General Discussion

ladjf

(17,320 posts)

109. I had a plan for a novel that presented the human race with the same

Fri Dec 11, 2015, 09:44 PM

Dec 2015

premise as you said in your post. "but an 80-90% reduction in population is more likely than not. This planet cannot sustain 6-7 billion people. Add capitalistic greed, religious insanity/anti-science batshittery and climate change and a mass die-off of human beings is more or less inevitable within 50-100 years.

But homo sapiens is a tough and adaptive species, which is why I don't think extinction is in the cards.

Maybe once the world is rebuilt and repopulated to a sane and sustainable of 2 billion people or so humanity can take another shot at civilization, but they will have to leave capitalism and religion on the ash heap of history.
"

I don't think any amount of enlightenment would be able to allow us to overcome our basic selfish egotism. Face it, we are a poor design and will go down in history as the least successful mammal that ever lived, in terms of enduring. Our 200,000 to 300,000 year stand is laughable in evolutionary terms. We will be the "Short-Gevity" champions. (the opposite of "longevity".)

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Humans will be extinct in 100 years says eminent scientist [View all] chalmers Dec 2015 OP

Is this the same guy that predicted every presidential election since 1975? Renew Deal Dec 2015 #1

The population will decline NobodyHere Dec 2015 #2

I am still waiting for the Orgasmatron. longship Dec 2015 #8

Don't forget to use the Orb first to get in the mood. geardaddy Dec 2015 #99

Hitachi Magic Wand. briv1016 Dec 2015 #100

i have enough sexual partners - don't need robots patsimp Dec 2015 #51

No way! Too short a period of time! Nt Logical Dec 2015 #3

Yeah sure. I'll be 146. Good grief I hope I don't last that long. yeoman6987 Dec 2015 #28

Not unless we nuke each other or use some sort of very effective bio weapon n2doc Dec 2015 #4

Not much of the Earth is habitable chalmers Dec 2015 #9

That is still a lot of land. n2doc Dec 2015 #11

1.77% is fresh water chalmers Dec 2015 #12

Fresh water lancer78 Dec 2015 #95

Sorry I have to ask .. ananda Dec 2015 #23

I just mean that we can turn land that is not presently considered farmland into farmable land n2doc Dec 2015 #24

Thanks. ananda Dec 2015 #83

Just finished watching Mad Max Fury Road dixiegrrrrl Dec 2015 #73

And that 8.76% is subject to its carrying capacity. nt ChisolmTrailDem Dec 2015 #42

Even nukes would not lead to (rapid) human extinction. Climate change and nukes will fuck us up and MillennialDem Dec 2015 #86

Yeah, he'll be extinct. But humans? He's making a flaky pronouncement. MADem Dec 2015 #5

So Professor Emo believes we're fucked whatever we do ? MowCowWhoHow III Dec 2015 #6

sounds like a plan to me! dlwickham Dec 2015 #76

The perfect blowhard prediction. If he's... meaculpa2011 Dec 2015 #7

Too optimistic. earthside Dec 2015 #10

a 5-6 degree temp change would 'kill most humans'? B2G Dec 2015 #15

based on the reaction GummyBearz Dec 2015 #25

... Arugula Latte Dec 2015 #44

The analogy ... earthside Dec 2015 #26

That analogy is ridiculous. nt B2G Dec 2015 #30

Oh ... earthside Dec 2015 #37

Why would I sit in a 103 degree sauna for a week? B2G Dec 2015 #39

That AC is not at a planetary level nadinbrzezinski Dec 2015 #45

But it negates planetary extinction. B2G Dec 2015 #47

Read up on the science nadinbrzezinski Dec 2015 #48

Some people are in denial Nadin. haikugal Dec 2015 #77

I know nadinbrzezinski Dec 2015 #80

humans -are not- apex sp, we're vagile generalist omnivores with many mutualisms and HereSince1628 Dec 2015 #90

And we are also going to be aware, well aware, of why it could be curtains nadinbrzezinski Dec 2015 #97

Acidification of the oceans could be a game ending scenario, it crashed the planet once before HereSince1628 Dec 2015 #107

That is in my mind the big one nadinbrzezinski Dec 2015 #111

Power lines may be. Power systems can not handle that load for a sustained LiberalArkie Dec 2015 #54

Google is your friend forsaken mortal Dec 2015 #85

Why do people use black backgrounds on their websites. Fantastic Anarchist Dec 2015 #50

I think it's coming from a study that was released a week ago. Dawgs Dec 2015 #33

I'm sure you'll discredit the premise with objective, peer-reviewed science, yes? LanternWaste Dec 2015 #38

Hot posting tip of the day. B2G Dec 2015 #40

It's extremely annoying. I have had to make myself look at who each poster is... ChisolmTrailDem Dec 2015 #43

+1 and it rather defeats the purpose of a subject line. hifiguy Dec 2015 #61

I've wanted to mention this before, because several posters do it. ladyVet Dec 2015 #112

