[PenultimateManStanding]

It's been 630,000 years since Yellowstone erupted. Guess what, the average is 600,000 years between eruptions. Yellowstone, in Wyoming, is the world's only mantle plume under a continent. When it blows it covers the Earth for six years in a cloud of dust that won't let the sunlight in. It covers the US in a pyroclastic cloud that kills everything. Then nothing will grow. We're talking multitudes greater than Mt St Helens, which is miniscule by comparison. It's been 11,000 years since the last ice age. Another one is due. Viruses and bacteria are surpassing our abilities to develop cures. Our time is numbered and we are doomed. Have a nice day.

[UIUCstudent01]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PenultimateManStanding', 'I')t's been 630,000 years since Yellowstone erupted. Guess what, the average is 600,000 years between eruptions. Yellowstone, in Wyoming, is the world's only mantle plume under a continent. When it blows it covers the Earth for six years in a cloud of dust that won't let the sunlight in. It covers the US in a pyroclastic cloud that kills everything. Then nothing will grow. We're talking multitudes greater than Mt St Helens, which is miniscule by comparison. It's been 11,000 years since the last ice age. Another one is due. Viruses and bacteria are surpassing our abilities to develop cures. Our time is numbered and we are doomed. Have a nice day.

[PenultimateManStanding]

Hey UIUC student, I have a question for you - do you know what a mantle plume is?

[Free]

Lol, thanks to cheer me up Penultimate!

But I really think it doesn't make sense to think about possible apocalyptic scenarios which we can't influence. We can't prevent Yellowstone from exploding, can we? And if there is a killer virus, well it will find its way. What was the Shakespeare quote again about that guy who is afraid from something and dies a thousand deaths before he actually dies?

The reason I worry so much about Peak Oil is because it is in our hands how we handle this potential desaster. That we race towards the wall but maybe can stomp on the brakes, dodge the wall, or crash through it and survive. Don't mind things you can't influence. Embrace death. Be a samurai, be ready to die in every moment of your life.

[evilmonkeyspanker]

Well, let me think here... there has been no real siesmic activity in that area for a good long while... I would say it won't blow in our lifetime.

By then, GWB and co will have already figured out how to kill us all by then

[Specop_007]

It doesnt cover the whole Earth.
The dust cloud has been recorded as far as the Gulf though, which means pretty much 3/4 of America is gonna be pretty dusty and overcast.

Buy extra air filters. For the car, for the house and for yourself too.

[Dukat_Reloaded]

Ok we've got all these thing to worry about now.

1. Bankrupy & Financial Meltdown
2. Volcano's blowing up in Yellowstone
3. PeakOil
4. Global Warming
5. Earth Pole Shift
6. Asteriods inpacking the earth
7. Bird Flu, Aids and other superviruses
8. Nuclear War
9. Over population
10. Pollution
11. Ozone Holes
12. Terrorist Attacts
13. Solar Flares

We need to get the news out to everyone

[Dukat_Reloaded]

Opps forgot EarthQuakes, just saw the news, thousands have died in India, Pakistan and other places, apparently it was a BIG ONE.

[medicvet]

7.6, and they don't build their building to withstand earthquakes like they do in Cali, which is overdue for their 'big one' as well. My prayers going out to all in that region.


but if you want to go to a site with some pretty neat 'end of the world' scenarios..go here:

http://www.exitmundi.nl/exitmundi.htm

[skiwi]

Yeah the only drawback to where I am. I'm almost sitting on it

FLASHBACK

Big South Island quake 'overdue'
NZ Herald Monday October 25, 2004
The latest study of movements on the South Island's Alpine Fault has found new evidence that a devastating earthquake could strike any day. Recent research shows the fault has ruptured four times in the past 900 years, most recently in about 1717, when an earthquake of at least eight on the Richter scale snapped trees halfway up their trunks and set off massive landslides throughout the Southern Alps. Geologists have also found evidence of similar-sized or larger earthquakes from Alpine Fault movements in about 1620, 1450 and 1100.

