more have died in the last year:

Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Mexico (drug wars) and the Philippines* (* the drug wars).

Conflicts where between 1,000-9,999 have died in the last year:
Myanmar, Ethiopia, Somalia, Nigeria, the "Maghreb" (parts of Tunisia, Libya, Algeria, Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso), Yemen, Sinai, Sudan, the Philippines* (* the Moro Conflict), the Congo and a couple more.

Add another 23 "conflicts" where the death toll, in the last year, was estimated to be between 100-999 (like the India/Pakistan conflict in the Kashmir, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the insurgency in the Philippines - their 3rd entry on the list) and then add another 20 that had fewer than 100 deaths (like the conflict in Southern Thailand).

That's 57(+) armed conflicts currently going on in the world right this very minute. 
Now look at where those conflicts are happening.
(Note: Many of the conflicts involve many of the same countries as there may be 2 or more different conflicts at the same time like Libya and the Philippines for example).
Here is an interactive map from a different site that shows all the current conflicts going on (as far as what they consider to be a conflict)
https://emmeline.carto.com/viz/b69015da-136a-11e5-a64a-0e43f3deba5a/embed_map

Note that things like the tension in the South Pacific between China and pretty much everyone else isn't included, nor is the conflict between the Sikhs and Hindus noted. However, if something flared up in one place there are a number of other places that would surely flare up as well, like Cyprus, the Sinai, Peru, Sri Lanka and some others.
 

Most of those conflicts revolve around religion. A couple are "drug wars" and a couple are political but most of the rest are Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, Sikhs, Jews and Hindus. 

Personally, I think religion is the biggest threat to world peace currently and, as a result, possibly the biggest threat to our existence as well. Take Iran for example, they still hold to the idea that they want nothing less than to exterminate (or annihilate) all Jews (a view held by most of the Muslim world it seems, even those who don't have a clue where Israel is or why they are supposed to hate them - got to love people that don't know anything and won't question anything).
Iran is still trying to get nuclear weapons and are probably crazy enough to use them. They (their religious leaders) believe that slaughtering all the Jews will guarantee them a seat at Mohammed's right hand and any innocent Muslims that are killed with simple be called "martyrs" and thus entitled to their reward in Paradise.

Again, it does not matter if you believe any of that, there are a lot who do. Fervently. If they get a nuke, they might just use it and the consequences could lead to a global nuclear war that could, theoretically, wipe out almost every species on the planet (except for cockroaches and Thai bar girls who seem to live forever and ever - maybe from eating all those fried cockroaches).

Nuclear war and the "nuclear winter" that is theorized would follow the war is probably going to be the cause of our extinction. It's just a matter of how and when and the answer to those questions maybe be getting clearer and clearer in the near future.

Recipe for extinction.
Take masses of poor, desperate people. Stir in religion and create religious wars.
Add Nuclear weapons and mix.
Baste the survivors in radiation and nuclear winter.
Wait for the next great explosion of life on the planet in a million years or so. 

Politicians can get angry, stamp their feet and make threats but when push comes to shove, they know what the consequences could be (of an all out war). MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) is probably the one thing that has kept us from having a WW III already.
Religious leaders however may not fear the consequences as they believe they are destined for something better already.

Blaire Pascal (1623-1662) wrote:

"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.” 
 

[Nurseynutcase]

Re Kerryd - a thoughtful response, - illuminating.

 

Don't know who said but it is true in my opiniun;

"Religion is the opium of the masses"

Having been anurse for forty years I have NEVER been able to understand the concept of 'god'

[lvr181]

3 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

You forgot to quote: 

 

“I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.”

• Albert Einstein, in an interview with Alfred Werner, Liberal Judaism 16 (April-May 1949), Einstein Archive 30-1104, as sourced in The New Quotable Einstein by Alice Calaprice (2005), p. 173

My bad. Did not know where the idea/quote came from, only that I remember something about it. 

[lvr181]

3 hours ago, Krataiboy said:

Scientists say as many as 99.9 percent of species which existed on Earth have become extinct. Man's arrival on the planet has speeded up the process dramatically, with 60 percent of surviving species wiped out over the last four decades mainly as a result of human activity.

 

About our turn, I reckon.

Lead the way...................  

[sirineou]

5 minutes ago, lvr181 said:

My bad. Did not know where the idea/quote came from, only that I remember something about it. 

Einstein might be credited with saying it but it does not take an einstaint to think of it, I am sure many, including you have thought of it. 

People have being saying things for thousands of years . unless one is consciously pledjurising someone in an attempt to take credit for someone else's work I don't think we need to place quotes around everything we say in case someone else said it first. 

