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The Sixth Great Mass Extinction and Human Survival

Recently, there have been numerous articles about a study showing that we are in the midst of the Earth's sixth great mass extinction.  Below are some quotes, and then I will give my thoughts.

"Miami (AFP) - The world is embarking on its sixth mass extinction with animals disappearing about 100 times faster than they used to, scientists warned Friday, and humans could be among the first victims."

"Not since the age of the dinosaurs ended 66 million years ago has the planet been losing species at this rapid a rate, said a study led by experts at Stanford University, Princeton University and the University of California, Berkeley."

"The study "shows without any significant doubt that we are now entering the sixth great mass extinction event," said co-author Paul Ehrlich, a Stanford University professor of biology."


This is sad, although it's not news.  I guess you could say it is "olds" because whoever didn't know this already has not been paying attention.  Still, I think people need a wake-up call every once in a while so that those few people who have have not kept up with the Kardashians can break free of their culture's stupor and understand what is really important.

I do disagree with one point above, though, namely that humans could be among the first species to die out in this extinction from here on out.  I think that humans, due to their numbers and abilities, are extremely resilient.  They are not that smart and not that caring, but they are extremely resilient.  Humans will continue for a long time to come.  There is no doubt about that.

Humans can survive very easily, although it is hard for humans to thrive (and that difficulty is currently self-imposed).  When Americans think of something like a total economic collapse and say it can't happen, I disagree.  I think it can definitely happen.  But even if it did, the population of America (or anywhere else) could still increase.  One thing does not have much to do with the other.  "We'd think of something" say some optimistic Americans.  Well has much of the poverty-stricken world "thought of something" yet?  Once you get into a downward spiral, it's extremely hard to get out, no matter what ideas you might have.

Look at a place such as Bangladesh.  It is a country that is literally being given technological innovation for pretty much free.  What I mean is that cell phones, cars, air conditioners, and about anything else you could name has already been invented and fine-tuned in other countries and all Bangladeshis have to do is utilize that readily available technology, which requires no research on their part.  Yet even with all of the innovation the world has to offer, Bangladesh will probably never get on its feet and become developed.  It will largely remain a hell-hole.  No matter what fantastic plan any individual Bangladeshi has...no matter what new-fangled technologies the rest of the world invents and hands to them on a platter, they as a nation cannot get their act together so that their people thrive.  Yet their population is growing faster than most other countries in the world.  This shows that among humans, there can be survival despite extreme suffering and a lack of goods.

The human population has basically gotten too large to ever die out.  I think that at this point, even an asteroid impact like the one 66 million years ago would not completely wipe out humans.  In the future, the earth can be like an ugly landfill with only cockroaches to share the earth with, but humans would make cockroach farms and mine garbage heaps...and war over them.  People can be on the brink of total starvation, but you can count on them to have unprotected sex and thus kids during that time...and at least a few of their eight kids will survive to continue the merry-go-round of suffering.  No need to worry about that.  Humans are survivors, and that is part of the problem, too.  It means that the Earth might never be without this devastating breed until it finally burns to a crisp.

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  1. Love your blogs! Very succinct and thought provoking. ALL of them.

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