Expert prognosis for the planet

[Irace86.2.0]

[soundman98]

i think it's very important at this point to note that carbon dioxide is not the only greenhouse gas in existence, nor is it the only problem.

this is exactly the line of thinking that made diesels commonplace in europe, because they placed all the emphasis on reducing a specific gas, but then almost entirely ignored the particulate matter that was produced, much to their own detriment.

[scuzzy]

There have been 5 mass extinctions during the history of Earth that we know of according to the geological record. What makes us so special?

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by scuzzy

There have been 5 mass extinctions during the history of Earth that we know of according to the geological record. What makes us so special?

We're the only ones doing it to ourselves.

[scuzzy]

[Lantanafrs2]

What's the topic?

[scuzzy]

The topic is why you should stop removing your cat's for more horsepower.

[Impureclient]

lol

[soundman98]

zoom out. 18 years is a slow blink for the planet.

[Captain Snooze]

But so tempting.

[Irace86.2.0]

Originally Posted by scuzzy

There have been 5 mass extinctions during the history of Earth that we know of according to the geological record. What makes us so special?

We aren't special. We could choose to blow ourselves up and kill all life on the planet. We could do whatever. Some of those things could be temporary for the planet, such that once 99% of life dies the remaining 1% lives and evolves like we never were here. We could also create a runaway effect like that of Venus where it is 900F on the surface that will kill everything on the planet. Eventually, plate tectonics could remove our existence from the planet, regardless. If it doesn't then eventually the sun will fuse all the hydrogen to helium and begin to fuse heavier elements turning into a red giant and consuming earth in the process, so what is the point, right? You are getting into the meaning of life and other philosophical discussions that go beyond this topic.

Ultramaroon is partially correct. It is more correct to say that we are the only ones knowingly doing this to ourselves. Other species may have been responsible for their own demise and the mass extinction of most species. Many species are responsible for drastically changing the planet. Sometimes it created things like oxygen that provided a mechanism for life to grow and thrive. Other times, it resulted in something that was inhospitable for most life. We are doing that now. We are currently in a mass extinction period. It may not seem like it because everything isn't dying in a matter for hours to years in a massive asteroid collision, but it is happening at an alarmingly fast rate in evolutionary time.

Read this graphic, and you might see a common thread throughout these mass extinction events:

[Swift]

Some education:
There is a difference between healthy trees and forests to dead ones.


So "part" of the reason we have gotten into this problem..again partly, is because environmentalists WILL NOT distinguish. Well known groups try to skirt around it. So when they say absolutely no logging in state forest and parks I am for that to an extent. Massive storm blew down numerous trees in the Boundary Water Canoe Area in Mn(fastest warming area in the US per data) and they left them! So then 10+ years later guess what!? Lightening strike lit it up like kindling. So here, we could have harvested the wood and made money, kept some loggers busy, and provided a fuel source...and now we are potentially costing ourselves more loss of trees.


Also, Montana and Idaho each have larger loss of timber do to wild fires than California with 1/10th the fire fighting budget.


* The more you know.

[Irace86.2.0]

Pakistan just planted one billion trees to tackle deforestation and climate change

https://www.zmescience.com/ecology/p...ange-15082017/

Pakistani provincial leader Imran Khan started the Billion Tree Tsunami Afforestation Project in 2015 and it now reached fruition. In less than two years, 1,000,000,000 trees were planted, even faster than anticipated (by the end of 2017). This is just one province in one country.

We’re also dealing with a deforestation planetary crisis. According to the World Bank data, the planet has lost 1.3 million square kilometers of forests since 1990. This is why the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) set up the Bonn Challenge in 2011. The Bonn Challenge calls for the global restoration of 150 million hectares of deforested and degraded lands by 2020, and 350 million hectares by 2030. So far, less than 30 countries have signed up to the challenge, but even so, there are reasons for optimism. This milestone achieved in Pakistan is one of them, one which will inspire others, Inger Anderson, director general of the IUCN says.

Pakistan is one of the countries experiencing the most deforestation, and also one of the most at risk of global warming. Decades and decades of deforestation have cleared the country to the point where only 3% of it is covered by forests.

The estimated cost of this project was $123 million, but it’s not just the trees — the project also generated green jobs, and empowered unemployed youth and women in the province.

[Impureclient]

Originally Posted by Captain Snooze

But so tempting.

C'mon man...do the thing.