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Page added on May 17, 2015
mankind’s destruction of the planet from forests turned to wasteland to garbage filled seas and slaughtered species
Global warming isn’t the only thing to worry about. Overpopulation, pollution, poaching and mining are just a few of mankind’s other harms that are leaving the Earth scorched and ruined.
However, the devastating effects of the digital age, demanding food production and melting glaciers are something most people don’t see every day.
In order to raise awareness of the issues threatening life as we know it on this planet, the Foundation for Deep Ecology and Population Media Center have released a collection of sobering pictures, showing the widespread destruction of land, skies and seas.
Scroll down for video
Dodging trash: Indonesian surfer Dede Surinaya catches a wave in a remote but garbage-covered bay on Java, Indonesia, the world’s most populated island
Harder and harder to breathe: Air pollution, C02, and water vapor rise from that stacks at a coal-burning power plant in the United Kingdom
Waterfall of melting ice: In both the Arctic and Antarctic regions, ice is retreating. Melting water on icecap, North East Land, Svalbard, Norway
One picture shows the street grid of Los Angeles at night, a city known for its infamous rush hour traffic. The exhaust from cars and airplanes are thought to be one of the major contributing factors to global warming, and the effects are seen in pictures of a melting glacier in Norway and a devastating wildfire in Colorado.
Some of the pictures show the pileup of waste across the world, from piles of tires in the Nevada desert to burning mounds of computer parts in Accra,Ghana.
While most of the Western world has systems in place for waste disposal, that’s not necessarily the case in places like the island nation of Java where locals are forced to dump their garbage into local rivers and streams. One picture shows a surfer gliding through a wave darted with plastic packaging and other refuse.
With the increasing demand for wood for home building, the old growth forests of the Pacific Northwest are being turned into barren wastelands thanks to logging. One of the pictures shows a hill on Vancouver Island in Canada turned bald thanks to logging, while stumps litter a reservoir in Oregon’s Willamette National Forest after clear cutting.
Addiction to oil: Depleting oil fields are yet another symptom of ecological overshoot; Kern River Oil Field, California, U.S.
Nothing left to eat: The western fjords on Svalbard, Norway, that normally freeze in winter, remained ice-free all season.This bear headed north, looking for suitable sea ice to hunt on. Finding none, it eventually collapsed and died
Meltdown: A 2011 tsunami prompted a nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Station in Japan, galvanizing the world’s attention. Lesser known was tsunami-related damage to Japan’s fossil fuel energy infrastructure, including this facility near Tokyo
Nowhere to go: End of the road for these tires is a desert dumping ground in Nevada, U.S.A
Forests are also going to waste in the Amazon, where one picture shows the jungle burning so that grazing cows can move in and feed the world’s ever-growing population.
Overpopulation is especially evidence in aerial views of crammed New Dehli, India and Mexico City, Mexico – two of the most densely populated cities in the world.
Not seen in the pictures is the 10,000-year-old Larsen B Ice Shelf in Antarctica, which according to a new NASA study, won’t exist by the end of the decade.
The new study estimates that the ice shelf will ‘disintegrate completely’ before 2020 thanks to a series of warm summers that have reduced the shelf from 4,445-square-miles in 1995 to just 618 today.
Luckily, world leaders are planning a meeting in September to address these very serious concerns, developing environmental goals to be followed through 2030. And in December, the United Nations will meet in Paris in an attempt to set limits on pollution.
Click here for more information on the book Overdevelopment, Overpopulation, Overshoot.