You sure told him! Fantastic Anarchist Dec 2015 #58

You do realize, don't you, that the B2G has participated in the climate change discussion... ChisolmTrailDem Dec 2015 #64

Yes, I am aware and I'm also aware that the post was/is still irrelevant to the discussion. Fantastic Anarchist Dec 2015 #65

So, according to you, there shall be no sub-thread deviations from the original topic. Got it. But.. ChisolmTrailDem Dec 2015 #67

I made no such decree. Fantastic Anarchist Dec 2015 #70

Some anarchists are more authoritative than others. nt B2G Dec 2015 #72

Posting my opinion is now "authoritative?" Fantastic Anarchist Dec 2015 #81

Well I could have chosen 23K other threads, B2G Dec 2015 #68

Thank you. B2G Dec 2015 #66

Food production and potable water. A 10 degree difference (up or down) during spring affects crops. haele Dec 2015 #49

I've tried for a long time to understand why some are incapapble of putting the world, ladyVet Dec 2015 #113

Indirectly... Javaman Dec 2015 #75

the unattended nuclear plants...... virtualobserver Dec 2015 #31

There are people that ACTUALLY believe this tkmorris Dec 2015 #36

There are strong arguments for another mini-ice age, actually. dixiegrrrrl Dec 2015 #74

Last I checked, all of them thoroughly debunked. truebluegreen Dec 2015 #105

Its the Methnane Gas that will destroy ocean life... Rockyj Dec 2015 #96

The pros and cons of hitchhiking Jeroen Dec 2015 #13

Humans are not resourceful chalmers Dec 2015 #14

Is this a serious post? or sarcasm philosslayer Dec 2015 #18

of course it is serious chalmers Dec 2015 #21

Only because of religulous superstition and greed, respectively. hifiguy Dec 2015 #60

Thank you...well said! nt haikugal Dec 2015 #79

But that's not not being resourceful. Fantastic Anarchist Dec 2015 #62

We've been resourceful because of oil. earthside Dec 2015 #29

Ridiculous. There are still indigenous humans living in rain forests & arctic KittyWampus Dec 2015 #16

cliamte change will vastly change their environment chalmers Dec 2015 #17

Plus McWorld/McEconomy's cultural impacts on what traditional cultures remain . . . hatrack Dec 2015 #27

Except for rich people living in underground bunkers Matariki Dec 2015 #19

Rich people living in underground bunkers won't survive very long, even though they think they will. haele Dec 2015 #56

Right? You would think there would be one or two who liked cats. raouldukelives Dec 2015 #91

Or their own grandchildren for that matter. Matariki Dec 2015 #92

I'll take that bet. Throd Dec 2015 #20

Frank Fenner has been extinct since 2010. onenote Dec 2015 #22

More climate scientists ... earthside Dec 2015 #32

This won't affect the billionaires or high priests, right? moondust Dec 2015 #34

Can't believe there is even any doubt expressed about this. highprincipleswork Dec 2015 #35

The denial is astounding. earthside Dec 2015 #41

You Sure It's Denial ProfessorGAC Dec 2015 #69

The IPPC does not go that far nadinbrzezinski Dec 2015 #46

Probably not extinct HassleCat Dec 2015 #52

The Malthusian check, if not an absolute law of nature, hifiguy Dec 2015 #63

Seems extreme... extinct vs. population collapse... berni_mccoy Dec 2015 #53

And I thought I was negative. Octafish Dec 2015 #55

+1 haikugal Dec 2015 #82

Some of you seem almost excited about the prospect. Throd Dec 2015 #57

I think extinction is highly unlikely, hifiguy Dec 2015 #59

I agree. Humans are stupid but also clever Quixote1818 Dec 2015 #89

Maybe as a group we are clever truebluegreen Dec 2015 #106

I could see that, especially if there was an event like the eruption of Toba or something similar. smirkymonkey Dec 2015 #108

I had a plan for a novel that presented the human race with the same ladjf Dec 2015 #109

Full extinction does seem SheilaT Dec 2015 #71

That is sort of the Roddenberry Hypothesis/Projection. hifiguy Dec 2015 #84

Or we could be the first in the galaxy... someone has to be the first. Or they already have enough MillennialDem Dec 2015 #87

"The world will go to hell right after I'm through comfortably living out my natural life span". jmondine Dec 2015 #78

Another aging scientist goes off the rails. HuckleB Dec 2015 #88

Of all the traits in human species..... nolabels Dec 2015 #93

The planet will probably breathe a sigh of relief malaise Dec 2015 #94

Humans are very resilient and plentiful. briv1016 Dec 2015 #98

Probably deathrind Dec 2015 #101

The scary thought is exponential population growth: Hassin Bin Sober Dec 2015 #102

A story from 2010?? Blue_Tires Dec 2015 #103

Here we go again. Buzz Clik Dec 2015 #104

I will wave you a fond farewell. nt Xipe Totec Dec 2015 #110

Well, he certainly will be Fla_Democrat Dec 2015 #114

Well, he hasn't lived on a river shore in the middle of the Amazon L. Coyote Dec 2015 #115