About 250M years ago, 90% of species on Earth died during the Permian extinction. All of that loss created a lot of vacant niches to fill.
And not long after, the first mammals, our ancestors, appeared.
I find it comforting to remember that life on this pale blue dot will be resilient - whether we’re part of it or not. #science #nature #history #SharedPlanet
We’re almost certain to be the first indigenous species on this planet to ever become aware of its turbulent history & our evolution, & also the first to understand how fragile our own actions have made our future.
And yet still too stupid to act on that knowledge, despite our endless hubris.
hm, yes, but as someone who does value intelligence I think despite homo sapiens’ many flaws I’d like us to overcome those and succeed. There may not be enough time for a similar re-evolution. And if not for us, it would be such a waste of non-human life as well. I’m not that much of a nihilist
I would feel better with an asteroid defense system, personal escape starship and secondary safe location. And maybe with robots to bring me sammiches, ice cream, chocolate, candy, drinks and quality entertainment to my floaty couch. Occasional BBQ would be nice, too, but then I’d also want a moist towelette and maybe a nice bath after I poop.
I imagine that in another 100 million years or so, whoever is the intelligent species at the top of the chain will probably refer to the current time as an "extinction event," too. We've lost a significant number of species over the last few centuries that will "disappear" in the future fossil record.
The Great Filter is a recently coined term but it is real nonetheless. I had hoped we could get through it but life will go on without us regardless. There is solace in that simple perspective for me.
I often say this to my kids when they tell me "the planet is dying". The planet, on its vast time scales, will recover. Some new life will evolve. Humanity, and many other existing species, may not be around to see it.
I feel the same way. The Ends of The World by Peter Brannen got me through the last 6 years. We are a blip in an interstitial, and by the end of the next era, there will be no sign we were ever here. I find that very comforting.
of course it's possible that a new atmosphere will bring an opportunity for a new life but it's not a point. Humans are the only beings actively, consciously destroying other species, the planet and themselves - it's weird isn't it? Unless it's some emergency brake for evolution - something went wrong and must be stopped.
I think about this a lot. Environmentalism is about protecting the Earth FOR us. We'll be gone soon and life on Earth will go on, with humans being just a blink of its eye.
"The planet isn't going anywhere. WE are! We're going away. Pack your shit, folks. We're going away. And we won't leave much of a trace, either. Maybe a little Styrofoam ... The planet'll be here and we'll be long gone. Just another failed mutation. Just another closed-end biological mistake. An evolutionary cul-de-sac. The planet'll shake us off like a bad case of fleas. The planet will be here for a long, long, LONG time after we're gone," --George Carlin
Quite the early eulogy for humanity. Best to tread the tight rope of #GlobalWarming reporting:
“want to scare people enough to take the problem seriously but not so much as to make them feel hopeless [while] they want to reassure people that a climate-secure future is possible but only enough to avoid complacency.”
With climate disasters piling up, global warming is getting worse – fast. We had better learn to embrace our despair, argues AFP’s environmental editor Marlowe Hood
There is a whole ecosystem based off methane emissions from volcanic sea floor vents and another vibrant ecosystem under Antarctic ice... Yeah, give it a little time and this place will be surging with life forms we can't begin to imagine. Could we imagine dinosaurs if there were no fossils? That's how wild the future will be on earth for billions more years, no matter what we do to ourselves.
I hear you, but that’s a bit like taking comfort — while driving a school bus full of children into a wreck that will kill everyone on board — in knowing that many of these kids have siblings, so their families will go on. It is not okay. Sorry. #climatecrisis
If you like rock. Life on earth is a tower of impossible height each part of the tower balnced delicately on the portion below, while maintaining stzbility to the parts above.
The Asteroid was a MUCH SMALLER problem than Venusification of earth.
Life is a million interactions interconnected to support the possibility of the complexity.
No evidence in all our years of searching for life, anywhere, becauae it is infinitly fragile.
All Life will end though in 8 billion years when the Sun starts expanding. That isn't enough time for intelligent life to arise again. So we are probably Life on Earth's last chance to expand beyond this planet.
All Life will end though I'm 8 billion years when the Sun starts expanding. That isn't enough time for intelligent life to arise again. So we are probably Life on Earth's last chance to expand beyond this planet.
@madamscientist Not related to this post, but looks like in the field, ; so asking a q at the risk of revealing my non-existent knowledge in this field: there was a report of White-throated Sparrows having four sexes that only correct pairs can produce offsprings that can produce offsprings. Are we observing a subspecies being formed? TIA
We must not fall into thinking that humans will become extinct. For all our faults, humans are the pinnacle of evolution. Civilization, science, art, exploration and inevitable first contact with others like us must be in our future. Anything otherwise is tragedy of the highest form.
