Will we be Earthians?

[speaker]

I feel very sad when I realize we could be solving future problems, right now, instead of creating more present ones. We, on this earth, are so embroiled in war and grabbing what we can from our brother and sister humans, that we're letting our blue home slip away from under our feet. Oh, I know it'll take centuries and the present inhabitants won't be here to see it happen, but our planet is starting to look like Mars. But if we aren't careful we will see hardship, resulting from this phenomena, and maybe we are seeing it already:

UN issues desertification warning

"Tens of millions of people could be driven from their homes by encroaching deserts, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and Central Asia, a report says.

The study by the United Nations University suggests climate change is making desertification "the greatest environmental challenge of our times".

If action is not taken, the report warns that some 50 million people could be displaced within the next 10 years.

The study was produced by more than 200 experts from 25 countries.

This report does not pull any punches, says BBC environment reporter Matt McGrath.

One third of the Earth's population - home to about two billion people - are potential victims of its creeping effect, it says.

"Desertification has emerged as an environmental crisis of global proportions, currently affecting an estimated 100 to 200 million people, and threatening the lives and livelihoods of a much larger number," the study said.

The overexploitation of land and unsustainable irrigation practices are making matters worse, while climate change is also a major factor degrading the soil, it says..."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6247802.stm

[Sylvan]

"Nature" makes you sad? What are you some kind of fruitcake? The only thing wrong with the planet is that human civilization is a virus that has been allowed to spread out of control. The major diseases are the result of humans trying to manupulate nature. The more human consciousness is used to artificially engineer a system that supports over-population, the worse life will be.

We [america] need to stop feeding populations that cant sustain themselves before the planet becomes so over crowded that humans go extinct sooner than we have to.

What is sad is to think that a species that is considered to be more intelligent than the dinosaurs probably wont last a small fraction of the time on this planet.

[Downstate Buffaloian]

"Save the Earth - Kill Yourself"

That pretty much sums up the attitude here

Don't worry the negative population momentum will start setting in at the end of the century and humans will be reduced to a small tribe of hunter gatherers. Civilization will be gone but the earth will survive.

The year 2300 UN low population projection is 2.3 Billion (down from about 6.1 Billion today), Only 400 Million of that 2.3 Billion will be in the developed world.

[LHardy]

I can't wait to see how they plan on stopping nature. What a joke.
Every sneeze or hiccup from Mother Nature is now a tragedy that needs to be solved and blame man for the problem. What crap.
How about moving away from the areas that are turning to desert. Find a new place to live and start over. People have done just that for eons.

I love how humans are the cause and creators of every function or reaction from nature.
Well not every function, just the ones we don't like.

Man is insignificant in the universal scheme of things and has no effect upon nature that nature can not correct on its' own.

Let's talk about the fact that Oxygen is a toxic gas and with out it we as humans would be dead. Yet if O2 was all that existed in the atmosphere nearly all of nature would perish. Nature requires CO2 to survive.

Another thought for all you global warming addicts.
Cities and their crowded populations are responsible for the majority of ozone and pollution created today. Giving rise for the need to have man spread out into the urban areas that nature provides and relieve the ozone and pollution stress on nature and our atmosphere.

[Surfing USA]

Get rich quick! Invest in the sand industry.

[speaker]

Well, , these replies seem to agree with what the article was saying.

[speaker]

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/c...id=3865&page=4


"Nature vs. Nurture
Page 5 of 9
As the world warms, states at risk face severe threats to their groundwater, agriculture, and ecosystems, factors that can rapidly undo political and economic gains. This year’s index found a strong correlation between stability and environmental sustainability, a country’s ability to avoid environmental disaster and deterioration. That means that in poorly performing states on the edge, including Bangladesh, Egypt, and Indonesia, the risks of flooding, drought, and deforestation have little chance of being properly managed. And that suggests storms are brewing on the horizon for the world’s most vulnerable..."

Go to the link for the graph.

[steven]

Will we be Earthians?

.... and here I was thinking kinky sex cult.... sigh

[LHardy]

Recall the dust bowl days?

In 1934 to 1936, three record drought years were marked for the nation. In 1936, a more severe storm spread out of the plains and across most of the nation. The drought years were accompanied with record breaking heavy rains, blizzards, tornadoes and floods. In September 1930, it rained over five inches in a very short time in the Oklahoma Panhandle. The flooding in Cimarron County was accompanied by a dirt storm which damaged several small buildings and graineries. Later that year, the regions were whipped again by a strong dirt storm from the southwest until the winds gave way to a blizzard from the north.

