Forget it all

by **django** » Thu 31 Aug 2006, 22:50:14

If you haven't researched the supervolcano threat, I don't know which site to post that would give you the best overall view, but Googling "Yellowstone eruption" would be best.

Read and then:

That's it. Game over. Here's a global crisis that you can't blame on population, capitalism, civilization, deforestation, pollution or even anthropogenic climate change.

There really is a living Gaia system and it turns out, Lovelock was only half-right, Gaia apparently does do best in a glacial state, and she's going to create this glacial state by blocking out the sun with tons and tons of ash, killing plant and animal species in the wake.

by **rogerhb** » Thu 31 Aug 2006, 22:55:33

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('django', 'G')aia apparently does do best in a glacial state.

by **SILENTTODD** » Thu 31 Aug 2006, 23:59:12

The Yellowstone park area sits in the center of what is the largest Calderas in North America. About every 500 to 600 thousand years, it has erupted and covered 6 states with about 12 feet of ash. Last time this happened was about 500 thousand years ago.
Three years ago I heard a late night radio interview with a geologist who claimed recent volcanic activity at Yellowstone was very worrisome. A couple of days later I happened to attend a talk by an acquaintance of mine who has been a Professor of Geology at San Diego State University for the last 40 years. I related what I heard on this program to him. As I remember his first words were “That wouldn’t surprise me at all”. He then started repeating the geologic history of Yellowstone almost word for word what the speaker on the radio had told 2 days before.

by **strider3700** » Fri 01 Sep 2006, 01:43:34

there is an excellent movie from either the discovery channel or someone like that, that deals with this issue. There the caldera blows up and millions die in the first few weeks and it just goes on to say that things are never the same for anyone ever again. It's worth tracking down to see, quite entertaining.

Still this is a lot like death by asteroid or gamma burst. Possible and will eventually happen but the odds are low and nothing you can do about it anyway so no need to worry.

by **django** » Fri 01 Sep 2006, 10:54:39

But the point is, why bother? Why bother thinking about global climate change caused by humans when, in reality, it may be tomorrow that this volcano is going to create winter of nuclear proportions? Why bother with this concept of "sustainabilty"? Every 600,000 years, Yellowstone or other supervolcanoes block out the sun and kill the earth's vegetation. This isn't like a meteorite or a gamma ray burst. This is something the EARTH does. This lush green biosphere isn't sustainable. It get's routinely murdered by the mantle every so often in a geological 5 minutes.

by **Battle_Scarred_Galactico** » Fri 01 Sep 2006, 11:17:45

True, but we're talking about things that are happening, and will happen in the next few decades. Peak oil and climate change.

The eruption could well be 10,000 years or so out, a massive timescale from our point of view. Worry about the short term first, and these problems that we can do something about (in theory at least).

I wouldn't worry, you don't go out and jump off a cliff just because you find out about your own mortality.

by **django** » Fri 01 Sep 2006, 13:25:27

The analogy to human mortality doesn't work.

Yes, we're all going to die someday, but it's a pretty safe bet that if we eat right, don't smoke, exercise, live in a healthy environment and watch all traffic signals, our life expectancy can be expected to sustain for a long time.

This volcano is going off whether we completely scorch the planet or refurbish it. Given this knowledge, the only motivation of keeping a lush environment is that maybe we can keep enough vegetation/biodiversity to last us post-eruption.

I grew up with the idea that the only threat to the Earth's inhabitants was itself. Now I know that not be true. We're the second greatest threat. We will deteremine what the earth will be like when the earth is done killing off a part of itself.

by **Revi** » Fri 01 Sep 2006, 13:34:08

Lots of crazy stuff could happen. We live at gaia's will. We always have. We just managed to pretend that we were above nature because of our technology which gaia provided for us with fossil fuels and uranium. We're still doing her bidding. We just don't know it. When she wants to get rid of us, Yellowstone turns into the big family vacation from hell.

