"Will Hand" wrote in message
...


Nobody likes to be told what to do - full stop, which is why CO2 emissions
will
continue to rise unless and until something mega catastrophic is on the
immediate horizon. That's just the way it is :-(

Will
--

Modern man has never experienced a catastrophe of global proportions. One
will come along soon enough and it won't be anything to do with the level of
CO2 in the atmosphere.

Besides if CO2 was so toxic we'd do something about the destruction of the
rain forests. I wonder what proportion of the increase in atmospheric CO2 in
the last 100 years can be attributed to deforestation activity??

It is so very easy to get carried away with our cosey cosseted lifestyle, we
are completely isolated from the reality of our irrelevance in the grand
scheme of things.

I'm sure I said this before and I'm sure it is very unpalatable to most
people, but, whether it is self inflicted or apparently undeserved, it will
take a catastrophe to rid the world of this human infestation.

Go outside on a clear dark night. Look up at the stars and ask your self
"will we really be missed?"


Paulus

"paulus" wrote in message
...

"Will Hand" wrote in message
...


Nobody likes to be told what to do - full stop, which is why CO2 emissions
will
continue to rise unless and until something mega catastrophic is on the
immediate horizon. That's just the way it is :-(

Will
--

Modern man has never experienced a catastrophe of global proportions. One
will come along soon enough and it won't be anything to do with the level of
CO2 in the atmosphere.


Any idea what?

Besides if CO2 was so toxic we'd do something about the destruction of the
rain forests. I wonder what proportion of the increase in atmospheric CO2 in
the last 100 years can be attributed to deforestation activity??


I heard a figure the other day of circa 25%. Apparently deforestation is a major
contributor. To me it is not the CO2 increase that is so sad, it is the removal
of animal's homes.

It is so very easy to get carried away with our cosey cosseted lifestyle, we
are completely isolated from the reality of our irrelevance in the grand
scheme of things.

I'm sure I said this before and I'm sure it is very unpalatable to most
people, but, whether it is self inflicted or apparently undeserved, it will
take a catastrophe to rid the world of this human infestation.


I don't see us as an infestation, I see us as part of this planet's evolution.

Go outside on a clear dark night. Look up at the stars and ask your self
"will we really be missed?"


Missed by whom or what?

We are a part of the Universe and I am sure we have a valued place in the great
scheme of things. I look up at the stars and I feel a sense of belonging as well
as awe.

Will
--

"Will Hand" wrote in message
...

"paulus" wrote in message
...


Modern man has never experienced a catastrophe of global proportions. One
will come along soon enough and it won't be anything to do with the level
of
CO2 in the atmosphere.


Any idea what?

Disease and pestillence are front runners, brought about by overpopulation
that will eventually cause a vital component of our ecosphere to collapse.
Man has
flourished since the end of the last ice age. Warmer climate is good for us.
I see no reason that we would not return to entirely natural ce age
conditions at
some time in the future.


Besides if CO2 was so toxic we'd do something about the destruction of
the
rain forests. I wonder what proportion of the increase in atmospheric CO2
in
the last 100 years can be attributed to deforestation activity??


I heard a figure the other day of circa 25%. Apparently deforestation is a
major
contributor. To me it is not the CO2 increase that is so sad, it is the
removal
of animal's homes.

I hadn't seen a figure but I'm not surprised by 25%. It saddens me to think
of the habitats that have been and are continuing to be destroyed. I read
that until the middle ages much of the British Isles was covered in dense
forests. Imagine how beautiful the now barren landscape would have looked
back then.


It is so very easy to get carried away with our cosey cosseted lifestyle,
we
are completely isolated from the reality of our irrelevance in the grand
scheme of things.

I'm sure I said this before and I'm sure it is very unpalatable to most
people, but, whether it is self inflicted or apparently undeserved, it
will
take a catastrophe to rid the world of this human infestation.


I don't see us as an infestation, I see us as part of this planet's
evolution.

Indeed we are, but nothing more than just a phase that the earth is going
through :-)
We don't have the resilliance to withstand too much discomfort when the
going gets tough. At leat not at the population level we have now.


Go outside on a clear dark night. Look up at the stars and ask your self
"will we really be missed?"


Missed by whom or what?

Exactly!!!


We are a part of the Universe and I am sure we have a valued place in the
great
scheme of things. I look up at the stars and I feel a sense of belonging
as well
as awe.

I wish that I believed that there was a big diary being kept somewhere and
that
a record of our time here was recorded. Then I could say that we added value
to the grand plan - that some other being could learn from us. Alas, I think
that
when we are gone we are gone! We don't even get on the score sheet.

Paulus

On Sun, 16 Dec 2007 16:53:17 -0000, "paulus" wrote:

...
Go outside on a clear dark night. Look up at the stars and ask your self
"will we really be missed?"

Even that's becoming more and more difficult.

The last time we saw a clear dark sky was at 14,500 feet close to the
Sikkim/Nepal border in the foothills of Kanchenjunga in 2001. Nothing
that I've seen in the UK in the last thirty-odd years compares to that
sort of sky. It's unbelievably beautiful - and humbling.
--
Alan White
Mozilla Firefox and Forte Agent.
Twenty-eight miles NW of Glasgow, overlooking Lochs Long and Goil in Argyll, Scotland.
Webcam and weather:- http://windycroft.gt-britain.co.uk/weather

"Alan White" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 16 Dec 2007 16:53:17 -0000, "paulus" wrote:

...
Go outside on a clear dark night. Look up at the stars and ask your self
"will we really be missed?"

Even that's becoming more and more difficult.

The last time we saw a clear dark sky was at 14,500 feet close to the
Sikkim/Nepal border in the foothills of Kanchenjunga in 2001. Nothing
that I've seen in the UK in the last thirty-odd years compares to that
sort of sky. It's unbelievably beautiful - and humbling.
--

Indeed, and that is what modern man is missing out on, I'm sure the ancients had
more of a "sense of place" than we do now.

Will
--

On Sun, 16 Dec 2007 18:23:48 -0000, "Will Hand"
wrote:

Indeed, and that is what modern man is missing out on, I'm sure the ancients had
more of a "sense of place" than we do now.

....and in that place we are nothing and, hence, won't be missed.

--
Alan White
Mozilla Firefox and Forte Agent.
Twenty-eight miles NW of Glasgow, overlooking Lochs Long and Goil in Argyll, Scotland.
Webcam and weather:- http://windycroft.gt-britain.co.uk/weather

"Alan White" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 16 Dec 2007 18:23:48 -0000, "Will Hand"
wrote:

Indeed, and that is what modern man is missing out on, I'm sure the ancients
had
more of a "sense of place" than we do now.

...and in that place we are nothing and, hence, won't be missed.


There is not an "out there" and "us" there is only ONE, it is not about missing,
we are part of all creation and if we disappear so be it, we would have served
our purpose whatever that may be and what we will never know.

Will
--

Alan White wrote:

On Sun, 16 Dec 2007 16:53:17 -0000, "paulus" wrote:

...
Go outside on a clear dark night. Look up at the stars and ask your self
"will we really be missed?"

Even that's becoming more and more difficult.

The last time we saw a clear dark sky was at 14,500 feet close to the
Sikkim/Nepal border in the foothills of Kanchenjunga in 2001. Nothing
that I've seen in the UK in the last thirty-odd years compares to that
sort of sky. It's unbelievably beautiful - and humbling.

When I was a kid walking home at night in the 50s, the only street lights
were gas and they didn't light much of the street let alone the sky. Any
clear night, I could see the Milky Way, which is something I haven't seen
for decades.

I think the last time I saw the night sky properly was 1964, when I used to
walk the couple of miles from a bus stop on the A6 to work at RAE
Thurleigh. On a really clear night, it came home to me that I was standing
on the outer skin of a rock floating through space, and there seemed
nothing between me and the stars.

Nowadays, someone says there'll be an Aurora visible over southern England
and I'll say "so what; I'll never see it - the sky's always orange anyway."

--
Graham P Davis, Bracknell, Berks., UK. E-mail: newsman, not newsboy.
"What use is happiness? It can't buy you money." [Chic Murray, 1919-85]

When I was a kid walking home at night in the 50s, the only street lights
were gas and they didn't light much of the street let alone the sky. Any
clear night, I could see the Milky Way, which is something I haven't seen
for decades.

Drop in Graham, I can see it now. Though at -3.8 I won't be hanging around
too long.

--
David Mitchell, 70m amsl, Langtoft, East Riding of Yorkshire.

On Sun, 16 Dec 2007 20:14:37 -0000, "David Mitchell"
wrote:

When I was a kid walking home at night in the 50s, the only street lights
were gas and they didn't light much of the street let alone the sky. Any
clear night, I could see the Milky Way, which is something I haven't seen
for decades.

Drop in Graham, I can see it now. Though at -3.8 I won't be hanging around
too long.

I've seen it because when out of town on a dark clear night, I
sometimes stop the car (safely!) in the middle of nowhereand get out
just to have a look. It's awe inspiring. I once did that on a dark
section of the A34 just to show my (then) teenage daughter what the
milky way looked like - something she'd never seen before. She moaned
and groaned and really did not want to get out of the car into the
cold night air!

Well I talked her into it but she only grudgingy conceded that it was
an amazing sight. However, I am satisfied in the knowledge that at
least I gave her the opportunity to experience something awesome that
I don't believe 95% of people under the age of forty have ever seen.
But sadly, I suspect that most people, not even University Grads (as
she now is) don't really care.

--
Dave