No need to apologise.

[The Deerhunter]

23 hours ago, kannot said:

You should  look at it this way, youre  living in a time thats never been better/easier for most of us, the use of  oil, gas coal etc to reduce  effort and the freedom to travel easily almost anywhere has progressed mankind incredibly.

Argue all you like about fossil fuels but it has made your life incredibly easy and given you a much better/healthier life in many ways.

My only hope is that the myth of religion is slowly eradicated to zero as science is slowly but surely demystifying  this  absolute nonsense.

Overpopulation  could be come a problem but Im sure the industrialized countries already have a sort of inbuilt birth control.

 

I like the way you think.  We just need fusion plants for electricity and enough money to all buy Tesla. 

Edited June 10, 2018 by The Deerhunter

[lvr181]

1 minute ago, sirineou said:

Einstein might be credited with saying it but it does not take an einstaint to think of it, I am sure many, including you have thought of it. 

People have being saying things for thousands of years . unless one is consciously pledjurising someone in an attempt to take credit for someone else's work I don't think we need to place quotes around everything we say in case someone else said it first. 

No need to apologise.

[TKDfella]

2 hours ago, Kerryd said:

"Our world" (as a species) will come to an end eventually, and probably not that long into the future.

We are the only species with the ability to totally destroy ourselves and almost every other living creature on the planet. We breed without any kind of control and have no natural predators to "thin out the herd". This has allowed not only the strongest to survive, but, unlike other species, also the weakest. 
Overpopulation in most species often results in an increase in the predator species, or the spread of a disease that wipes out a large percentage of the population. Or both. However, being at the top of the food chain and being able to (mostly) counter any diseases that come along has allowed Homo Sapiens to overpopulate the plant to the extent that it is almost unsustainable. 

We have already seen the effects of our voracious appetites. Some of you may recall that the Cod fishery off the Grand Banks by Newfoundland had to be shut down for years as over fishing had almost completely wiped out the entire species of fish. Fishing fleets from the other side of the ocean were competing with local fleets to scour the area of virtually every living creature without regard to the effects it was having. The fishery was shut down in 1992 when it appeared that there was approx 1% of the biomass than had previously been reported ! 15 years later it was reported that stocks had recovered by 69%, but that only represented 10% of the "original" stock (what the levels had been at their peak). 15 years of recovery and they haven't made it back to 10% of what there used to be !!

There's an almost constant cry of warning about other fish species as well like Tuna and haddock being depleted to dangerously low levels.
Certain companies are toying with genetically enhanced crops which will be more resistant to insects and disease and thus return larger yields every season. Other companies are developing ways to mass produce items such as poultry and fish using methods that makes you wonder why they aren't being picketed 24/7 by the various environmental and animal welfare groups. Many restaurants in BC and other places refuse to serve salmon raised in "farms" which are often fed growth hormones and anti-biotics and are prone to infestations of things like sea lice. Much as been made about the condition of the ocean floors under areas where fish farms operate (and how those areas tend to be devoid of aquatic life).

 

Massive increases in the amount of pesticides (natural and "organic") are playing havoc not only with the insect species that feed on the various crops, but with other species that prey up those insects (further up the "food chain") as well as beneficial insects like honey bees. Residual pesticides end up in the water systems and eventually reach the oceans where they can decimate algae populations, thus depleting essential food sources for other creatures. 
Most of Nature works in a common cycle. Little thing eats something. Big thing eats little thing. Much bigger thing eats big thing. Much bigger thing dies. Little thing eats much bigger thing and the cycle continues.
Until man comes along and screws it up and suddenly the things that other things used to feed on are no longer there. Welcome to extinction.
 
And what do we see as a result of all that ? According to poverty.com, approx 21,000(+) people a day are dying of starvation in some parts of the world while (according to a different site) 7,500 people are dying everyday from obesity related problems in other parts of the world. 

However, over population is not the only problem "we" face, but it can (and will) have a huge effect on the other problem.

 

Religions have been vying for absolute power ever since the first of our ancestors clued in that pretending to be able to talk to imaginary beings could give them power greater than that of the best hunters or fighters in their clan. Almost every civilization has, at one point or another, come under the sway of their religious leaders (now go back and read the first word of this sentence). Whether that was the native Medicine Man or the shaman or the cleric or priest, even the mightiest of warriors and kings have bowed down to them. History is littered with wars that were started by, or on behalf of, various religions.
It happens to this day, even in countries that are supposed to be "secular" but still make laws (or repeal) them based on religious decrees and the followers of those religions.