After the blizzards in winter 1930-1931, the drought began. First the northern plains felt the dry spell, but by July the southern plains were in the drought. It was not until late September that the ground had enough water to justify planting. Because of the late planting and early frost, much of the wheat was small and weak when the spring winds of 1932 began to blow. The wheat was also beaten by dirt from the abandoned fields. In March, there were twenty-two days of dirt storms and drifts began to build in the fence rows.

In late January 1933, the region was blasted by a magnificent dirt storm which killed much of the wheat. In early February, the thermometer dropped seventy four degrees in eighteen hours to a record low at Boise City. The mercury stayed below freezing for several days until another dirt storm scourged the land. Before the year was over, locals counted 139 dirty days in 1933.

Although the dirt storms were fewer in 1934, it was the year which brought the Dust Bowl national attention. In May, a severe storm blew dirt from Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas as far east as New York City and Washington D.C. In spite of the terrific storm in May, the year 1934 was pleasant respite from the blowing dirt and tornadoes of the previous year. But nature had another trick up her sleeve, the year was extremely hot with new records being made and broken at regular intervals. Before the year had run its course, hundreds of people in Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas had died from the heat.

In 1935, the weather in the Dust Bowl again made the national headlines. This storm was followed by another and yet another in rapid succession. In late March a severe storm lashed Boise City so hard that many people were stranded for hours. No one dared to leave a store and head for home although it might be less than a block away.

The dust bowl effected Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico
http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesso...id=300#LESSON3

What Did They Do?
Some people migrated.
Some people received assistance from the government.
Some people simply did the best they could.

For more in-depth information, a complete transcript of PBS interviews with witnesses to the Dust Bowl is available on American Experience,

What Did the United States Government Do About the Dust Bowl?

The government worked to improve the agricultural practices of those in the affected areas. The poster "Plains farms need trees: Trees prevent wind erosion, save moisture ... protect crops, contribute to human comfort and happiness" was part of a campaign to improve farming practices.

The government also provided direct relief to farmers, gave work to the unemployed on government projects, and helped improve conditions for migrants.
• Farmers Applying for Drought Relief
• Worker Receiving WPA Paycheck
• A Group of Refugees Are Fed in an Emergency WPA Kitchen
• Dolls Made by the WPA
• General View of a Migrant Worker Camp of the Farm Security Administration
• Page from a WPA Handbook Summarizing Works Projects
• WPA

Seems pretty clear to me that the US was able to cope with drought and devastation. Yet somehow no one else can today? Weak Human.

[Effigy]

If the Earth is warming due to increased solar radiation (as Mars is), WHY CAN'T AL AND HILLARY JUST GET A BILL PASSED TO OUTLAW IT??? It could be bipartisan if they'd just subcontract it out to Haliburton.

This is the height of Soccer Mom narcissism.

"It's all about us!!!!! If they'd: a) Just raise taxes b) Impeach Bush/Cheney c) Elect Hillary/Oprah/Dr. Phil - all the CHILDREN would be forever safe."



Fools.

[speaker]

Hardy--good to have you back. Here's an excerpt from that page you sent, and which was fascinating, by the way:

"Farming practices that worked well in different regions did not work well on the Plains. The farming practices during that time — over-plowing and over-grazing, combined with the droughts occurring between 1931 and 1939 — were partly responsible for the environmental catastrophe that created the Dust Bowl. The following EDSITEment resources offer more in-depth information on agricultural practices:"

Man caused this phenomena, and man paid for it.

[LHardy]

Hardy--good to have you back. Here's an excerpt from that page you sent, and which was fascinating, by the way:

"Farming practices that worked well in different regions did not work well on the Plains. The farming practices during that time — over-plowing and over-grazing, combined with the droughts occurring between 1931 and 1939 — were partly responsible for the environmental catastrophe that created the Dust Bowl. The following EDSITEment resources offer more in-depth information on agricultural practices:"

Man caused this phenomena, and man paid for it.

Thanks speaker except you missed the most valid point of that paragraph.
...combined with the droughts occurring between 1931 and 1939 — were partly responsible...

Man alone did not cause the dust bowl days but did played a small roll in the dust of those days.
Man contributed to the dust storms through poor farming habits not conducive to the south.
He did not create the drought by his farming practices.

[speaker]

I don't deny the possibility that global warming has little to do with man's activities. This is something that'll never be able to be proven.

But just as a home benefits from a good cleaning because it LOOKS better clean, our earth can use a good grooming, too.

Is that analogy kind of abstract?

A clean house looks better and the germs are killed. Oh, you know what I mean.

[Sylvan]

lets just have another civil war and get it over with.......