All that’s precious: The Mir Mine in Russia is the world’s largest diamond mine
Naked: Sometimes called the Brazil of the North, Canada has not been kind to its native forests. Image of clear-cut logging on Vancouver Island
Digital death: Massive quantities of waste from obsolete computers and other electronics are typically shipped to the developing world for sorting and/or disposal. Photo from Accra, Ghana
Pushing and shoving: Aggressive bargain hunters push through the front doors of the Boise Towne Square mall as they are opened at 1 a.m. Friday, Nov. 24, 2007, Boise, Idaho, USA
Shrinking: One of Earth’s most vulnerable nations to climate change, the Maldive Islands are severely threatened by rising sea levels
Crammed: Aerial view of New Delhi, India, population 22 million, density 30,000 per square mile
Killer waste: On Midway Island, far from the centers of world commerce, an albatross, dead from ingesting too much plastic, decays on the beach; it is a common sight on the remote island
Touchdown: One of the most powerful and disruptive storms in U.S. history, Hurricane Katrina (2005) strikes land
Feeding the masses: As far as the eye can see, greenhouses cover the landscape in Almeria, Spain
Stumped: Former old-growth forest leveled for reservoir development, Willamette National Forest, Oregon
Bright lights, big city: Los Angeles, California, population 15 million typifies America’s consumption-oriented and cardependent culture
Digging: Aerial view of the tar sands region, where mining operations and tailings ponds are so vast they can be seen from outer space; Alberta, Canada
Scorched: More frequent and more intense wildfires (such as this one in Colorado, USA) are another consequence of a warming planet
Trashed: Brick kilns dot a dystopian landscape of trash in Bangladesh
Stench: A shepherd by the Yellow River cannot stand the smell, Inner Mongolia, China
Desperate: Massive haul trucks support surface mining operations in the tar sands region of Alberta, Canada, one of the largest known deposits of unconventional (in this case bitumen) oil resources
Shameful: Basketball star Yao Ming comes face-to-face with a poached elephant in Northern Kenya
Rush hour: Globalized transportation networks, especially commercial aviation, are a major contributor of air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Photo of contrails in the west London sky over the River Thames, London, England
Moving in: Ground zero in the war on nature—cattle graze amongst burning Amazon jungle, Brazil
No space wasted: Sprawling Mexico City, Mexico, population 20 million, density 24,600/mile (63,700/square kilometer), rolls across the landscape, displacing every scrap of natural habitat
Rare fur: Siberian tiger skin recovered from poachers, Siberia, Russia
47 Comments on "mankind’s destruction of the planet from forests turned to wasteland to garbage filled seas and slaughtered species"
Davy on Sun, 17th May 2015 11:47 am
Well, this will all end within a generation at maximum likely sooner. This is little comfort because this destruction is permanent in many respects and will require thousands of years of natural rejuvenation to repair. The species loss will require millions of years of evolution to repair the loss of complexity pre-Anthropocene. What can one say about an extinction event. They may be natural but they are horrible to look at.
sunweb on Sun, 17th May 2015 12:11 pm
Davy – the inertia of overpopulation, overcrowding and entitlement probably won’t end unless the collapse is far more disastrous than even I imagine.
jjhman on Sun, 17th May 2015 12:27 pm
My first reaction to this article is how impactful a bunch of pictures are yet they are only anecdotal information. These pictures do not actually “prove” that there is an environmental problem world wide.
Yet an article filled with accurate, relevant statistics and data could hardly get the attention of those who most need to understand the situation and act in a way that would make a difference.
Catch-22. Game over.
Davy on Sun, 17th May 2015 12:27 pm
Sun, I have a feeling we are going to surprise ourselves how nasty this is going to be unfortunately.
Perk Earl on Sun, 17th May 2015 12:29 pm
Maybe it’s ironic to put this message under this article, but Davy, you have a lot of experience on farms dealing with all sorts of situations. In our area are all sorts of bird species and I like birds, in fact I put out bird seed in the winter, but there is this one bird driving us to distraction. It’s a mocking bird that sounds a sharp chirping sound that wakes us up early in the morning. Can you recommend a way to catch it?
Davy on Sun, 17th May 2015 12:35 pm
Perk, mocking birds are very difficult to deal with. They are cunning and smart but nothing a pellet rifle can’t handle though. There are spring traps that throw a net over the bird. I am not sure what the favorite food is of the mocking bird but that is one option. Maybe ear plugs?
penury on Sun, 17th May 2015 1:06 pm
This limited collection should serve as proof that the human race is beyond hope of redemption. And yet I think that a majority will see the pictures as proof of mankind’s superiority.
apneaman on Sun, 17th May 2015 1:36 pm
The Human Extinction Survey
http://www.doomsteaddiner.net/blog/2015/05/17/the-human-extinction-survey/
Rodster on Sun, 17th May 2015 2:50 pm
They should have posted the pic in this article. It’s a black sludge lake that electronic companies use for waste dumping.
