fuck the future generation, as long as i get mine... am i right? /s
this post was submitted on 04 Aug 2023
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The memes of the climate
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The climate of the memes of the climate!
Planet is on fire!
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The thing is when populations are near extinction they have been at low enough levels usually to see what the effects are of their extinction for a long time. Furthermore no complains about random tiny species of bacteria going extinct even though overall bacteria are extremely vital to ecosystems
Can someone make the connection for me between mass insect die-off and civilizational collapse? Whenever I see this implied there's research cited about why we should believe insects really are in trouble, but the rest of it is always handwaved. I looked it up and it seems like a large portion of crops do not actually require insect pollination. So wouldn't that mean we would survive, albeit somewhat worse off, even if much of the ecosystem does not? Am I missing something here?
Every species is a food, resource, predator, or competitor for resources for another species, so a decline of one species can have ripple effects on many other species. I guess one example is that parasitic wasps keep caterpillars and aphid populations in check (caterpillars and aphids can cause huge crop losses).
I get that there are ripple effects, and that some of them might be unexpected, but I don't see how it could translate into an apocalyptic scenario for human agriculture. If there was somehow an increase in the population of pest species, why wouldn't variations on the techniques we already use for dealing with those (which mostly do not rely on other animals) ultimately work to handle it, at least enough to feed everyone?
Pesticides are becoming less effective; pests are becoming resistant to them resulting in reduced yields across the world. Many conventional farms are now starting to use integrated pest management which involves biological pest control (which involves using and creating habitats for beneficial organisms to control pests).
IDK, maybe civilization can figure out a way to survive during massive ecological collapses, but it would be hard, and we don't have to.
Honestly I wouldn't miss mosquitoes (at least the ones that bite humans).
Why care if humans go extinct?
Even though things seem shitty now. I think that, on average, humanity's story is one of self-improvement. This Good Place quote comes to mind:
What matters isn't if people are good or bad. What matters is if they are trying to be better today than they were yesterday.
I think humanity is trying to be better today than it was yesterday. Human history is a story of more and more types of people being given more and more rights. Of slowly putting down our rocks and spears and guns and trying to live together. Of learning to care for nature while holding the power to destroy it. We've had backslides, but overall we've come a long way from the Apes we once were.
I think humanity deserves the chance to keep trying to better itself. I hope we get to the point where we are good enough to give ourselves that chance. As another scene from Good Place put it:
Come on dummy, faster.
I unironically agree with the premise.
It gives me an idea for a didactic game.
there's a great board game around the idea of building a functioning ecosystem called Cascadia
And since its creator is a software developer, there's also a free and OpenSource online version of it.
Thank you, i will look it. Maybe could use with my students.
This is a great illustration of the problem (biosphere collapse). Not optimal, but better than the usual ones.
Definitely not optimal with what seems to be the domestic cow as one of the cards at the top.
? It's demonstrating the support of the staple foods being based on other species.
Beef is not a staple food, it's a luxury and it's destroying the climate.
One exception: wasps. Those useless stupid motherfuckers can go extinct. Fuck'em.