Is the 21st century the last century?

by **Wildwell** » Sun 10 Jul 2005, 22:42:09

The evidence for the last century:

- Peak oil, climate change, nuclear war, biological war, super viruses, technological disaster (Nanotech, AI, robot wars etc, increased complexity), terrorists, maverick states, earth changes, economic collapse, water wars, asteroid strikes, pole shift, planet X, drop in birth rate, medical tempering, eco system collapse, super volcanoes, unlimited energy, over population..

Evidence against: Not much..

by **MicroHydro** » Sun 10 Jul 2005, 23:59:55

Chill. Genetic evidence strongly indicates that Homo sapiens passed through a population bottleneck ~200,000 years ago, when the population was ten thousand or less. Even if 999,999 out of a million people are eliminated in the dieoff, the rest will muddle through. Heck, even Homo erectus lasted ~ two million years before we exterminated them. The end of SUVs is not the end of all humanity.

by **jato** » Mon 11 Jul 2005, 00:12:51

It will be the last century for fossil fuel use. Only a fraction of our current population will survive.

by **Aaron** » Mon 11 Jul 2005, 00:20:03

Sure would explain why we have not found a Galactic Radio Station out there broadcasting the Milky Way's greatest hits.

Maybe it's not so easy as we like to think it is to take the next step from the industrial age?

by **fossil_fuel** » Mon 11 Jul 2005, 00:30:08

perhaps there have been 100 different intelligent forms of life out there in the universe, but none of them got very far into the space age due to hydrocarbon depletion :!:

by **Tyler_JC** » Mon 11 Jul 2005, 00:33:21

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Aaron', 'S')ure would explain why we have not found a Galactic Radio Station out there broadcasting the Milky Way's greatest hits.

Maybe it's not so easy as we like to think it is to take the next step from the industrial age?

by **aldente** » Mon 11 Jul 2005, 02:27:32

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('MicroHydro', 'C')hill. Genetic evidence strongly indicates that Homo sapiens passed through a population bottleneck ~200,000 years ago, when the population was ten thousand or less.

by **boilingleadbath** » Mon 11 Jul 2005, 02:46:02

I do belive that'd be "mitocondria DNA" - yep, your mitocondria have their own DNA.
Ok, that's just a tad freaky.

by **PenultimateManStanding** » Mon 11 Jul 2005, 02:52:59

That shows that humanity will continue in a new and thriving natural world. And then next time they'll not have the temptation/curse of petroleum to enable a bloom/die-off situation. An all new phase of the human story to unfold for them. Our sorry asses won't get to see or know anything about it. One thing is for sure, they won't be using our calendars, so that's why I voted yes, this is the last century in our splendid march to oblivion. It will take a long long time before anyone gets the idea to make calendars again.

by **PenultimateManStanding** » Mon 11 Jul 2005, 02:55:12

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('boilingleadbath', 'I') do belive that'd be "mitocondria DNA" - yep, your mitocondria have their own DNA.
Ok, that's just a tad freaky.

by **Battle_Scarred_Galactico** » Mon 11 Jul 2005, 10:11:42

For Industrial Civilisation, without a doubt. For humans as a whole, no.

by **Wildwell** » Mon 11 Jul 2005, 11:32:53

Interesting response: So there are a lot of PO doomers, but they seem to believe in a better world despite the ‘converging lines of destruction’. Now is this aspiration or realism? I happen to think we haven’t got a hope in hell and PO is just one of the many problems we’re going to have to face.

by **Tyler_JC** » Mon 11 Jul 2005, 16:09:55

But people will make it another 500 years. Maybe not living in cities. Maybe not driving cars. And probably not talking on cell phones. But humanity has enough members to plow on through the next couple centuries. It could be a decline from now till 2500. But there will still be people out there, somewhere.

The people living in the deserts of Mongolia don't use oil and won't even notice if there is a nuclear war.