The Anthropocene, a new geological epoch.

[Robh]

Controversial and fascinating read with some interesting scientific speculation.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20427281.300-posthuman-earth-how-the-planet-will-recover-from-us.html?page=1

Regards, Rob

[Davros]

A good read.

[Redshift]

Economists and politicians talk about the need for the population to grow. You know, have one for her, one for him and one for the country. Now I hear the Chinese are going to abolish their one child policy.
Really, how long can the earth sustain population growth. How long can the earth's resources last?
I think it's time humanity capped population growth. If we don't - maybe mother earth will!

[KenGee]

Eveybody loves a doomsday story.

[dpastern]

Interesting reading. Several facts are gleamed from the article:

1) warming has happened in the past

2) mass extinctions are not unheard of, having happened at least several times in the Earth's biological past

3) mass extinctions seem to be widespread species wise, with only a small range of species surviving post mass extinction (usually those that breed quickly and can establish populations at alarming rates).

4) things eventually seem to return to normal and biodiversity does end up returning

We're already seeing plankton numbers drop worldwide - and these are crucial to the water based eco systems. We're already seeing bees disappearing in large rates around the globe - these are critical for pollination etc. We're seeing frogs disappear at an alarming rate globally, and they help control insect populations to some extent. It seems that the most basic fundamental bio-diverse species are at stake here, the core building blocks of the entire current biological evolutionary pyramid. I find that rather scary.

Can anyone imagine what will happen with plankton levels drop, affecting fishing populations worldwide? And when bees stop pollinating flowers etc? The ensuing chain reaction will not be pretty and will affect both herbivores and those carnivores, and omnivores at the top of the food chain. Yes, we can have technology, but it isn't much good to us if there's no vegies or meat or fish to eat to support our overly large populations, is there?

Redshift - you are of course, spot on, imho. We breed without thought. We make locusts look like a nice walk in the park imho. I do not believe that the planet's biosphere was ever designed to support such large numbers of humans.

Dave