Given those figures, the chance of a major South Island earthquake increases every day, and may already be more than 30 years overdue.
The Alpine Fault is one of the world's most prominent geological features. Visible from space, it runs for about 600km up the spine of the island on the western edge of the Alps, marking the boundary of the Pacific and Australian Plates.

[PenultimateManStanding]

Oh, I forgot one. There was a asteroid once that landed on Iowa. It hit the atmosphere and then made it down in one second. The air couldn't move aside and was heated to 11,000 degrees Kelvin. Many orders of magnitude bigger than all the hydrogen bombs in existence. And as far as big eathquakes go, say goodbye to Tokyo one of these days. It sits on the boundary of three tectonic plates.

[holmes]

hey PM this is true. Hopefully it just incinerates the biggest cities.
cleans house. that wont happen. but we can only dream. Ma earth is definately gearing up to rid itself of the virus. bad part is most lifeforms will get axed first. But hey the earth is not "good" enough for us. we want the stars. Humans are dumb fucks for sure. I just watched kurt vonnegut on OPB last night. very interesting guy. a free thinker!

[Ludi]

Oh sure, there are plenty of things just waiting to kill us off. So what? Can't do anything about it.

Worry about things you have some control over.

[katkinkate]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Specop_007', 'I')t doesnt cover the whole Earth.
The dust cloud has been recorded as far as the Gulf though, which means pretty much 3/4 of America is gonna be pretty dusty and overcast.

Buy extra air filters. For the car, for the house and for yourself too.

[bobcousins]

The number of natural disasters awaiting around the corner is quite surprising, but only because we take such a narrow view of history. We remember some events like Krakatoa, but go much before that and not much is recorded. There is evidence of previous volcanic events recorded in journals made by monks - no one else was doing much writing. Go back further and we only have mythical tales which could be construed as real natural disasters - Atlantis, Noah's flood, among others. We have a couple of thousand years in badly recorded history. Really an eyeblink in terms of geological time.

The difference is that then the population density was a lot lower. Technically there is something we could do about Yellowstone - evacuate North America. That's not gonna happen! But it is only a question of time before one of these big events occur, and it is going to make PO look like a rain shower at a tea party.

[lowem]

Plenty of potential ELE's, take your pick : Yellowstone (supervolcano), Armageddon (asteroid), Toba (supervolcano), gray goo (runaway nanotech), SkyNet (runaway AI) and don't forget the best one - "your planet is scheduled for demolition for the Pan-Galactic Highway".

[PenultimateManStanding]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '"')To a first approximation" as David Raup of the University of Chicago likes to say, "all species are extinct." For complex organisms, the average lifespan of a species is only about four million years - roughly about where we are now.

[PenultimateManStanding]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('bobcousins', ' ')We remember some events like Krakatoa, but go much before that and not much is recorded.

[Keith_McClary]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('dukat', 'O')k we've got all these thing to worry about now.

1. Bankrupy & Financial Meltdown
2. Volcano's blowing up in Yellowstone
3. PeakOil
4. Global Warming
5. Earth Pole Shift
6. Asteriods inpacking the earth
7. Bird Flu, Aids and other superviruses
8. Nuclear War
9. Over population
10. Pollution
11. Ozone Holes
12. Terrorist Attacts
13. Solar Flares

We need to get the news out to everyone

[PenultimateManStanding]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Keith_McClary', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('dukat', 'O')k we've got all these thing to worry about now.

1. Bankrupy & Financial Meltdown
2. Volcano's blowing up in Yellowstone
3. PeakOil
4. Global Warming
5. Earth Pole Shift
6. Asteriods inpacking the earth
7. Bird Flu, Aids and other superviruses
8. Nuclear War
9. Over population
10. Pollution
11. Ozone Holes
12. Terrorist Attacts
13. Solar Flares

We need to get the news out to everyone