"Rick Onanian" wrote in message
news
On Fri, 01 Aug 2003 22:04:46 GMT, ride your bike
wrote:
engine based transport. You also seem to be completely unaware of the
way your use of motor vehicles DIRECTLY affects each and everyone
around you including me. You also seem to be completely unaware of
the world you are leaving behind for your children.

My children will inherit a world that's fundamentally the same, but
with less oil available to them.


Within this last hundred years we have already seen an unprecedented human
caused extinction of more than 25,000 species.


As far as emissions are concerned, humans who think that we have a
major effect are so full of themselves. Natural occurances, such as
the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo (more widely known for it's temporary
cooling effect caused by ash and dust in the air), have spewed
forth more greenhouse gases than mankind has ever caused.

These occurances have been hypothisized to be the source for mass species
extinction, however they generally do not occur very often. Also the earth
has no history of weathering those events in combination with the mass of
toxins humans are releasing into the environment. Besides, where is the
intelligence in destroying yourself with the rational that nature might do
it anyway. That's like a cigarette smoker saying you could get lung cancer
even if you didn't smoke.



Additionally, Mt. Pinatubo's eruption resulted in "Unprecedented size
of 1993 Antarctic ozone hole by lofting ozone destroying species into
the stratosphere", according to
http://www.atmos.umd.edu/~bruce/m1239702.html
as well as rapid climate fluctuations caused by the temporary cooling
effect.

All of these things, both warming and cooling, are part of the
natural system of Earth. This planet will survive and prosper no
matter what we do to it, and it will absorb most of what we do
without becoming unbearable.

This statement does not consider the potential outcomes of nuclear war, nor
the potential for large scale disasters from genetic engineering.


The biggest problem we pose is our overpopulation, and that will
likely reach critical mass and result in major dying off sooner
or later...whether by disease or war/violence.


This planet will not support 10 billion people (what we will have in
another 20-40 years) for very long with the current rates of consumption
and pollution that we are engaged in. My wholehearted belief is that we
could engage in a lifestyle that would sustain that many people without the
need for mass war and petulance. It would of course require great
modifications to a value system that considers making a human powered
tricycle for a child look like an obnoxious combustion engine machine as
"cool".