Religions thrive on the poor, the needy and the desperate. They don't actually help them, but sell them empty promises of a better life in exchange for they undying devotion. To people who have nothing, those promises are something to live, or die, for. The problem religions have is that, as populations get better educated and smarter, they tend to believe less and less in those "imaginary" beings and the religions start losing support. That means less money and less power for those religions.
They try to counter that by, in some places, denying education to their followers where possible, or by trying to influence the curriculum in the places they don't have control over (remember their ongoing attempts in some places to use "Intelligent Design" as a cover phrase for "god"). 
Dumb, stupid people who can't (or won't) question their religious leaders are the ideal supporters. Dumb, stupid people who are hungry and desperate are far easier to control than educated people with full bellies that might ask questions for which there are no good answers. 

Look around at the various conflicts in the world today. Take a wild guess at how many there are currently going on.
1 ? 2 ? Maybe 3 ?
Most people will point to Syria/Iraq as the only conflict currently going on, however, according to some sources there are dozens of conflicts going on around the world currently. One site breaks them down by the number killed in the last year.
For example, conflicts where 10,000 or more have died in the last year:

Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Mexico (drug wars) and the Philippines* (* the drug wars).

Conflicts where between 1,000-9,999 have died in the last year:
Myanmar, Ethiopia, Somalia, Nigeria, the "Maghreb" (parts of Tunisia, Libya, Algeria, Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso), Yemen, Sinai, Sudan, the Philippines* (* the Moro Conflict), the Congo and a couple more.

Add another 23 "conflicts" where the death toll, in the last year, was estimated to be between 100-999 (like the India/Pakistan conflict in the Kashmir, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the insurgency in the Philippines - their 3rd entry on the list) and then add another 20 that had fewer than 100 deaths (like the conflict in Southern Thailand).

That's 57(+) armed conflicts currently going on in the world right this very minute. 
Now look at where those conflicts are happening.
(Note: Many of the conflicts involve many of the same countries as there may be 2 or more different conflicts at the same time like Libya and the Philippines for example).
Here is an interactive map from a different site that shows all the current conflicts going on (as far as what they consider to be a conflict)
https://emmeline.carto.com/viz/b69015da-136a-11e5-a64a-0e43f3deba5a/embed_map

Note that things like the tension in the South Pacific between China and pretty much everyone else isn't included, nor is the conflict between the Sikhs and Hindus noted. However, if something flared up in one place there are a number of other places that would surely flare up as well, like Cyprus, the Sinai, Peru, Sri Lanka and some others.
 

Most of those conflicts revolve around religion. A couple are "drug wars" and a couple are political but most of the rest are Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, Sikhs, Jews and Hindus. 

Personally, I think religion is the biggest threat to world peace currently and, as a result, possibly the biggest threat to our existence as well. Take Iran for example, they still hold to the idea that they want nothing less than to exterminate (or annihilate) all Jews (a view held by most of the Muslim world it seems, even those who don't have a clue where Israel is or why they are supposed to hate them - got to love people that don't know anything and won't question anything).
Iran is still trying to get nuclear weapons and are probably crazy enough to use them. They (their religious leaders) believe that slaughtering all the Jews will guarantee them a seat at Mohammed's right hand and any innocent Muslims that are killed with simple be called "martyrs" and thus entitled to their reward in Paradise.

Again, it does not matter if you believe any of that, there are a lot who do. Fervently. If they get a nuke, they might just use it and the consequences could lead to a global nuclear war that could, theoretically, wipe out almost every species on the planet (except for cockroaches and Thai bar girls who seem to live forever and ever - maybe from eating all those fried cockroaches).

Nuclear war and the "nuclear winter" that is theorized would follow the war is probably going to be the cause of our extinction. It's just a matter of how and when and the answer to those questions maybe be getting clearer and clearer in the near future.

Recipe for extinction.
Take masses of poor, desperate people. Stir in religion and create religious wars.
Add Nuclear weapons and mix.
Baste the survivors in radiation and nuclear winter.
Wait for the next great explosion of life on the planet in a million years or so. 

Politicians can get angry, stamp their feet and make threats but when push comes to shove, they know what the consequences could be (of an all out war). MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) is probably the one thing that has kept us from having a WW III already.
Religious leaders however may not fear the consequences as they believe they are destined for something better already.

Blaire Pascal (1623-1662) wrote:

"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.” 
 

Actually you needn't had gone to all that trouble because it's all down to to three things; Greed, Power and Wealth. The unfortunate thing is those three are in all of us. Why have I put Greed first? Because more of us have that while Power and Wealth go to the few.

