The Wow I Can't Believe That News Story Thread

[OccultHawk]

That kind of reference to one’s education reminds me of Ben Carson who earned his MD and became a neurosurgeon all while being retarded. Ben Carson doesn’t believe in evolution. Evolution is the backbone of biology. It’s literally impossible to understand biology without evolution. By the same token, it’s impossible to understand ecosystems without a clear understanding of the devastation caused by human overpopulation. I don’t give a **** what degrees you have, it’s an indefensible position and if you can’t see that you’re retarded. Literally retarded in the sense that you’re intellectually stunted. It’s that clear.

[Trollheart]

Originally Posted by Lisnaholic

From Anteater's article:-


^ It's very misleading to quote fertility rates without mentioning a couple of caveats that invalidate the conclusion the writer is trying to draw:-

Caveat #1: the fertility rate may be decreasing, but as the infant mortality rate is also decreasing, this reduces the significance of the reduction in fertility.

Caveat #2: (Using the figures in Anteater's article and reading off my graph):
If, in 1 A.D., 0.5 billion people had 6 children each = 3 billion new babies
If in 2018, 7.5 billion people have 2.5 babies each = 18.75 billion new babies.

Of course those birth totals aren't real statistics: I've made no adjustment for the number of fertile women per capita because I didn't want to get bogged down in math, but the trend of the figures is clear enough, I think.



^ Aside from the patronising tone of the phrase, "a little thing called history", the writer compounds his inability to understand the significance of fertility rates for an expanding population and goes on to make a completely unfounded statement, "population sizes will level off fairly soon." Again, refering to my graph, the only significant "levelling off" ever was at the time of the Black Death, when the world pop briefly went down.

Sorry, Anteater. I find your article very unconvincing but I'm too tired to refute its other points right now.

I wonder about those statistics. I have yet to meet point five of a child.

[Lisnaholic]

Originally Posted by Trollheart

I wonder about those statistics. I have yet to meet point five of a child.

King Solomon demonstrates one traditional technique:-

[Trollheart]

Originally Posted by Lisnaholic

King Solomon demonstrates one traditional technique:-

Yeah. You're not going to tell me he was so precise that he could cut a child EXACTLY in half? Now Herod's men, they had time to practice....

[DwnWthVwls]

Originally Posted by Lisnaholic

^ Surely this is not a good moment to suggest that EPAs are helping to solve the challenges of burgeoning population growth.

In the USA the EPA is being gutted by a meglomanic taking backhanders from the oil industries. They are reducing National Parks and approving oil pipelines. You mention the hardworking scientists, and I'm sure that there are many - what a pity then that in Trump's EPA they can't post their data on-line and are not even allowed to use the term "Global Warming."

I was just pointing out that OH is arguing as if we aren't doing anything to sustain ourselves and selfishly burning through all our resources. He's being hyperbolic about the destruction of the environment. I'll happily concede its an issue and this presidency is certainly not helping.

Originally Posted by OccultHawk

Invasive species are transported by people.

Less people less invasive species

Plus that’s a stupid bait and switch

People rely on agriculture

Agriculture is monoculture

Monoculture is death

Congrats on more bad assertions. Like I said, go read and look into "natural colonization".

Natural colonization and adaptation of a mosquito species in Galápagos and its implications for disease threats to endemic wildlife | PNAS

Here's a taste of why you should just stop while you're ahead:

Endemic species on isolated oceanic islands, such as the Galápagos, are particularly at risk in the face of introduced pathogens and disease vectors. The black salt-marsh mosquito (Aedes taeniorhynchus) is the only mosquito widely distributed across the Galápagos Archipelago. Here we show that this mosquito naturally colonized the Galápagos before the arrival of man, and since then it has evolved to represent a distinct evolutionary unit and has adapted to habitats unusual for its coastal progenitor.

Also, why are you equating ag to monoculture when it's not a permanent environment? Yes, they are monocultures in the sense that it's all the same crop in the field at a given time, but that's typically only the case for a single season, which doesn't have the same impact as a permanent monoculture ecosystem. Are you going to ignore the advances in ag practice, such as crop rotation and tilling methods, that work towards increasing sustainability? The instant you stop farming most land, that uses ag practices aimed at prereserving top soil and it's health, you will have early successional species growing.

It's funny. You seem to think their wouldn't be chaos in the environment if humans didnt exist.

[OccultHawk]

Invasive species is a man made phenomenon

I can find ten examples of people transporting the organisms for every one that found their way by themselves

the Galápagos? damn son that’s desperate grasp

Species after species from the Galápagos are endangered

Not because of ****ing mosquitos but because of people

land used for agricultural is by definition not properly diversified

farmers who grow lettuce only want lettuce

everything else that does not help lettuce grow is killed

that destroys the ecosystem

as we suck up every inch of arable land on this planet

every expanse of farmland that you see comes at the expense of biodiversity that we must have to survive

less people = less people to feed = more biodiversity

[OccultHawk]

It's funny. You seem to think their wouldn't be chaos in the environment if humans didnt exist.

ffs

no bait and switch

I understand that the wild is wild

You refuse to accept that the cultivated is no longer wild despite incredible in your face evidence to the contrary

You can’t science your way out of this **** either

[DwnWthVwls]

I fully accept that cultivated isn't wild.. doesn't mean it's bad. Appealing to nature isn't an I win button.

Edit: OH = Elph, look at these responses. single sentences lacking grammar with spaces in between. classic hajahaja

[OccultHawk]

OH = Elph

He probably won’t appreciate that but I’ll take it.

Dude, I admire you trying to defend the indefensible but I know you know I’m right.

[Trollheart]

Originally Posted by OccultHawk

He probably won’t appreciate that but I’ll take it.

Dude, I admire you trying to defend the indefensible but I know you know I’m right.

Congrats on passing eight thousand posts, dude!