“The dystopian lake filled by the world’s tech lust”
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150402-the-worst-place-on-earth
M_B_S on Sun, 17th May 2015 2:51 pm
Great posts Great pictures Great truths
Brutal clear with no mercy…
This are reasons why i like it to be a member of this site.
PEAK OIL!
M_B_S
Apneaman on Sun, 17th May 2015 3:40 pm
Rodster, we get rid of one lake and create another.
…………………………………..
Sins of the Aral Sea
“This is what the end of the world looks like,” says Yusup Kamalov, sweeping his hand toward the scrub-covered desert stretching before us. “If we ever have Armageddon, the people of Karakalpakstan are the only ones who will survive, because we are already living it.”
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2015/06/aral-sea/synnott-text#.VVaTlKU2D04.twitter
Apneaman on Sun, 17th May 2015 3:47 pm
Shellfish species shrinking as rising carbon emissions hit marine life
Biologists warn that hundreds of species could die or weaken as growing levels of CO2 make oceans more acidic and disrupt shell formation
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/may/16/global-warming-shellfish-warning
Perk Earl on Sun, 17th May 2015 5:05 pm
Thanks Davy. I’ve got a pellet rifle but it came wit a scope that is way off target and doesn’t have any adjustment. Have missed on three tries so far. I can take the scope off but then the pseudo silencer makes it too hard to line up.
Those suckers are smart. Once they know I’m there they avoid the area. I had taken a shot and missed, then the bird ran along an overhead wire to get a better look at me. Right behind it was a neighbors window so no chance I’m taking that shot.
They make this incessant high pitched chirping noise that penetrates double paned glass and our inner ears. There are two of them right outside from where the computer is. Darn luck!
Maybe I’ll get one of those toss net type traps. Thanks for the suggestion.
GregT on Sun, 17th May 2015 5:53 pm
“They make this incessant high pitched chirping noise that penetrates double paned glass and our inner ears.”
OMFG, that has got to be one of the funniest things I have read in a long, long time. Those birds got your number Perk.
Apneaman on Sun, 17th May 2015 6:09 pm
Fucking nature getting in the way of computer time. KILL IT!!!!!
Perk Earl on Sun, 17th May 2015 6:16 pm
Funny as in ha ha funny if you’re not the one listening to that sound, GT. I swear it’s a sound like you wouldn’t believe and it’s hard to know where they are because they keep chirping in different directions. It’s such an insidious sound it has scared off all the other birds; robins, jays, finches, and even woodpeckers. Everything is scared of them or hates the sound, even crows!
I went back to the drawing boards with my pellet rifle. Discovered the pseudo silencer is made of plastic, so used a belt sander to flatten down the top so I can sight along the barrel the old fashioned way. Then drilled a small hole, cut a pin with a spherical end so just a tiny bit of metal pin shows, drilled a small hole, then used silicone to glue it so now I’ve got something to sight with. That little sphere is perfect right at the end.
Took some practice shots and am now hitting in a small grouping dead center. Now it’s time for some big game hunting – lol.
More hunting stories to come. Stay tuned…
redpill on Sun, 17th May 2015 6:38 pm
re: annoying bird
“Let’s nuke it from orbit, it’s the only way to be sure.”
Mike989 on Sun, 17th May 2015 6:48 pm
Capitalism: The System that NEVER Accounts for Waste Product. Because cleaning up waste eats into profit.
Now we’re learning that the waste is so vast it will drive our Extinction. While the 1% stare dreamily at their bank account statements.
Are the 1% Senile Idiots? Thinking fake abstract accounting numbers and $$$ signs, are meaningful while they destroy the Real World?
Mike989 on Sun, 17th May 2015 6:50 pm
I ask you who drive, the only way to fix the problem is to Starve the Beast. Buy that hybrid, or EV, better insulate your home, drive down your carbon footprint.
It may give us time to fix this.
Mike989 on Sun, 17th May 2015 6:50 pm
Take public transit.
Ride a bike,
and walk when you can.
Thanks,
GregT on Sun, 17th May 2015 7:17 pm
Is this the bird you are talking about Perk?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mockingbird#/media/File:Mimus_polyglottos1.jpg
Apneaman on Sun, 17th May 2015 7:32 pm
Perk, you could try to trick them. Something along the lines of a scarecrow tactic using a fake bird of prey. Or you could catch one, torture and disfigure him then let him go as a lesson to the others.