by **TheDude** » Sat 02 Sep 2006, 00:50:27

I was listening to Michael Weiner on his Weiner Nation radio program, he was running down Al Gore and Liberals for their self-aggrandizing notion that they could affect the world - by driving, and emmiting those nasty greenhouse gases. Later Michael complimented himself on single-handly stopping the Dubai ports deal, which had me snickering orange juice out of my nostrils.
Weiner's big piece of evidence was that the Lake Toba supervolcano had emitted more CO2 than humans ever have. When it happened, that is, 75,000 years ago. Gore was showing evidence that we have more CO2 in the atmosphere now then in the last 600K years. Huh! Bet he'd think differently after a good coffee enema.
Google "coffee enema Michael Weiner" (no quotes) if you're wondering who in the hell I'm talking about.
There's a good webpage for doom of all sorts. Can't remember the name offhand. Lots of pics, fun stuff like marauding black holes, grey goo, etc.

by **PenultimateManStanding** » Sat 02 Sep 2006, 01:15:46

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('TheDude', 'I') was listening to Michael Weiner on his Weiner Nation radio program, he was running down Al Gore and Liberals for their self-aggrandizing notion that they could affect the world - by driving, and emmiting those nasty greenhouse gases. Later Michael complimented himself on single-handly stopping the Dubai ports deal, which had me snickering orange juice out of my nostrils.
Weiner's big piece of evidence was that the Lake Toba supervolcano had emitted more CO2 than humans ever have. When it happened, that is, 75,000 years ago.

by **TheDude** » Sat 02 Sep 2006, 15:48:46

Vy-ner if it's ala German, where you pronounce "ei" to rhyme with "eye." I always refer to him as "Weener," though, given that he's such a whackjob.

by **PenultimateManStanding** » Sat 02 Sep 2006, 15:55:02

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('TheDude', 'V')y-ner if it's ala German, where you pronounce "ei" to rhyme with "eye." I always refer to him as "Weener," though, given that he's such a whackjob.

by **mgibbons19** » Sat 02 Sep 2006, 16:32:54

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('TheDude', '.')..
Google "coffee enema Michael Weiner" (no quotes) if you're wondering who in the hell I'm talking about.
There's a good webpage for doom of all sorts. Can't remember the name offhand. Lots of pics, fun stuff like marauding black holes, grey goo, etc.

by **mgibbons19** » Sat 02 Sep 2006, 16:34:41

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PenultimateManStanding', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('TheDude', 'V')y-ner if it's ala German, where you pronounce "ei" to rhyme with "eye." I always refer to him as "Weener," though, given that he's such a whackjob.

by **PenultimateManStanding** » Sat 02 Sep 2006, 16:52:45

OK, here it is: way back when I learned about peak oil and joined this forum 2 years ago, I sent Weener some e-mails about it. He then said on his show, when talking about how much it cost to fill up his tank with gasoline, "it looks like we have a lot more to worry about than gay marriage". Cool, I thought, now he knows. I did get a form-reply saying my message was read. But then strange things started happening. Remember that thread that Aaron started about art and how I made it into a art-history venue? I finished it up by talking about how I hatched a "harebrained scheme" to sell celebrity portaits that I had painted at the local swap meet. The next day Savage used the word "harebrained" on his show. I thought, wow, what a coincidence! But then it started happening repeatedly for the last two years. Recently, I was talking about Jews and used the word insular. He then talked about Jews and used the word insular three times the next day. Or then I talked about how George Washington warned us against foreign entanglements and the next day he said "Americans don't like foreign entanglements" or I reply to threadbear's castigation of American Capitalism with the mocking repetition of the word "shocking" and Savage uses the "shocking" with the same mocking tone. Look, this has been going on for two years. There is no question about it: Savage likes PMS's posts and uses them for ideas. I'm actually very flattered. He's got a huge audience.

by **lateralus** » Sat 02 Sep 2006, 16:57:11

Savage is a complete moron and so are his listeners. Sorry.

by **PenultimateManStanding** » Sat 02 Sep 2006, 17:06:55

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('lateralus', 'S')avage is a complete moron and so are his listeners. Sorry.

by **lateralus** » Sat 02 Sep 2006, 17:09:21

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PenultimateManStanding', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('lateralus', 'S')avage is a complete moron and so are his listeners. Sorry.

by **PenultimateManStanding** » Sat 02 Sep 2006, 17:29:23

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('lateralus', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PenultimateManStanding', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('lateralus', 'S')avage is a complete moron and so are his listeners. Sorry.

by **lateralus** » Sat 02 Sep 2006, 17:52:31

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PenultimateManStanding', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('lateralus', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PenultimateManStanding', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('lateralus', 'S')avage is a complete moron and so are his listeners. Sorry.

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