Are we haggling over the wrong things?

[CycleFishHunt]

I've posted this graphic before, so forgive me if you've seen it before. However, it is relevant and something to ponder just how far out of whack this planet has become. But again, this is just a symptom of the real problem and we continue to focus on and stick bandaids over the symptoms. Like a game of whack-a-mole, we aren't getting ahead. Just falling further and further behind

Lots of interesting questions fall out of this though. At least interesting to me in a basic science/philosophy sort of way. Things like can capitalism persevere in the face of a falling population (I think not)? Can any economic system survive (China's experiment with the 1-child rule suggests not)? Can any form of life on any planet persist long enough to develop interstellar travel in a meaningful way before overconsuming their own planet and dying out (since the laws of evolution and physics (really the laws of math) are the same everywhere)? Is Soylent Green really where we are headed next (or is there a different dystopia that science fiction has yet to invent, waiting for us up ahead)?

One can go on and on with the speculation about the details, but the end result is the same.

That is staggering, but I would like to see and how it's changed over time. (And also see non-mammals).

The ratio of humans, domestic mammals to wildlife is truly hard to comprehend. We can all be certain, that wild mammals' biomass has shrunken considerably, but I wonder what the comparison would look like if we compared the weight of today's humans, and domestic critters to, the wild mammals, say, every 1000 years since the the last glacial period? I wonder if such estimates exist? (This is basically be grasping for something that says "it's not as bad a it looks").

Tip: that graphic comes from XKCD, a very nerdy web comic you should read if you're into very nerdy things. The comic is often half the story, and the author embeds a punchline in the title text of the image, which you see if you hover over it on the actual XKCD website. Here's the title text from that image.

Bacteria still outweigh us thousands to one--and that's not even counting the several pounds of them in your body.

 

[sapperJ24]

That is staggering, but I would like to see and how it's changed over time. (And also see non-mammals).

The ratio of humans, domestic mammals to wildlife is truly hard to comprehend. We can all be certain, that wild mammals' biomass has shrunken considerably, but I wonder what the comparison would look like if we compared the weight of today's humans, and domestic critters to, the wild mammals, say, every 1000 years since the the last glacial period? I wonder if such estimates exist? (This is basically be grasping for something that says "it's not as bad a it looks").

Tip: that graphic comes from XKCD, a very nerdy web comic you should read if you're into very nerdy things. The comic is often half the story, and the author embeds a punchline in the title text of the image, which you see if you hover over it on the actual XKCD website. Here's the title text from that image.

Here's one example of all life. Two types of worms outweigh humans.


Another representation is at the following link, some pretty interesting numbers here: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/08/total-biomass-weight-species-earth

 

[BigHornRam]

It was an ice covered road day this AM. I use them as a drifting course on days like this

"I wasn't trying to wreak the old boomer officer. I was just trying to rattle his cage."

 

[Dave N]

It was an ice covered road day this AM. I use them as a drifting course on days like this

Hard to do with a front wheel drive car.

 

[Irrelevant]

Pretty shocking strategies.

 

[OntarioHunter]

It was an ice covered road day this AM. I use them as a drifting course on days like this

Yeah. What's the story about the two roundabouts put on Hwy 2 through Poplar? Totally STUPID! Like traffic is so heavy in that little burg cars can't get on the highway? Pffft! Appears to me the Indians wanted some place to stick Native artwork. Make a statement and wreck cars. Snow plows must enjoy those things. The one on the other end of Browning makes a bit more sense as that intersection was always a mess. The current roundabout-itis in Montana highway dept is out of hand. More evidence of foreign influence ... then there's road salt.

 

[Irrelevant]

Solutions - Population Matters

Although population growth has skyrocketed, it can be slowed and reversed through actions which enhance global justice and improve lives.

populationmatters.org

 

[Hunting Wife]

Yeah. What's the story about the two roundabouts put on Hwy 2 through Poplar? Totally STUPID!

Well, Montana Department of Transportation initiated that project due to the number of accidents occurring there.

Appears to me the Indians wanted some place to stick Native artwork.

Do you even hear the disparaging racist shit that comes out of your mouth sometimes?

 

[elkduds]

Solutions - Population Matters

Although population growth has skyrocketed, it can be slowed and reversed through actions which enhance global justice and improve lives.

populationmatters.org

View attachment 254173

Wondering what variables they considered. A population stabilized @ far beyond carrying capacity, no bueno.

Remember this political suicide from 1984?

https://www.nytimes.com/1984/03/29/us/gov-lamm-asserts-elderly-if-very-ill-have-duty-to-die.html

 

[Irrelevant]

Wondering what variables they considered. A population stabilized @ far beyond carrying capacity, no bueno.

Remember this political suicide from 1984?

https://www.nytimes.com/1984/03/29/us/gov-lamm-asserts-elderly-if-very-ill-have-duty-to-die.html

Sounds rather Orwellian.

 

[JMG]

The human race is a cancer on this planet. Every time humans get involved, whether it be with good intentions ... "we" screw it up.

 

[DouglasR]

God damn guys, it’s not that bad.

 

[OntarioHunter]

Well, Montana Department of Transportation initiated that project due to the number of accidents occurring there.



Do you even hear the disparaging racist shibly t that comes out of your mouth sometimes?