Northwest Resident on Sun, 17th May 2015 8:29 pm
Apnea — Or mount a few bird heads on stakes around the perimeter, since we’re going Medieval.
You can buy one of those infrared radar water squirters. Hook it up to a hose, set the zone you want to cover, and if a bird or cat or anything else comes into the zone, they get zapped. I hear it works great, but haven’t tried one yet.
Davy on Sun, 17th May 2015 8:44 pm
What about a small drone to buzz around and harass the evil bird.
Northwest Resident on Sun, 17th May 2015 9:01 pm
My personal preference would be motion activated radar guided laser zappers. One quick burst of high energy light and poof! No more bird. If anybody knows where I can pick one of those up for a decent price, let me know.
Perk Earl on Sun, 17th May 2015 11:45 pm
GregT, yeah that’s it, exactly.
Ap, there was a feral cat in the backyard that these two mocking birds chirped the crap out of it and the big cat took off, so not sure a fake prey bird would work. The torture bit I’ll have to consider – would the others learn from that, or would they be like people and think it couldn’t happen to them cause their special?
A remote control drone, sure that’s what I need, Davy. Better yet if it makes a real obnoxious sound to battle the thing with. Maybe a speaker that I can yell at it via the drone. Would make for great entertainment for the neighbors.
I like that idea best, NR. Something I don’t have to be too accurate with – lol!
Hubbert on Sun, 17th May 2015 11:51 pm
Industrial Age will come to an end in about 50 years. It’s not that far.
GregT on Mon, 18th May 2015 12:05 am
Hmmm Perk,
That’s an awfully innocent looking bird. Bordering on angelic actually. Are you sure it’s the bird that’s causing you all the grief?
apneaman on Mon, 18th May 2015 12:39 am
Perk if it was that aggressive towards a cat there may be hatchlings involved. Threaten to torture them instead.
antiwarforever on Mon, 18th May 2015 3:36 am
Unfortunately, the post humanity (mix of human genes and robotics) concocted by human engineering dabblers (Google, Ray Kurzweil, Art Levinson, Calico, Raelians, etc) will probably be able to survive on a fully destroyed earth, and enjoy it , even. We who care I fear are “the last of the Mohicans”, suffice to watch the autisctic behaviour of the young generations scotched to their iPads and other toys.
ffkling on Mon, 18th May 2015 12:27 pm
Among the consequences of taking down a few hundred species each day, and a mushrooming human population that swells by 80 million every year; at some point, we are the species hurled into the abyss. The vanishing point draws nearer every day. Mankind’s response to the great burning? How to squeeze out a few more bucks.
ffkling on Mon, 18th May 2015 1:14 pm
Exactly. My worry is that global warming, while a catastrophic environmental issue, is sucking out all of the oxygen relative to species extinction and other equally devastating ecological issues.
ffkling on Mon, 18th May 2015 1:24 pm
PERK EARL:
NOTICE: IT IS A CRIME TO KILL AMERICAN SONGBIRDS, INCLUDING MOCKINGBIRDS.
WHY AM I THE ONLY PERSON TO SPEAK OUT ON THIS ISSUE???????????
hiruitnguyse on Mon, 18th May 2015 2:29 pm
ffkling: I silently read this entire diatribe as it unfolded over the past few days. We used to have a mockingbird that would attack the kitchen window repeatedly for a whole summer. Another year a mockingbird would attack itself in the mirror of my 1977 Mk V Lincoln, and shit all down the door, fender and all over the mirror (as well as the vent windows….that car had power vent windows!). It only attacked the drivers side mirror. Daily, I went out and hosed off the car, hurling comminations at that bird. One day the Lincoln found its ultimate destiny (that same destiny for all automobiles). That bird knew it was a pile of shit all along.
When you reach the point that you can no longer endure the sounds of nature (screech of the Blue Jays as well as the twitter of Black Capped Chickadees), I think it is time to just go eat a bullet. I deal with deer, junebugs, whiteflies, crows and apple rust just like the rest of you.
One of the things that I have observed about this site (and I have only been coming here for about 8 months now), is that it seems to be filled with ornery, mean spirited people that seem to spend much of their time hurling vituperations back and forth at each other. Each is in a prison of his own making.