Agreed- beyond simply not consuming ourselves out of existence, there's also the question of just how much of the rest of the biosphere we're willing to tear down with us before we figure out how to live within our means.
It is also estimated that a 5°C rise in average global temperatures will lead to the extinction of all vertebrate life on the planet. Every mammal, bird , fish and reptile. Which is much less than 90% of species but still gutwrenchingly scary. Life will endure, but not as we know it. And it will be another quarter of a billion years before anything close to us could evolve. The planet can maybe do this
I look at it as: The more we do and the sooner we do it, the better off we'll be. It's not a binary success or failure, it's a continuum that we can affect NOW.
As much as I hope that there is cause for hope, I also understand the caution that climate scientists have been exhibiting for decades. Afraid to put out the most dire projections for fear of being ridiculed and defunded. With all of the estimates of a potentially catastrophic future, there are mealy mouthed politicians to calm us all down. What’s not being addressed is the possibility that there will come a tipping point that will destroy humanity, and it’s close if not past
You can address all kinds of things that make sense to reasonable people, but the world is filled with the greedy and stupid and selfish! But don’t worry, the earth will be fine without us!👻
I am hopeful enough of us can make necessary changes to save plants and animal life on Earth.
I'm realistic due to the damage we've already done -the plants and animals extinct in the last 100 - 200 years - and how many more will become extinct before enough change has been made.
I guess we'll find out, won't we? I mean we ain't doing shit to stop climate change. We're going to fuck around and find out. One reason I'm not having kids. Don't want them to suffer.
Nothing has changed, really. We continue to believe in technological fairy tales. Only a massive decrease in energy production and consumption can make a difference. And that is not being seriously considered anywhere.
climate change denial is not really an opinion but a mental illness and a delusion. Those who deny climate change aim to worsen it, aim to encourage more ecological disasters and aim to encourage another mass extinction
the dark ages lasted 900 years. The real question should be that when a society falls how long does it take for the next wave of society to return to a similar equal or better level of survivability? When the society falls the great loss of knowledge and any cohesion which may have existed sets us back.
In millions of years the fight will be in amongst the planets. Someone else will have no doubt won that fight before us. We struggle to plan long term.
can’t say I’m on team hope any longer. I think we passed that point already. It doesn’t stop me from doing all I can to help, but with no illusion it will make a difference.
people talk about saving the planet when they don’t realize it’s the human race that’s at stake. The planet will evolve because of the Anthropocene but whether the planet will remain liveable for us is the question. We need to move to what some call the Ecozoic. Education is key .
Wonder what sort of life might / could evolve if earth's atmosphere had been radically changed and surface temp much higher than supports life now. Sulphur bacteria round deep sea geysers?
To think most vertebrates and invertebrates would go down with us, caused by our behaviour.
Of course we will probably survive long enough to witness many of our immediate fellow species no longer there. The day we realise there is no bird song will be a sombre one.
I feel this way as well. Humans managed to distance ourselves from the natural order of things and the sooner the ‘human’ experiment is wrapped up the sooner the Earth can rediscover it’s equilibrium.
So far, we don't know a thing about evolution of consciousness. It may very well be, that the human species is the only one (in the universe?) "tool of the cosmos to understand itself". (Carl Sagan)
I don't agree that it doesn't matter whether "we're part of it or not".
Julic 🧄
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •Theo Priestley
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •Mark McCaughrean
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •And yet still too stupid to act on that knowledge, despite our endless hubris.
Very sad.
Vincent 🌻
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •Jayarava
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •PirateRo
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •Blippy the Wonder Slug 🇩🇪🇨🇦🇺🇸
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •I imagine that in another 100 million years or so, whoever is the intelligent species at the top of the chain will probably refer to the current time as an "extinction event," too. We've lost a significant number of species over the last few centuries that will "disappear" in the future fossil record.
We'll probably be on that list, as well.
ISH3000
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •#EarthReset
#FactoryDefault
#FileErrorCorruption
#Reboot
Essjay 🏳️🌈 :flag_ace:
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •But it always comes roaring back again"
Tom Waits - Misery is the River of the World
Nature will always prevail, with or without the human race.
PJT North
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •Steve Boland (he/him)
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •McDyer
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •JMD
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •mattmaison
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •Avatar Of Prometheus
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •https://youtu.be/t-FN_jkF9qI
George Carlin and the earth situation (sub ITA)
YouTubeAlbert Cardona
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •“want to scare people enough to take the problem seriously but not so much as to make them feel hopeless [while] they want to reassure people that a climate-secure future is possible but only enough to avoid complacency.”
