Political Crossfire Forums

[Wolverine]

ABC had a program on tonight, interesting, ranking the top ten ways that human race can die. Really cheery.
ABC news doesn't have the full stroy yet, but you get the idea.
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=2319986

Quite a few of the scenarios were interesting, black holes, astoriods, super volcanoes, nuclear war, ect.
But, what was kind of pathectic, was global warming was number one. I mean please, global warming won't wipe out the human race.

Does anyone agree?

[toddytodd]

Wolverine wrote: ABC had a program on tonight, interesting, ranking the top ten ways that human race can die. Really cheery.
ABC news doesn't have the full stroy yet, but you get the idea.
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=2319986

Quite a few of the scenarios were interesting, black holes, astoriods, super volcanoes, nuclear war, ect.
But, what was kind of pathectic, was global warming was number one. I mean please, global warming won't wipe out the human race.

Does anyone agree?

I don't think anyone could answer that question as it is asked correctly, being that there are many variables that would need to be addressed. However, I think nature is a lot more resilient than we credit it for. It has an ability to 'heal itself' when things go crazy, especially if it is a naturally occurring thing (and we all know climate change in something that has happened many a time over earth's history).
Personally, I don't think global warming would be a #1 cause of human destruction. I think people warring against each other would be far more likely.
But that's just me.

[Selfish_Meme]

I have heard of simulations that show the earth could become venuslike, I don't know how accurate they are, and they definately wouldn't happen quickly but it would effectively do in the human race I would think.

[anselfir]

how about failure of existence? ^^;

[Eternal]

Wolverine wrote: ABC had a program on tonight, interesting, ranking the top ten ways that human race can die. Really cheery.
ABC news doesn't have the full stroy yet, but you get the idea.
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=2319986

Quite a few of the scenarios were interesting, black holes, astoriods, super volcanoes, nuclear war, ect.
But, what was kind of pathectic, was global warming was number one. I mean please, global warming won't wipe out the human race.

Does anyone agree?

No. Part of the cause of the greatest extinction event our earth has endured, the Permian-Triassic extinction, is believed to have been as a result of a large release of methane hydrate from the ocean floor as a result of a rise in sea temperatures. Global warming will cause rising sea temperatures.


Cheers, Eternal

[The Grandmaster]

Did they mention plague? I would say plague is the most serious threat to eliminate human life as we know it on this planet. For example, in the past, we have seen great plagues wipe out vast portions of the population, and a significant fraction of the entire population altogether. This was back in a day, roughly 1400s, where most people would be born, live their lives, and die within the same 10-20 mile radius. Transportation, and the ability to interact as we know it was not even a dream to them. Today, where a man can wake up in New York, and go to bed in London, or Hong Kong, or anywhere in the world, where people interact on a scale never before seen, the spread of a plaque as dangerous as ones we’ve already seen could be exponentially worse. Even with technology, consider we have yet to cure the cold. All it would take is a mutating virus, that is fatal, to spread rapidly, and it could be curtains. As a brilliant man I knew once said, a philosopher, “It really wouldn’t take much to bring this whole s**t-house right down.”

[micfranklin]

There's also the chance (not a very big one) that someone could build robots and then they turn on humanity and try to wipe us out. Or in turn we could use too many nuclear or biological weapons and kill everyone on the planet.

And what about all the things that could kill us from space? Like the Sun's expanding?

[Selfish_Meme]

What about becoming post human, that would also mean humans (homo sapiens sapiens) become extinct.

[Winchester]

Wolverine wrote: ABC had a program on tonight, interesting, ranking the top ten ways that human race can die. Really cheery.
ABC news doesn't have the full stroy yet, but you get the idea.
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=2319986

Quite a few of the scenarios were interesting, black holes, astoriods, super volcanoes, nuclear war, ect.
But, what was kind of pathectic, was global warming was number one. I mean please, global warming won't wipe out the human race.

Does anyone agree?

No, but putting it at number one will help Gore boost ticket sales.

If we got to go, I would root for the super volcano at Yellowstone option as I'ld be in the intant kill radius. Maybe it will blow after a big asteroid hit?

