Is the planet really dying?
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Dont Panic

Original Poster:

1,389 posts

75 months

Friday 15th May 2020
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We hear this a lot from those in the media, from the Gretas, the Attenburgers and so on, but really, is the planet dying?
Im unconvinced, theres so much green stuff sprung up locally in the last few years that much of the old rough isnt accessible, is that what a dying planet looks like?

I propose that photos of your surrounding location be utilised to at least get an idea of whether its true or not.
Post up pics of your area only and has to be recent.
Lets see the good, bad or just ugly.

Ok heres just a few of mine.

20 years ago this whole area was almost bare, there were no trees to the left or right and just some small saplings in the background, if things were as bad as we're told itd be worse surely?



This part was around 30 feet wide, I took some video of myself running along it way back. You could drive two cars down it no problem.
Look at it now.





One of the original fence posts that I placed my camcorder on that you can barely see nowadays.

Lots of growth despite what we're told to the opposite.


Pothole

34,367 posts

306 months

Friday 15th May 2020
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The dead skin on your feet doesn't prove you're dying. The healthy skin on your face doesn't prove you're not. The overall picture is slightly bigger than a small plot of land you've taken a couple of photos of which looks like things are growing on it. Planet-sized in fact!

steveatesh

5,320 posts

188 months

Friday 15th May 2020
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The planet itself won’t die for billions of years apparently, but I imagine the climate will change and species will come and go a lot in that time frame just as they have in the past. Humans don’t have a unique claims to exist as a species, and we could all be wiped out by a natural disaster no matter what we do. We are a relative newcomer and how long we last as a species is anybodies guess, but when we’re gone nature will crack on as if we have never been here.

Should we be cognisant of our impact on the environment? Absolutely and I believe there is a spreading awareness about plastic, pollution, air quality and the like.

I don’t have a photo but the large field next to me was all but abandoned 5 years ago and is turning back to a natural habitat. The amount of self sown trees is astonishing, many of them already over 6ft tall. Give it 10 years and I’ll be living next to a wood I think!



John145

2,731 posts

180 months

Friday 15th May 2020
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I remember watching a TV series of pictures from space and images around major river systems in the world made depressing viewing..

In Europe generally we're a stabilising population in terms of growth but there are 7x more human beings today than 100 years ago, the level of development required for this is on a scale the UK has nor will ever see but it's happening.

The rate of deforestation has never been faster than today...

Quhet

2,812 posts

170 months

Friday 15th May 2020
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Pothole said:
The dead skin on your feet doesn't prove you're dying. The healthy skin on your face doesn't prove you're not. The overall picture is slightly bigger than a small plot of land you've taken a couple of photos of which looks like things are growing on it. Planet-sized in fact!
Exactly this, what a bizarre postconfusedlaugh

TRIUMPHBULLET

711 posts

137 months

Friday 15th May 2020
quotequote all
The world is not dying,life is adapting to changing circumstances.
Species that do not adapt will die out.
It has been that way since life formed on earth.
Charles Darwin realized this was the case and because people did not like that stark reality many at first refused to accept his findings.

Nimby

5,527 posts

174 months

Friday 15th May 2020
quotequote all
99% of species that have ever existed are extinct.
According to this Wikipedia entry all life will start to die off in around 600 million years as - ironically - there won't be enough CO2 to sustain plant life.

Ligne

350 posts

180 months

Friday 15th May 2020
quotequote all
No.

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/ames/human-activity-i...

“The world is literally a greener place than it was 20 years ago, and data from NASA satellites has revealed a counterintuitive source for much of this new foliage: China and India.“

Inaprop Riat

114 posts

86 months

Friday 15th May 2020
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The planet is fine. The people are fked.

(Thanks to George Carlin for that line)

Johnnytheboy

24,499 posts

210 months

Friday 15th May 2020
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Ironically, increased CO2 in the atmosphere is a boon to plants!

anonymous-user

78 months

Friday 15th May 2020
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Inaprop Riat said:
The planet is fine. The people are fked.

(Thanks to George Carlin for that line)
This, the planet will be fine as it has been around for billions of years, this whole global warming is ultimately about survival of human beings and how many species we take with us when we go.

