Help support TMP


"Calculating the Day Humans Began Changing the Earth Forever" Topic


10 Posts

All members in good standing are free to post here. Opinions expressed here are solely those of the posters, and have not been cleared with nor are they endorsed by The Miniatures Page.

In order to respect possible copyright issues, when quoting from a book or article, please quote no more than three paragraphs.

For more information, see the TMP FAQ.


Back to the Science Plus Board


Areas of Interest

General

Featured Hobby News Article


Featured Link


Featured Showcase Article

Stan Johansen Miniatures' Painting Service

A happy customer writes to tell us about a painting service...


Featured Profile Article

Tool Bench Hardware Painters Tape

Why do wargamers need painters tape, and is the dollar-store variety good enough?


Current Poll


298 hits since 9 Feb 2017
©1994-2024 Bill Armintrout
Comments or corrections?

Tango0109 Feb 2017 9:35 p.m. PST

"Nobody knows which day of the week a six mile-wide asteroid crashed into what would someday be the Yucatan Peninsula. What people do know is that day was around 65 million years ago, and that the days that came after were colder, darker, and filled with fewer and fewer dinosaurs.

The collision reconfigured Earth's life support systems by kicking up huge amounts of dust, vaporizing massive volumes of water, and triggering hundreds of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The strike—and ensuing mass extinction—marks one of the most well-known geologic divisions, between the Cretaceous twilight and the Paleogenic dawn. In terms of global impact, humans are like a scattershot version of that asteroid; they have changed the planet so much that many scientists believe modern society deserves its own geologic epoch—the Anthropocene. And while nobody knows which day humans became a force of nature, a pair of scientists believe they have an equation that can pinpoint the year.

This planet is about 4.5 billion years old. For at least three quarters of that time, it has supported life. "The Earth is generally in a state of balance, with feedback loops that keep things like the atmosphere and temperature at equilibrium for deep spans of time," says Owen Gaffney, a writer and co-author of the new study, published in the Anthropocene Review. During those times of equilibrium, lifeforms evolve slowly, extinction is rare, and biodiversity increases. Then along comes an asteroid strike or megavolcano eruption. Or the Earth tilts half a degree on its axis. Each cataclysm alters the atmosphere, temperature, ocean composition, and dozens of other processes that determine what is fit enough to survive.

Item: In 1700, human-used land covered about 5 percent of the Earth. In 2000, it was about 55 percent.
Item: Human greenhouse gas emissions are causing the ocean to acidify at nearly the rate it did prior to the Permian extinction—the planet's largest—about 300 million years ago…"
Main page
link

Amicalement
Armand

Bowman12 Feb 2017 8:47 a.m. PST

Personally, I think things went south for us when we discovered agriculture and became sedentary.

Tango0112 Feb 2017 3:33 p.m. PST

But… can you imagine the amount of actual population… on the move?… (smile)


Amicalement
Armand

Bowman13 Feb 2017 9:23 a.m. PST

Yes it would be very low. The population of hunter-gatherer societies which follow their food supply necessitates this.

Tango0113 Feb 2017 10:42 a.m. PST

And more wars I suppose!… (smile)


Amicalement
Armand

Bowman13 Feb 2017 5:06 p.m. PST

No I'd say less. Agriculture makes for sedentary communities. Little towns turn into larger ones and then on to cities. Once you have cities and civilization you need to expand and protect your resources and lands. Conflict with the next group over then ensues as their areas of influence overlap.

Tango0114 Feb 2017 11:04 a.m. PST

So, more or less like the North American Indians Wars… (smile).


Amicalement
Armand

Bowman14 Feb 2017 11:44 a.m. PST

Yes, but hunter-gatherer societies will never fight to the same extent as civilizations. Contrast the North American Indian conflicts with those of the Aztecs and Incas.

Tango0115 Feb 2017 11:04 a.m. PST

Yes… you are right my friend…


Amicalement
Armand

Winston Smith17 Feb 2017 4:39 p.m. PST

I get it. Making beer and sitting on our fat asses while drinking beer is the root cause.

Sorry - only verified members can post on the forums.