[micfranklin]

Winchester wrote: Wolverine wrote: ABC had a program on tonight, interesting, ranking the top ten ways that human race can die. Really cheery.
ABC news doesn't have the full stroy yet, but you get the idea.
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=2319986

Quite a few of the scenarios were interesting, black holes, astoriods, super volcanoes, nuclear war, ect.
But, what was kind of pathectic, was global warming was number one. I mean please, global warming won't wipe out the human race.

Does anyone agree?

No, but putting it at number one will help Gore boost ticket sales.

If we got to go, I would root for the super volcano at Yellowstone option as I'ld be in the intant kill radius. Maybe it will blow after a big asteroid hit?

And if not the asteroid, then the ice age from the asteroid will finish us off.

[Wolverine]

The Grandmaster wrote: Did they mention plague? I would say plague is the most serious threat to eliminate human life as we know it on this planet. For example, in the past, we have seen great plagues wipe out vast portions of the population, and a significant fraction of the entire population altogether. This was back in a day, roughly 1400s, where most people would be born, live their lives, and die within the same 10-20 mile radius. Transportation, and the ability to interact as we know it was not even a dream to them. Today, where a man can wake up in New York, and go to bed in London, or Hong Kong, or anywhere in the world, where people interact on a scale never before seen, the spread of a plaque as dangerous as ones we’ve already seen could be exponentially worse. Even with technology, consider we have yet to cure the cold. All it would take is a mutating virus, that is fatal, to spread rapidly, and it could be curtains. As a brilliant man I knew once said, a philosopher, “It really wouldn’t take much to bring this whole s**t-house right down."
A virus was #4 I think. They mentioned the Bird Flu, but thier primary concern was a man made super virus. Like the flu combined with Ebola.

Winchester wrote: No, but putting it at number one will help Gore boost ticket sales.
They actually had Gore on the the program, thats when I realized that the show was biased, and left the room.

micfranklin wrote: There's also the chance (not a very big one) that someone could build robots and then they turn on humanity and try to wipe us out. Or in turn we could use too many nuclear or biological weapons and kill everyone on the planet.
The robats were #5 and the nules were #3, if I remember correctly.

The nuke idea seems a bit more possible.

Quote: And what about all the things that could kill us from space? Like the Sun's expanding?
The sun shouldn't exspand for another five billion years.

[TheGirlNextDoor]

Wolverine wrote: ABC had a program on tonight, interesting, ranking the top ten ways that human race can die. Really cheery.
ABC news doesn't have the full stroy yet, but you get the idea.
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=2319986

Quite a few of the scenarios were interesting, black holes, astoriods, super volcanoes, nuclear war, ect.
But, what was kind of pathectic, was global warming was number one. I mean please, global warming won't wipe out the human race.

Does anyone agree?

I don't agree actually. Mostly because of what's happened to the earth in the distant past. To discount global warming because it doesn't happen overnight, isn't being very open minded. Mother nature can do a lot of destructive things and there are reasons why extinctions happen Wolvie.

And honestly, while programs like that are interesting, I'm kind of the opinion that if the world is coming to a screeching end, I am not going to live my life constantly worrying about something such as... will the sun finally burn itself out.

But thanks for the information just the same. :)

[Wolverine]

TheGirlNextDoor wrote:
I don't agree actually. Mostly because of what's happened to the earth in the distant past. To discount global warming because it doesn't happen overnight, isn't being very open minded. Mother nature can do a lot of destructive things and there are reasons why extinctions happen Wolvie.
Yeah, but I don't think that global warming will be the end for the human race. There are other much more destructive things that can end it, or nearly destroy it.

I read a book while in Denver over the weekend, "Bad Luck or Bad Genes", it showed that the earths climate has jumped around quite a bit. We are actually pretty mild right now, even with global warming.

Quote: And honestly, while programs like that are interesting, I'm kind of the opinion that if the world is coming to a screeching end, I am not going to live my life constantly worrying about something such as... will the sun finally burn itself out.

But thanks for the information just the same. :)
When it happens it happens.