As for the Fish Bonanza...how many here, including you KerryD, eat fish? I don't! How many eat Steaks(meat, chicken etc) on a regular basis? I don't...I eat some meat but very little...why? The human body doesn't need great chunks animal protein. No, I am not trying to say I'm environmentally conscious 100% of the time, I'm not, but I was taught always 'to leave the table a little hungry, ready for the next meal'. But, and I am at fault here on a big scale, I eat a lot vegetables and fruit every day. So, just for example, if more people ate like me fish stock in the sea might improve, abattoirs would decrease rapidly, old fashioned chicken farms would be back in fashion etc. But then the amount of land required to grow all that veg and fruit would need to be much more than we even need now. The reason is that we have to kill something to stay alive...and plants do possess life. So eating, what might be called, 'moderately', is not the the answer.

Okay, so lets say, 'overpopulation' is the problem. What's the answer to that? Limit each family to one child? Refuse medication for the poor and those over (say) 70 years old? Or better still, have a general rule that each can only live until they are 60 years old. None of these are acceptable to most of us. No the real answer for our continued species is to start colonizing elsewhere and that is already being planned. We are about to take our Greed elsewhere!

Religion? Well, I gave that up at 13 years old but am I in a minority? How many here believe in an almighty? Yes it is true that through out our history religion has been responsible for many a war but that is not the root of the problem. People believe such for many reasons but the main reason, as I see it, is that believing in an almighty takes away that annoying problem...asking questions, why this & that etc. Yes there is Power and Wealth here!

World Conflicts? Certainly we are predators and if we stopped all present conflicts we'd find reasons to start new ones.

The days of Plato, Aristotle etc. are long gone and will never return. Dialectic and Dichotomy of arguments do not persuade people anymore nor will quotes from famous people. We have the power to avert problems but it would mean sacrificing lifestyles with which we have become accustomed. Are you, KerryD, willing to do that?

 

 

+-

[Dumbastheycome]

On 6/9/2018 at 5:54 PM, jvs said:

We as the human species are just a temporary parasite on the planet

when we get wiped out the planet will be just fine.

I know plastic in the environment it very bad especially for marine life but it only takes 100 years for most plastic to break down.

100 years for the planet is absolutely nothing,animal species have been dying since the beginning of life.

Evolution will continue but without us.

 

Hmmmm.   Plastic  is probably  the  least  of worries  in  respect of the op's question . Even if the potential nuclear  winter lessens the  decomposition time  by  50% there  will  be  no appreciation  by the  silent  Earth. 

[jvs]

13 minutes ago, Dumbastheycome said:

Hmmmm.   Plastic  is probably  the  least  of worries  in  respect of the op's question . Even if the potential nuclear  winter lessens the  decomposition time  by  50% there  will  be  no appreciation  by the  silent  Earth. 

Yes i kinda am aware of this but since plastic has been in the news a lot lately i used that as an example.

[Enoon]

1 hour ago, TKDfella said:

 Yes it is true that through out our history religion has been responsible for many a war but that is not the root of the problem.

 

+-

 

Very true.

 

Religious wars are a relatively new, short lived and narrowly focused phenomenon.

 

The two great wars of the 20thc (responsible for tens of millions of deaths) were not religious, as is the case with the Vietnam War. 

 

It's difficult, if not impossible, to think of a significant conflict in either the 18thc or 19thc that can be said to be religiously motivated.

 

Th truth is that religion only began to play a significant role in conflict with the advent of the Monotheistic "great" religions: initially the expansion of Islam (vs Christianity) and subsequently (after the Protestant "Revolution" of the 16thc) between opposing Christian sects/states as well as the ongoing struggle (into the 18thc) between the Ottoman and Christian states.

 

No religious motivation in the great (militaristic) expansion of Rome.

 

None in the military expansion of Greek power under Alexander or in the interstate conflicts in Greece itself.

 

None in the expansion of Persia, Egypt.......any of the great classical and ancient civilisations.

 

And that's just looking at the "Western-centric" version of history.

 

None in the conquests of the Mongols.

 

Where is the evidence of it in the growth, expansion and conflicts of Eastern "classical" civilisations?

 

Religion has traveled with the belligerents and conquerors (and been a useful instrument) in many more instances than it has provided a motivation or cause.

 

Your spread of motivations is a far more accurate way of looking at the history of military conflict.

 

The people who constantly trot out the myth (and they do it an awful lot) of religious antagonism as the prime source of historical conflict are either ignorant or pushing their own atheistic agenda.......frequently both.

 

 

Edited June 10, 2018 by Enoon

[rwill]

I don't know if things are worse now than they were in the past.  It just gets reported worldwide much more now.  Humans like violence in general.