I would like to say how much I appreciate the daily links of Apneaman, and the valuable report that I bought from Hills Group. Some of his detractors should buy it and read it before casting out aspersions and traducements.
Divided and Conquered; solidarity impossible, the Seneca Effect insured.
Perk Earl on Mon, 18th May 2015 6:07 pm
ffkling, well someone’s going to have to video it and press charges because I’m all over getting rid of that stupid sound. It’s such a sharp sound that even inside the house with double pane windows and headphones on I can still hear it.
I’m going to record the sound and later put a clip of it on one of these message boards so people can appreciate the piercing sound.
Davy on Mon, 18th May 2015 6:18 pm
I don’t kill anything unless they are invasive and disturbing my space. I shot some blackbirds last year that we’re mauling my sweet corn. Perk I can understand your frustration. I generally try to trap animals then move them away but sometimes that does not work.
Perk Earl on Mon, 18th May 2015 6:44 pm
All right I think people are getting a little crazy on this topic, so I’m seeking ways to scare them off. I was looking on Amazon they have some sort of reflective ribbon that is suppose to scare them off. I’ll try that then a fake owl.
All right, so time to move on folks. Nothing to see here.
Perk Earl on Mon, 18th May 2015 6:57 pm
http://www.amazon.com/Bird-X-OWL-Prowler-Moving-Wings/dp/B0019FAMT4
Ok, that’s what I settled on and will let you know if it works.
apneaman on Mon, 18th May 2015 7:10 pm
Thank you, hiruitnguyse and you are welcome. Sometimes I feel like I am in a self imposed prison too with doomerisim. I actually never even made a comment on anywhere on the internet until 2012 when my health started to deteriorate and thus had more free time. I was taken aback starting in 2010 at the speed of climate disruption, but then again, so were most scientists.
“Mad Max” is too upbeat
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/05/18/1385593/–Mad-Max-is-too-upbeat
hiruitnguyse on Mon, 18th May 2015 7:24 pm
http://izquotes.com/quotes-pictures/quote-no-matter-how-cynical-you-become-it-s-never-enough-to-keep-up-lily-tomlin-185932.jpg
Kenz300 on Tue, 19th May 2015 8:18 am
The worlds biggest environmental problem is OVER POPULATION.
Every year the world adds 80 million more people to feed, clothe,house and provide energy for…….
ffkling on Tue, 19th May 2015 6:36 pm
hiruitnguyse :
You are fucking sick and twisted. So now you are killing chickadees and Blue jays as well. This has nothing to do with noise, but your demented desire to kill wildlife. Further, these species are in rapid decline so your wish to remove them from the environment will soon be fulfilled. Finally, what goes around always returns. You shall reserve your just rewards.
Davy
You are 100% correct. Starlings and House sparrows are non-native species and are thus not protected species.
ffkling on Tue, 19th May 2015 6:46 pm
hiruitnguyse
You have the audacity to complain about mean-spirited people in the same post that you boast about killing songbirds, deer, and any other creature that may disturb your sensitive hearing? You should live in an urban area if you hate nature. You remind me as the old man in the movie, “Frogs, Frogs, Frogs”. And I loved the end when Mother Nature exacted her revenge on the murderer of life.
hiruitnguyse on Tue, 19th May 2015 6:58 pm
ffkling, I never said I killed birds, or deer, perhaps you need to look up the definition of comminations….You obviously mistook ‘Deal with’ to mean execution. Dealing With Deer, in my case, that means 10″ tall fencing.
hiruitnguyse on Tue, 19th May 2015 7:02 pm
ffkling, Quoting you:
“You are fucking sick and twisted.”
“You have the audacity to complain about mean-spirited people”
Definition of COMMINATION. : denunciation.
QED, baby.
hiruitnguyse on Tue, 19th May 2015 7:07 pm
Oh, I suppose denunciation was probably too big a word for this site also, sigh.
ffkling on Wed, 20th May 2015 1:07 am
hiruitnguyse
You are a liar and now you are trying to step back from your comments. The following verbatim comment made by you says it all.
“When you reach the point that you can no longer endure the sounds of nature (screech of the Blue Jays as well as the twitter of Black Capped Chickadees), I think it is time to just go eat a bullet.”
No problem as I have already reported you to Homeland Security. The agent I spoke to told me that they aggressively pursue crimes against protected species.