Dont Panic

Original Poster:

1,389 posts

75 months

Friday 15th May 2020
quotequote all
Pothole said:
The dead skin on your feet doesn't prove you're dying. The healthy skin on your face doesn't prove you're not. The overall picture is slightly bigger than a small plot of land you've taken a couple of photos of which looks like things are growing on it. Planet-sized in fact!
Did you miss the point all by yourself or did you get someone to help you?
Its not about one small area if you bothered to read, its about multiple views from different locations to give an overall picture, hence the invitation for others to post up in their locations. rolleyes

klunkT5

745 posts

142 months

Friday 15th May 2020
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I cannot believe the great weather we have had since lockdown, Here in the SW it has been glorious! Before lockdown it was dire, Gale force wind's and rain for like 4 weeks! I can't help but think that with industry shut down and pretty much no planes flying that it must have something to do with it? IMO.

Edited by klunkT5 on Friday 15th May 19:46

TeaNoSugar

1,427 posts

189 months

Friday 15th May 2020
quotequote all
Johnnytheboy said:
Ironically, increased CO2 in the atmosphere is a boon to plants!
Is it? I know that sounds stupid but it’s a serious question. Is it in the right place? Is the CO2 level increasing in the bottom 30m of the atmosphere, where it would definitely be great for the trees and plants, or is it higher up in the atmosphere where it cannot be used by plants? I always assumed that increased atmospheric CO2 is a bad thing because it’s in the upper atmosphere where it’s useless to plant life but does have the effect of trapping more solar energy in the atmosphere?

glazbagun

15,178 posts

221 months

Friday 15th May 2020
quotequote all
Dont Panic said:
We hear this a lot from those in the media, from the Gretas, the Attenburgers and so on, but really, is the planet dying?

One of the original fence posts that I placed my camcorder on that you can barely see nowadays.

Lots of growth despite what we're told to the opposite.
What a troll. Point to where David Attenbourgh has said plants will stop growing in your park this summer.



Mining Subsidence Man

418 posts

72 months

Friday 15th May 2020
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Watch this. It puts everything back in it's box.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uD4izuDMUQA

DaveGrohl

1,037 posts

121 months

Friday 15th May 2020
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No.

Esceptico

8,897 posts

133 months

Friday 15th May 2020
quotequote all
Dont Panic said:
Pothole said:
The dead skin on your feet doesn't prove you're dying. The healthy skin on your face doesn't prove you're not. The overall picture is slightly bigger than a small plot of land you've taken a couple of photos of which looks like things are growing on it. Planet-sized in fact!
Did you miss the point all by yourself or did you get someone to help you?
Its not about one small area if you bothered to read, its about multiple views from different locations to give an overall picture, hence the invitation for others to post up in their locations. rolleyes
As ever a straw man argument you are putting forward. What people are worried about is a huge reduction in biodiversity and loss of species. Global estimates show a huge drop in the number of animals and insects. Except of course for humans and animals that we eat.

Esceptico

8,897 posts

133 months

Friday 15th May 2020
quotequote all


https://www.pnas.org/content/115/25/6506

This is an interesting read. It seems that humans and their domestic animals make up 96% of the global mass of all mammals ie wild mammals make up just 4%. If you go back a few millennia those numbers would have been reversed.

Tango13

9,887 posts

200 months

Friday 15th May 2020
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TeaNoSugar said:
Johnnytheboy said:
Ironically, increased CO2 in the atmosphere is a boon to plants!
Is it? I know that sounds stupid but it’s a serious question. Is it in the right place? Is the CO2 level increasing in the bottom 30m of the atmosphere, where it would definitely be great for the trees and plants, or is it higher up in the atmosphere where it cannot be used by plants? I always assumed that increased atmospheric CO2 is a bad thing because it’s in the upper atmosphere where it’s useless to plant life but does have the effect of trapping more solar energy in the atmosphere?
I used to work for a scientific instrument manufacturer specialising in CO2 detection and measurement down to parts per million, the boss/chief Boffin once told me that a growing plant absorbs three times more CO2 than a mature plant.