Oh come on! Drive through those "intersections" in Poplar. You can look down the streets, if you want to call them streets, and see the prairie at the end. What's the population of Poplar? 1,500 at most I'm guessing. How many accidents could there possibly be in a town that size. It's not like these two roundabouts are for major highways intersecting Hwy 2 (which is sort of the case in Browning). It's just two barely used streets intersecting the highway. How many other much busier towns on the Hi Line have even ONE roundabout in the middle of Hwy 2? Cleveland Road from the Missouri ferry intersects Hwy 2 at Chinook and there's no roundabout even though a massive highway widening project was just finished there. That intersection is very busy. I know because my trailer is always set up right next to it. As you well know, Hwy 2 is not hard to get across anywhere on the Hi Line except maybe Havre (where there's at least five stoplights to assist). So you tell me why those art projects/roundabouts are thrown in the middle of the road for no sensible reason? And the fancy college campus that never has any cars parked in the lot?

Racism is a two way street. Throwing taxpayer money at native tribes for useless projects simply because they are native tribes is racist. There is NO logical reason for constructing even ONE of those stupid roundabouts in that little town. Except for the one now in Browning, which slightly makes sense, there's not another roundabout on Hwy 2 until you get to the courthouse in Kalispell (not a true roundabout and probably been there since the 1930s). Columbia Falls has Hwy 2 running through its gut and not one roundabout. Shall we count all the little towns on Hwy 2 between C Falls and Williston. Scores of them. How many have a roundabout in the highway? Zero. Why? Hmmm.

 

[Hunting Wife]

Oh come on! Drive through those "intersections" in Poplar. You can look down the streets, if you want to call them streets, and see the prairie at the end. What's the population of Poplar? 1,500 at most I'm guessing. How many accidents could there possibly be in a town that size. It's not like these two roundabouts are for major highways intersecting Hwy 2 (which is sort of the case in Browning). It's just two barely used streets intersecting the highway. How many other much busier towns on the Hi Line have even ONE roundabout in the middle of Hwy 2? Cleveland Road from the Missouri ferry intersects Hwy 2 at Chinook and there's no roundabout even though a massive highway widening project was just finished there. That intersection is very busy. I know because my trailer is always set up right next to it. As you well know, Hwy 2 is not hard to get across anywhere on the Hi Line except maybe Havre (where there's at least five stoplights to assist). So you tell me why those art projects/roundabouts are thrown in the middle of the road for no sensible reason? And the fancy college campus that never has any cars parked in the lot?

Racism is a two way street. Throwing taxpayer money at native tribes for useless projects simply because they are native tribes is racist. There is NO logical reason for constructing even ONE of those stupid roundabouts in that little town. Except for the one now in Browning, which slightly makes sense, there's not another roundabout on Hwy 2 until you get to the courthouse in Kalispell (not a true roundabout and probably been there since the 1930s). Columbia Falls has Hwy 2 running through its gut and not one roundabout. Shall we count all the little towns on Hwy 2 between C Falls and Williston. Scores of them. How many have a roundabout in the highway? Zero. Why? Hmmm.

There is no amount of justification that makes your repeated racist comments on this forum ok.

 

[BigHornRam]

The human race is a cancer on this planet. Every time humans get involved, whether it be with good intentions ... "we" screw it up.

Not a cancer, just a surface nuisance.

 

[BrentD]

God damn guys, it’s not that bad.

Actually, it is quite a bit worse.

 

[Dave N]

Oh come on! Drive through those "intersections" in Poplar. You can look down the streets, if you want to call them streets, and see the prairie at the end. What's the population of Poplar? 1,500 at most I'm guessing. How many accidents could there possibly be in a town that size. It's not like these two roundabouts are for major highways intersecting Hwy 2 (which is sort of the case in Browning). It's just two barely used streets intersecting the highway. How many other much busier towns on the Hi Line have even ONE roundabout in the middle of Hwy 2? Cleveland Road from the Missouri ferry intersects Hwy 2 at Chinook and there's no roundabout even though a massive highway widening project was just finished there. That intersection is very busy. I know because my trailer is always set up right next to it. As you well know, Hwy 2 is not hard to get across anywhere on the Hi Line except maybe Havre (where there's at least five stoplights to assist). So you tell me why those art projects/roundabouts are thrown in the middle of the road for no sensible reason? And the fancy college campus that never has any cars parked in the lot?

Racism is a two way street. Throwing taxpayer money at native tribes for useless projects simply because they are native tribes is racist. There is NO logical reason for constructing even ONE of those stupid roundabouts in that little town. Except for the one now in Browning, which slightly makes sense, there's not another roundabout on Hwy 2 until you get to the courthouse in Kalispell (not a true roundabout and probably been there since the 1930s). Columbia Falls has Hwy 2 running through its gut and not one roundabout. Shall we count all the little towns on Hwy 2 between C Falls and Williston. Scores of them. How many have a roundabout in the highway? Zero. Why? Hmmm.

Don't you have a plate somewhere to go crap on?

 

[nastynate]

Ahhh, enough of that. I don't think anyone wants a popululation dynamics lecture and I don't have enough beer for one anyway.

I vote you run to the beer store, come back, and give us the population dynamics lecture. We ALL want that.

 

[BrentD]

I vote you run to the beer store, come back, and give us the population dynamics lecture.

Naw, You of all people have already heard it but you weren't paying attention.

 

[nastynate]

Naw, You of all people have already heard it but you weren't paying attention.

I probably would have been if you'd have had pile of beers first! Imagine the entertainment....