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Have we failed as a species?
February 17, 2017 at 7:45 am
(This post was last modified: February 17, 2017 at 7:47 am by ignoramus.)
Aoi mentioned something which had my mind wandering and wondering!
Is it the nature of entropy that we as living beings will eventually use up the planet's resources?
Let's assume that population growth is a part of a thriving species.
The time will come (assuming no natural extinction events fall upon us randomly) where we have outgrown our home (earth).
Is this our aim? To hurry up with technology so we can piss off somewhere else after trashing our rental?
Is that what "other" life on other planets do? Is that the natural thing to do as a successful species?
I'm thinking the opposite. I'm thinking we are reckless and living beyond our means and govts are doing too little too late to save our planet, our food bowls and our atmosphere. Why? Because WE MUST BUY CHEAP STUFF FOR $2 WITH FREE DELIVERY FROM EBAY CHINA! LOL!
Or maybe I'm just being sentimental and ultimately there are no rules to life and the universe ... We should not feel bad about fucking up the earth. No-one's around to judge us? Shitloads of other planets and resources out there? Who gives a shit?
PS, There's no guarantee that we won't cop an extinction level event on our next home and wipe ourselves out! Funny how karma works like that, isn't it? 
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RE: Have we failed as a species?
February 17, 2017 at 8:20 am
Yes we have failed as a species, but not for the reasons you mentioned.
We have failed because Ben Affleck is now Batman. That happened, and we all let it happen.
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RE: Have we failed as a species?
February 17, 2017 at 8:46 am
I wouldn't say failed, but extinction is definitely in our cards.
Not quite time to put the paper bags on our heads and lie down.
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RE: Have we failed as a species?
February 17, 2017 at 9:56 am
We were doomed the instant Anita Bryant divorced her first husband.
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RE: Have we failed as a species?
February 17, 2017 at 10:00 am
We actually haven't failed as a species, because under the laws of nature and natural selection, failure would be extinction. As long as we survive, we have succeeded.
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RE: Have we failed as a species?
February 17, 2017 at 10:04 am
I mean...in order to have 'failed' as a species, that implies that there was a goal or purpose for our species to reach in the first place. I don't think that exists or existed, so I wouldn't say that we 'failed' as a species. In terms of living beyond our means and using up our resources....animals do that all the time, they eat themselves into starvation and extinction - so it's not like that doesn't have precedent in the animal kingdom...just they don't have iPhones. I'm all for refocusing our efforts as humans towards more sustainable, environmentally friendly endeavors that help humans as a whole and our planet as well, but I wouldn't say we've "failed" as a species.
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RE: Have we failed as a species?
February 17, 2017 at 10:15 am
From a purely physics perspective we're in principle fine entropy-wise as long as the sun is shining...
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RE: Have we failed as a species?
February 17, 2017 at 10:20 am
If the sun decides to shine a bit more or less brightly, we are fucked though
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RE: Have we failed as a species?
February 17, 2017 at 10:43 am
No but we have failed as a species due to ignorance with the tightly held belief and faith in particular bronze age fairy tales.
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RE: Have we failed as a species?
February 17, 2017 at 11:10 am
(This post was last modified: February 17, 2017 at 11:13 am by The Grand Nudger.)
(February 17, 2017 at 7:45 am)ignoramus Wrote: Is it the nature of entropy that we as living beings will eventually use up the planet's resources?
Let's assume that population growth is a part of a thriving species.
The time will come (assuming no natural extinction events fall upon us randomly) where we have outgrown our home (earth). Someday, yeah.
Quote:Is this our aim? To hurry up with technology so we can piss off somewhere else after trashing our rental?
I wouldn;t call it our aim, I;d call it an inevitable conequence of our resource dependency.
Quote:Is that what "other" life on other planets do? Is that the natural thing to do as a successful species?
Yeah, actually. Species that escape predation become a scourge on the land with regularity, lol. Deer are destroying the forests, kitty cats are an extinction event for songbirds. Generally, there comes a point at which their unrestricted growth becomes the engine of their demise...but we human beings don;t play by the same rules that the rest of those fuckers do, do we? 
Quote:I'm thinking the opposite. I'm thinking we are reckless and living beyond our means and govts are doing too little too late to save our planet, our food bowls and our atmosphere. Why? Because WE MUST BUY CHEAP STUFF FOR $2 WITH FREE DELIVERY FROM EBAY CHINA! LOL!
Or maybe I'm just being sentimental and ultimately there are no rules to life and the universe ... We should not feel bad about fucking up the earth. No-one's around to judge us? Shitloads of other planets and resources out there? Who gives a shit?
Expertly stewarding our resources and rationing out what we have to a bare minimum won't stop that day™ from coming, it'll just give us a few extra (shittier, totally less fun) days from this day to that day.
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