Endangered Species Slaughterhouse, and Man as an Extinction Event

[Lorenzoid]

In recent years I have become more conscious of the sustainability of the seafood I eat, but I don't think it has anything to do with being involved in diving. It's not like I've seen bluefin tuna on a dive. I try to eat lower on the food chain, but I don't knock myself out.

As I see it, all we can do is slow the pace of the decline of other species, not stop it. I believe man will eventually and inevitably consume most of Earth's resources. Sea life will be one of the first things to be depleted. There is nothing we can do short of somehow limiting the out of control growth of the human species. Glad I will be long gone by Soylent Green time.

 

[Bopper]

99.9 percent of all species that ever existed are extinct 99.9 percent of those were not affected by mankind

By this logic we could make every living species except our own extinct over night and then just justify it by saying that humans "only killed 0.1% of all species". It's all in the way you spin it, right?

 

[oldschoolto]

By this logic we could make every living species except our own extinct over night and then just justify it by saying that humans "only killed 0.1% of all species". It's all in the way you spin it, right?

The 99% were gone long before we came along...

jim...

 

[Lorenzoid]

I like the latest line of reasoning in this thread. Whether it's homo sapiens devouring other species or an asteroid that wipes most of Earth's species out as has apparently happened now and then in Earth's history, life on Earth will inevitably continue to undergo severe changes. The Anthropocene epoch, if you want to call it that, will last some finite amount of time, just as all previous epochs have, and when it's over it will be over. Eat up.

 

[victorzamora]

....and occassionally wear split-fins.......

YOU MONSTER!!!!

Jokes aside, I saw that the other day and am really horrified. I'll still eat meat, wear leather, etc....but the completely unsustainable rate at which they're destroying the Ocean's apex predators is really horrifying. I can't believe they purposefully kill ONE whale shark a year, much less >600.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I never considered myself much of an activist of any kind. As a kid I hunted, fished, and rode dirt bikes tearing up the land. Once I became a diver my whole attitude and outlook on life in general changed. It continues to change, at times to my own astonishment. When I got together with my late wife who was in a wheelchair and we began to travel to dive I became acutely aware of the difficulties physically challenged people have. And got down right radical about it. To the point where I went off on some girl using the handicapped stall in the restroom that my wife had to use. The inconsiderate piece of trash was using it as a changing room.
I started to adopt cats from the animal shelter and even took in a feral that is sitting on my lap now. I could, without a second thought, get medieval on someone who would harm a cat or dog. Michael Vick should have been executed.
Recently (last two years or so) I got really caught up the Sea Shepard movement. Then I saw Blackfish and that just cemented it for me. Last night I sent an email to the Danish Ambassador regarding the barbarism in the Faroe Islands by drunken wannabe Vikings.
Today I made a couple of decent sales. Going to spend some of the profit on supporting Sea Shepard and will continue to email the Japanese Embassy, the Danish Embassy, and the scumbags at SeaWorld. So yeah, diving has had a serious effect on my outlook and awareness of conservation as well as just plain injustice in the world when it comes to the planet we have to live on.

 

[Vegan Shark]

I like the latest line of reasoning in this thread. Whether it's homo sapiens devouring other species or an asteroid that wipes most of Earth's species out as has apparently happened now and then in Earth's history, life on Earth will inevitably continue to undergo severe changes. The Anthropocene epoch, if you want to call it that, will last some finite amount of time, just as all previous epochs have, and when it's over it will be over. Eat up.

The problem is with comparing this to the previous extinction events and changes in biodiversity, which happened naturally, and over a different time frame. No one is questioning that the Earth will keep on spinning even if we drive hundreds of thousands of species into extinction. The question is of preserving this beautiful planet, so that future generations don't only get to experience these beauties and wonders as relics in a museum. If I grew up as a future generation, I would certainly look back on horror at my ancestors who let the world turn into a ball of dust because of rampant apathy. Just as we look back at the actions of our recent ancestors and ask ourselves how they normalized slavery, genocide, and other atrocities we now condemn.

When do you think the Anthropocene will come to an end? Decades? Centuries? Thousands of years from now, or even millions? Humans are so widespread, and capable of adapting to so many environments, that short of an apocalyptic event it's hard to imagine our species going extinct. So long as we're around, and our disregard for other species and environments goes unchanged, I see things only growing worse rather than running their course and then improving.