According to the program we could all die in 2036 when an asteroid comes a tad to close after being disturbed by the earths gravity.:-|

[The Grandmaster]

Wolverine wrote:
According to the program we could all die in 2036 when an astorios comes a tad to close after beinf disturbed by the eaths gravity.:-|

By then we will have the technology to destroy this asteroid with weaponry and missiles. I am sure we are nearly there now. 30 More years, at the rate we are advancing, which is almost exponential, especially with computer power, which seems to be the keystone of the recent acceleration in development, I am certainly we will be able to obliterate a mere asteroid with a flick of our wrists.

[Winchester]

The Grandmaster wrote: Wolverine wrote:
According to the program we could all die in 2036 when an astorios comes a tad to close after beinf disturbed by the eaths gravity.:-|

By then we will have the technology to destroy this asteroid with weaponry and missiles. I am sure we are nearly there now. 30 More years, at the rate we are advancing, which is almost exponential, especially with computer power, which seems to be the keystone of the recent acceleration in development, I am certainly we will be able to obliterate a mere asteroid with a flick of our wrists.

On the show they said blowing one up wasn't going to solve anything.

[Wolverine]

That was odd, seems like at the very least nuke the fragments a few times, then they wouldn't be as big, and they would spread out a little more.
The smaller ones would burn up in the atmosphere, while a few large ones would cause less damage than one big asteroid.

On other programs they also say that an ocean impact is worse than land, because the tidal wave would wipe out coastal cities.

How is a tidal wave wiping out coastal cities worse than a dust cloud blocking the sun for years? :?

[AllAmericanMan]

Wolverine wrote: ABC had a program on tonight, interesting, ranking the top ten ways that human race can die. Really cheery.
ABC news doesn't have the full stroy yet, but you get the idea.
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=2319986

Quite a few of the scenarios were interesting, black holes, astoriods, super volcanoes, nuclear war, ect.
But, what was kind of pathectic, was global warming was number one. I mean please, global warming won't wipe out the human race.

Does anyone agree?

Our atmosphere for a very long time didnt support life on land, only in the water. Like anything that has a beginning, it will have an end. I think we can screw up our atmosphere in ways we have not dreamed of.

[Selfish_Meme]

Wolverine wrote: That was odd, seems like at the very least nuke the fragments a few times, then they wouldn't be as big, and they would spread out a little more.
The smaller ones would burn up in the atmosphere, while a few large ones would cause less damage than one big asteroid.

On other programs they also say that an ocean impact is worse than land, because the tidal wave would wipe out coastal cities.

How is a tidal wave wiping out coastal cities worse than a dust cloud blocking the sun for years? :?
Small fragments can turn into explosive bombs like tunguska, I saw a simulation recently that had a swarm of smaller meteorites actually turning the atmosphere to plasma and the ground to glass. They think something similar happened over the sahara I think, to account for the natural glass there.

[The Grandmaster]

I certainly think it would be worth a try to nuke an incoming astroid. If we got hit with a full size astroid, there is no doubt it's over. But many small fragments would give us a significantly better chance for survival, or even to excape unharmed. It is no secret that we are constantly bombarded by small meterites every day, some the size of a car. Our atmosphere burns them up. If we nuked it, perhaps we might be able to reduce the thing to more of a spray of rock, instead of one ridiculous rock.

[toddytodd]

The Grandmaster wrote: I certainly think it would be worth a try to nuke an incoming astroid. If we got hit with a full size astroid, there is no doubt it's over. But many small fragments would give us a significantly better chance for survival, or even to excape unharmed. It is no secret that we are constantly bombarded by small meterites every day, some the size of a car. Our atmosphere burns them up. If we nuked it, perhaps we might be able to reduce the thing to more of a spray of rock, instead of one ridiculous rock.

Depending on the size of the item being 'blown up', its gravity could re-condense it back in on itself and the 'blowing up' would have been for not. Assuming of course, that the item was one solid structure to begin with, as many items floating around in the solar system are not solid structures like the rocks we associate with when we think of asteroids/comets. One option I have seen suggested was to slowly 'push' the item off its trajectory with a solar powered 'laser'-like machine. The down side is some calculations suggest the asteroid would have to be identified at least nine years before impact date. Good luck with that!