Viewing Thread:
"Could humans ever become extinct?"

Er, it's a question, you don't need me to explain it you retards.

Er, it's a question, you don't need me to explain it you retards.

Yes.

Of course.

We just need some fools who can get their hands on a rather big atomic bomb.

Trying not to tempt fate here but i don't think humans will ever become extinct under their own self esteem. A massive nuclear bomb, or worse wouldnt wipe out every human being on earth. I think the only way humans would ever become extinct would be down to natural causes. For example, a long ice age where humans are not prepared for the harsh conditions. Anyway hi, i'm new.

Or, perhaps, completely failing to stop emission of greenhouse gases, so that we all fry?

The theory of greenhouse gases being linked to the greenhouse effect and global warming has not actually been proved. While gases breaking down the Ozone layer exist the link between the breaking down of the ozone layer and the overall warming of the earth is just a theory. The earth goes through cycles of warmer temperatures and colder temperatures ie. Ice ages and inter glacial period. The state of the earth at the moment could just be one of those inter glacial periods and in a few thousand years the earth may be plunged into an ice age again. You have to look at the whole picture, over millions and millions of years, to see that a few thousand years do not really make a differece.

Dimebag wrote:
> A massive nuclear bomb, or worse wouldnt
> wipe out every human being on earth.

Yes, yes it could. It would only kill everyone within the dead zone instantly, the burn zone after a few hours, and, if it was powerful enough, would cause natural disasters all over i.e Tsunami's, earthquakes/volcanic eruption.
So eventually, the effects of the thermonuclear explosion could kill everyone.

I guess we cannot even think of the possible knock on effects from a thermonuclear bomb. No one can predict how the earth will react, and if there are things like Tsunamis and earthquakes as a result, how big an effect they will have. I suppose it is possible for a bomb to kill everyone on the earth but even earthquakes, Tsunamis, Volcanic eruptions and other tectonic related Hazards wouldnt reach everybody on the earth.

Dimebag wrote:
> The theory of greenhouse gases being linked to the greenhouse effect
> and global warming has not actually been proved. While gases breaking
> down the Ozone layer exist the link between the breaking down of the
> ozone layer and the overall warming of the earth is just a theory.

Firstly, depeletion of the Ozone layer is a separate issue to global warming. Whilst some gases can contribute to both effects, they are essentially different concerns. Depletion of the ozone layer will result in greater exposure to UV radiation from the sun, whereas global warming is the effect from 'greenhouse' gases reducing the amount of energy leaving the atmosphere.

It's true there is no proven link between increases amounts of greenhouse gases and global warming, but the vast majority oif scientists think there is. It's better to prepare for the worst than assume it won't happen, in any case.

> The earth goes through cycles of warmer temperatures and colder
> temperatures ie. Ice ages and inter glacial period. The state of the
> earth at the moment could just be one of those inter glacial periods
> and in a few thousand years the earth may be plunged into an ice age
> again.

True. But these cycles don't happen for no reason. The last ice age was triggered (so far as we know) by a large meteor hitting the Earth, causing clouds of dust sufficient to almost completely block out the sun.

The next great heat wave might well be caused by global warming. There's no particular reason to believe it'll start getting cooler again without some similar significant event occuring again.

Venus is still waiting for it's next ice age.

> You have to look at the whole picture, over millions and
> millions of years, to see that a few thousand years do not really make
> a differece.

Don't make a difference to what though? They make an awful lot of difference if it happens to be impossible for humans to live here in those few thousand years, wouldn't you say?

I think your definition of an Ice age is different to mine. I meant Glacial and inter glacial periods. These are periods when changes in the earths average temperature are very different. I think i'm right in saying the last glacial period was about 17,000 years ago, not the "Ice Age" of millions of years ago. It has been proved that the earth goes through cycles and we are in an interglacial period at the moment. Venom do you study geography