 

[Lorenzoid]

The problem is with comparing this to the previous extinction events and changes in biodiversity, which happened naturally, and over a different time frame. No one is questioning that the Earth will keep on spinning even if we drive hundreds of thousands of species into extinction. The question is of preserving this beautiful planet, so that future generations don't only get to experience these beauties and wonders as relics in a museum. If I grew up as a future generation, I would certainly look back on horror at my ancestors who let the world turn into a ball of dust because of rampant apathy. Just as we look back at the actions of our recent ancestors and ask ourselves how they normalized slavery, genocide, and other atrocities we now condemn.

When do you think the Anthropocene will come to an end? Decades? Centuries? Thousands of years from now, or even millions? Humans are so widespread, and capable of adapting to so many environments, that short of an apocalyptic event it's hard to imagine our species going extinct. So long as we're around, and our disregard for other species and environments goes unchanged, I see things only growing worse rather than running their course and then improving.

"Future generations" are just a tiny tick on the geological timeline. I believe our species will eventually go extinct, and that it's arrogant to think we are different from the animals that preceded us. I just don't think our enlarged craniums are going to be able to solve all of the problems that will face us. It might be an apocalyptic event, or it might happen more slowly. Could be a few centuries, or it could be thousands of years. If something occurs that reduces the human population, like some sort of pandemic or asteroid impact or ice age or whatever, then it might even prevent humans from depleting the Earth's resources. But eventually SOMETHING will kill us off.

I don't disagree that it's useful to do what we can to slow the depletion of Earth's resources. I try to. I even support some degree of activism. I enjoy my life on Earth, and it's nice to think that future generations might enjoy it for a while. But I do not think humankind will last forever, no matter what we do.

---------- Post added January 29th, 2014 at 06:43 PM ----------

And to bring it back on topic, no, my opinions haven't changed since I started diving.

 

[ermaclob]

When do you think the Anthropocene will come to an end? Decades? Centuries? Thousands of years from now, or even millions? Humans are so widespread, and capable of adapting to so many environments, that short of an apocalyptic event it's hard to imagine our species going extinct. So long as we're around, and our disregard for other species and environments goes unchanged, I see things only growing worse rather than running their course and then improving.

Its completely posible for human s to go extinct, we are actually facilitating the out come as we speak.

This is how i see it, humans will continue to do as we please taking what we want not caring about the consequences. Thats just how we are, even the biggest of activists will do something or the other in this manner even if its indirect. Year after year, decade by decade more and more species of organisms will go extinct creating great imbalances in ecological systems on both a local scale and a larger regional to world wide scale. Sooner or later something is just going to be so out of wack the it will come knocking strait at our door step and we will no longer be able to do anything about it. Weather it be lack of food because most of it is dead or global warming or what ever. you have to look at everything we do we dont just kill animals at an alarming rate, we also pollute and damage the physical and chemical environment, weather it be by leaving a candy bar wrapper on the ground to dumping nuclear waist into the ocean, cutting down a tree to deforesting entire regions. point is we are making alot of small unnoticed problems the will eventually butterfly effect there way into very very very big problems that will come back to bite us hard. problems that no feat of engineering or science can solve in a hundred years not even if the whole world united into one big resource sharing nation.

So pretty much we will be then end of our our species.... or at least the cause of a very big population die out. The real problem from a biological stand point is the there are simply to many people :/ remove maybe 3/4 of worlds population and then we might be talking a viable solution. Thats what nature is going to do to try and fix the problem.

know we cant just go around killing people so i rather let nature do it, ima just keep living my life as i want

out come is the same at the end

 

[oldschoolto]

When one species goes... Another comes along to fill the niche.... Man has a very small time frame to work from... when you tell someone that it's 65,000 light years to the center of the milky way from earth, they look dumb struck... How can you " THINK " you know what we are doing to the planet ? What is normal for the earth ? It's gone from a hell hole of heat and sulfur in the air that would kill all carbon based life to a giant ice ball covered 1000's of feet deep.... Every were we look we find life.... From hot springs to deep sea vents and even under/ in the arctic ice ...

We just happen to be the major player right now.... Our time will come to give up that spot.... And we have " NOTHING " to say about it...

Jim...