#ClimateChange #Extinction
https://correspondent.afp.com/watching-world-burn
Watching the world burn
Correspondentnachshon_r
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •Boomer
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •Mikal with a k
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •Patricklee
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •nadin brzezinski
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •Lee
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •I really can't wait for the human extinction to happen. Let mother nature retake the little planet and repurpose it!
RichardOntario
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •fritzcokid
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •entropy rules
que sera sera
life finds a way despite human interference.
flutterfli007
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •Climate Jenny 2.0
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •Travis Southard
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •“There was life before; there will be life after”
Kevin Russell
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •The Asteroid was a MUCH SMALLER problem than Venusification of earth.
Life is a million interactions interconnected to support the possibility of the complexity.
No evidence in all our years of searching for life, anywhere, becauae it is infinitly fragile.
Earth could EASILY become Venus. 500 degrees.
LVN2DRM
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •Stegasaurus
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •raerae
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •AmeriCanuck
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •A model of overall warming trends continuing is Venus. How much life exists on Venus?
ricardo vacapinta
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •ricardo vacapinta
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •Aswath Rao
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •Douglas Phillips Books
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •Cooki Lumsden
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •Ayatollah Lovebody
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •Loop
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •Simon Brooke
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •There's no guarantee it will survive the crisis we're causing now.
Edward Barrow
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •CausesEffects
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •Sheril Kirshenbaum
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •I’ve been working on science & policy related to climate challenges in & out of academia for decades. For what it’s worth, I’m firmly on team hope. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/no-climate-change-will-not-end-the-world-in-12-years/
We can address #climatechange. Many individuals, organizations & nations already are. There’s still time. Not much.
No, Climate Change Will Not End the World in 12 Years
Scientific American Blog NetworkBluedotmo
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •James M.
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •Preston MacDougall
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •The late, great #NobelPrize -winning chemist #GeorgeOlah was the Captain of ‘Team Hope’! We need more young chemists to follow in his footsteps!
“Chemical Eye 👁️ on Carbonated Air: From ‘Oh, Oh!’ to ‘O-la-lah’!” ⬇️
http://www.sitnews.us/MacDougall/042209_macdougall.html
SitNews - Chemical Eye on Carbonated Air: From "Oh, Oh!" to "O-la-lah!" by PRESTON MACDOUGALL
www.sitnews.usPJT North
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •Meg
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •Jeff Shaffer CBET, ret
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •Content warning: Dark
Debby Ryan
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •CherylBlueWave
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •I am hopeful enough of us can make necessary changes to save plants and animal life on Earth.
I'm realistic due to the damage we've already done -the plants and animals extinct in the last 100 - 200 years - and how many more will become extinct before enough change has been made.
llewelly
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •"Stage 5 global warming denial involves arguing that it's too late to solve the problem, so we shouldn't bother trying"
https://web.archive.org/web/20131130043242/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2013/sep/16/climate-change-contrarians-5-stages-denial
The 5 stages of climate denial are on display ahead of the IPCC report | Dana Nuccitelli
the GuardianBellis Coldwine
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •stoicmike
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •Jeanclaudejunior🏳️🌈🇺🇦🇮🇪🇨🇭
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •Brittle Anxious Nonlinear Inco
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •tolortslubor
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •Marcio André Norcio
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •Soc-i-eTy
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •No human left to exploit nature. Earth's life less us should flourish.
How wondrous the present!
If humans now did nurture nature. Earth's life with us could flourish.
How wonderous the past!
If humans then did learn from nature. Earth's life and our's would flourish.
tom4okstate
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •drdrbrockman
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •Dom
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •In millions of years the fight will be in amongst the planets. Someone else will have no doubt won that fight before us. We struggle to plan long term.
Cecillus
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •Anne Camozzi
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •Nanu
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •@mwl
Steve Peterson
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •My lament is that there are a whole lot of creatures that had the misfortune of living during the Anthropocene and had no choice about their fate.
excog
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •@Sheril
Wonder what sort of life might / could evolve if earth's atmosphere had been radically changed and surface temp
much higher than supports life now. Sulphur bacteria round deep sea geysers?
To think most vertebrates and invertebrates would go down with us, caused by our behaviour.
Of course we will probably survive long enough to witness many of our immediate fellow species no longer there. The day we realise there is no bird song will be a sombre one.
Sudhir
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •Sudhir
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •Shield Maiden
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •Rupert 🇪🇺🏴☠️😾🔭📷🍺🍪🌍🔥
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •Zeke Livingston
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •Wolfgang Feist
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •So far, we don't know a thing about evolution of consciousness. It may very well be, that the human species is the only one (in the universe?) "tool of the cosmos to understand itself". (Carl Sagan)
I don't agree that it doesn't matter whether "we're part of it or not".
Sane Thinker
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •