'Faster Than We Thought': An Epitaph for Planet Earth

[marmar]

Published on Wednesday, May 23, 2012 by Common Dreams
'Faster Than We Thought': An Epitaph for Planet Earth

by John Atcheson


Sometime later this Century, a writer will sit down and attempt to document how his or her grandparents’ generation could have all but ignored the greatest disaster humanity has ever faced.

It won’t be a pleasant world she lives in. Cities and countries will be locked in an expensive battle with rapidly rising seas; but after spending trillions of dollars, most of the world’s ports will have been abandoned anyway.

Up to seventy percent of the planet’s species will be wiped out. Gone. Vanished. Kaput. Songbirds will no longer serenade us. Butterflies will no longer dazzle us. The boreal forests – the largest belt of green in the world – will be gone.

Brutal heat waves will be the norm. Off-the-chart hurricanes and storms will be the rule. Deserts will have expanded. Haboobs, giant black blizzards of dust will sweep across vast portions of the US’s high plains and the southwest. The Amazon rainforest will be a shrunken, wizened remnant of a once vast source of life. .....................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/05/23-5

[hatrack]

1. But as long as we did our best to uphold Shareholder Value and helped spread Freedumb, who cares?

Tool Monkeys - FUCK YEAH!!!!!!!!!

[xchrom]

2. Du rec. Nt

[FirstLight]

3. the lede is still a bit off...

'later this century' ... meaning in the next 70 years? ...how about 30...

I am shocked that this is not a greater emergency than terrorism, instead of a DHS, we need a Dept of Earth-aid

whatever, it was nice knowing all of you...see you on the flip side

[glinda]

4. I am guessing 20 years.

[dixiegrrrrl]

5. Depends on how long it takes for Fukishima to get even worse than it is.

[ellisonz]

6. Drill Baby Drill

[Uncle Joe]

7. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, marmar.

[4th law of robotics]

8. Too bad we gave up on space

We're on a sinking ship so we toss out the lifeboats because maintaining them is too expensive.

/if it's not the environment it'll be something else. The earth is a big target and fragile. We need to get out of here.

[Uncle Joe]

9. I agree re: the need to master space travel and be able to migrate from Earth but I don't

believe we've given up yet.

NASA is focusing more on long distance space travel and exploration as private endeavors take over the burden of near Earth space travel, ie: the space station.