Community Chat

[FLgardener]

I've been thinking about this for more than a few years. I have lived in Alaska and in the 60s I witnessed glaciers shearing off into the ocean.

I have now lived in central FL for 45 years and have witnessed and survived catastrophic hurricane activity, as well as droughts.

I acknowledge that we need to take of our earth, but I have some questions about how much of our current calamaties are directly caused by human activity and/or preventable by human activity.

Could this be evolution? We want to save ourselves and all of the species of nature, but, is this inevitable evolution at work?

[CrazyDaisy]

Depends on who you ask.

[Preds]

DH and I have discussed this for years and believe it is ... and that what we are doing is making it "move" faster or "hit" harder.  

We do need to do some things, but I think it will continue and all we can do is try to do better and hope it slows the progression. 

"We are paving paradise to put up a parking lot. "

[Snowpuppy]

Well, Glacier Nat'l Park started removing signs that were posted 10+ yrs ago that the glaciers would be gone by 2020. They're not.

I guess it was a hurry up, visit and spend your cash before they're gone campaign. 

[FLgardener]

@Preds --

Yes, that is very plausible. For example, most of us have seen the flotillas of indestructible plastic waste that washes up on the shores of islands and lands, and yet, the earth is a living, heaving mass that is responding to internal and planetary forces that are beyond our abilities to control.

[FLgardener]

@Snowpuppy --

Yeah, copy that. Glaciers do what glaciers are supposed to do--slide off into the sea and then replenish themselves. I remember when we were bombarded with videos of polar bears stranded on ice floes. Now, that has been debunked by the knowledge that polar bears are excellent swimmers. 

[SilleeMee]

An anthropology professor I took a class from said, in so many words, that the human race is like a cancerous tumor on the earth and eventually it will consume all that was ever good for this world and that there is no cure. We're doomed and evolution won't save a thing. The earth is broken and there are no spare parts to fix it.

[Alison Wonderland]

I encourage you to do some reading about Katherine Heyhoe, one of the leading climate scientists in the nation. She has a website and is reachable on most of the major social media platforms. If you reach out to her, she may even answer your questions.

[suzyQ3]

I think that using the word "evolution" here is misleading. Although it can be used to indicate change, it's far more prevalent definition is biological, generally the gradual change to a higher level.

There is not doubt whatsoever that humans have adversely affected the climate, as well as the ecosystem of plants and animals.

[kaydee50]

I find it hard to believe that with almost 8 billion???? (not sure of the exact number) people on earth, humans do not have an effect on climate.  While the climate has changed over the millennia, surely we are contributing to that change and not for the better??