7 replies to this topic

[NapisaurusRex]

"The Anthropocene is a proposed epoch dating from the commencement of significant human impact on the Earth's geology and ecosystems,[1][2][3] including, but not limited to, anthropogenic climate change.[4] As of August 2016, neither the International Commission on Stratigraphy nor the International Union of Geological Sciences has yet officially approved the term as a recognized subdivision of geological time,[3][5][6] although the Working Group on the Anthropocene (WGA) voted to formally designate the epoch Anthropocene and presented the recommendation to the International Geological Congress on 29 August 2016.[7]"

 

 

So, what do you think? Are we entering the age of the 6th extinction? Whose fault do you think it is? Do you think it's intentional? Can we recover?

[Silentqueen]

I believe that we are responsible about this one to some extent, but there has been 5 previous big extinctions and we didn't cause any of those. This is just mother nature taking care of herself/ her regular cycle. The strong survive the weak die. 

 

The extinction of some of the animals depends on many things not just us killing off forests, littering, etc. .

 

Their extinction were caused by one or more: changes in the atmosphere/ oxygen levels, (which also caused some animals to get smaller throughout history and hence easier to hunt for other animals), shrinking sea levels, natural catastrophes, shortage of food,...

 

This is a natural occurrence and will probably happen again whether we humans will live to see it or not. Some animals I read about that  are close to extinction sadly are : cheetahs, white rhinos, elephants, ...giraffes are also getting dangerously close. 

 

PS: Good news: Some animals managed to climb out of the endangered species boat: grey wolves, pandas, and the Aleutian Canadian goose , yay!

 

Just my humble two cents.

Edited by silentqueen, 24 July 2017 - 08:17 AM.

[Sweeney]

I believe that we are responsible about this one to some extent, but there has been 5 previous big extinctions and we didn't cause any of those. This is just mother nature taking care of herself/ her regular cycle. The strong survive the weak die. 

 

The fact that something is a natural occurrence, or part of a natural cycle, does not de facto imply that it is a "good" thing. Extinction-level events are something we should strive to avert, because we should be aiming to minimise the level of suffering that life has to undergo.

 

"The strong survive the weak die" is a deeply simplistic view of evolution. And again, just because it is natural doesn't make it "good"

[Silentqueen]

It's not deeply simplistic as you put it, it's a fact of life and this planet. 

I never implied it was a good thing, most definitely not for the endangered animals, but that there is nothing we can do to avert another ice-age, giant tsunami, major drought or even meteor strike. We aren't there yet technology wise. 

I also agree with people who say that our planet "takes care" of itself and the natural balance this way ( be that fauna or flora), with these returning cycles, extinctions, new life forms etc. It's all about a healthy balance for the planet. 

 

I do wish however I could have seen some animals from the past, like these cutie pies.

Edited by silentqueen, 24 July 2017 - 11:02 AM.

[NapisaurusRex]

I believe that we are responsible about this one to some extent, but there has been 5 previous big extinctions and we didn't cause any of those. This is just mother nature taking care of herself/ her regular cycle. The strong survive the weak die. )

So then would you say people are relieved from any responsibility to resolve or delay it?
As for the rest of your post, that's true to an extent, but we're speeding it up at least 100x.

[Coops]

Everything dies eventually. We have probably been in the 6th mass extinction for awhile now. Hopefully, we can manage to survive this round. I don't know if it was intentional or not and I'm not entirely sure how we can fix it. I think space travel could alleviate some problems, but leaves us with an ethical dilemma (should we continue to care for our current planet if we go and colonize another?), and right now that is not feasible. I have other thoughts too but I'm too scatterbrained rn lol

[Sweeney]

It's not deeply simplistic as you put it, it's a fact of life and this planet. 
I never implied it was a good thing, most definitely not for the endangered animals, but that there is nothing we can do to avert another ice-age, giant tsunami, major drought or even meteor strike. We aren't there yet technology wise. 
I also agree with people who say that our planet "takes care" of itself and the natural balance this way ( be that fauna or flora), with these returning cycles, extinctions, new life forms etc. It's all about a healthy balance for the planet. 
 
I do wish however I could have seen some animals from the past, like these cutie pies.

It is deeply simplistic. Evolution is a lot more complex than simply "strong live weak die".

I think it's a poor argument to say there's nothing we can do about it - the evidence does not support that claim. Humans have had an indisputable impact on Earth's ecology, and in turn on the climate. We can take steps to reduce and in some cases reverse that impact, and we absolutely should.
To just wash your hands of it, a la Pontius Pilate, is pretty lousy.

[NapisaurusRex]

Everything dies eventually. We have probably been in the 6th mass extinction for awhile now. Hopefully, we can manage to survive this round. I don't know if it was intentional or not and I'm not entirely sure how we can fix it. I think space travel could alleviate some problems, but leaves us with an ethical dilemma (should we continue to care for our current planet if we go and colonize another?), and right now that is not feasible. I have other thoughts too but I'm too scatterbrained rn lol

I did a minor amount of googling and it looks like even the earliest estimates of when the age would've began still coincides with the beginning of industrialization, the late 1600s.