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Easter Island Shows Why Humanity Will Be Extinct Within 100 Years

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posted on Mar, 1 2017 @ 05:23 PM
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Yup. Doom porn. But that's the title. Still, it's a good little article, well-worth reading. And the Easter Island analogy is pretty darn close. The piece does end on a more positive note with some optimistic advice from retired professor Stephen Boyden.


Easter Island Shows Why Humanity Will Be Extinct Within 100 Years

...Climate change, “unbridled consumption” and overpopulation have lead Prof. Frank Fenner of Australian National University, to predict that humanity will be extinct within a century. Fenner is an emeritus professor of microbiology, famous for helping rid the world of smallpox. He told The Australian in 2010 that he believes the decline of humanity is irreversible.

Fenner used the disappearance of the inhabitance of Easter Island as an example. It was sudden population growth which swallowed the resources of the island, making the civilization that formed there unsustainable. “There will be a lot more wars over food,” Fenner predicts. Water resources might become another flashpoint. China and India have already fought over disputed water rights, and lots of hotspots around the world could easily plunge into war.

Evolutionary biologist Jared Diamond had called the comparison between our global situation and Easter Island “chillingly obvious.” ...




posted on Mar, 1 2017 @ 05:28 PM
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a reply to: soficrow

I could see this being true if we (as a people) were intent on making useless statues instead investing time into science, ag, research and so fourth.



posted on Mar, 1 2017 @ 05:29 PM
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Maybe 300-500 years, but 100 years? C'mon, we all know an asteroid impact or nukes are the only things that could kill every human.

Water will always be an issue...

The future is frightening , isn't it?
edit on 3 1 2017 by JohnTheSmith because: grammar



posted on Mar, 1 2017 @ 05:32 PM
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a reply to: JohnTheSmith


...The future is frightening , isn't it?



Life is frightening - but also a good deal of great fun. Best try to enjoy the ride.





posted on Mar, 1 2017 @ 05:33 PM
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a reply to: soficrow

Poignant. I agree on all points altgough I take some issue with the cause of climate change, not so much its occurance but as to our contribution as a species.

The removal of entire ecosystems to monocrop massive tracts of land, inviting predation and inducing excess chemical mitigation, leading ultimately to the utter destruction of our topsoil...is one of our greatest contributions to our own demise.

Carbon wouldn't be an issue at all with the trees requisite to its natural sequestration. Jared Diamond should be required reading, your article is spot on in many regards imo.
edit on 1-3-2017 by BlueJacket because: sp



posted on Mar, 1 2017 @ 05:41 PM
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These predictions are always wrong, because they don't take into account future scientific discoveries. We were supposed to have run out of food and oil decades ago, but we haven't because we always find new solutions to our challenges.



posted on Mar, 1 2017 @ 05:49 PM
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originally posted by: seasonal
a reply to: soficrow

I could see this being true if we (as a people) were intent on making useless statues instead investing time into science, ag, research and so fourth.


Considering how much time we now spend playing video games or investing money in vehicles that rust out in 10 years, or houses that probably won't last 100 years, I think a statue may be a smarter investment.



posted on Mar, 1 2017 @ 05:53 PM
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Except for the glaringly obvious, they got there in a boat, they could leave in a boat. To more resource rich lands.

Just like (hey Mr smart scientist a similar analogy!) We are going to leave Earth in 'boats' and find more 'islands'

Sigh

a reply to: soficrow



posted on Mar, 1 2017 @ 06:04 PM
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a reply to: soficrow

I intend to be among the first humans living well past 100 years...

I will give this article a spin....



posted on Mar, 1 2017 @ 06:04 PM
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a reply to: ThickAsABrick

True if there were no such thing as productivity.



posted on Mar, 1 2017 @ 06:09 PM
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Stop having so damn many children. Problem solved.

Or . . .

Cannibalism. I hear long pork is good.



posted on Mar, 1 2017 @ 06:10 PM
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a reply to: soficrow

The difference being we have an abundance of food on the planet more than enough to feed the entire population. We have a distribution problem that is not the same issue that is surmised to have happened on Easter Island.



posted on Mar, 1 2017 @ 06:28 PM
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a reply to: Restricted

Differentry societies, different goals. But really, considering how many people now spend so much time on video games, where would we be now if they spent their time being creative, productive. If anything the old monuments like stonehenge or the pyramids, or the statues of Easter Island are monuments of productivity.
But I believe the thread is about population vs. local resources, so I'll not argue and derail the thread.



posted on Mar, 1 2017 @ 06:39 PM
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originally posted by: ThickAsABrick
a reply to: Restricted

Differentry societies, different goals. But really, considering how many people now spend so much time on video games, where would we be now if they spent their time being creative, productive. If anything the old monuments like stonehenge or the pyramids, or the statues of Easter Island are monuments of productivity.
But I believe the thread is about population vs. local resources, so I'll not argue and derail the thread.


The civilization that built the pyramids was exceptional. Nothing has matched it. I believe the planet would benefit greatly from our complete absence.

I will never hold it against Mother Nature if she decides enough is enough. Such a thing would be completely reasonable in view of how we have treated our only home.

We don't deserve it.



posted on Mar, 1 2017 @ 06:48 PM
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originally posted by: Restricted

I believe the planet would benefit greatly from our complete absence.



Benefit how? Seems to me the only reason planets exist are to be mediums by which intelligence is able to arise. Humans are by far the most important resource the Earth has ever produced. Without humans the Earth is just a rock with un-important sub-lifeforms roaming around. The Earth is lucky to have humans, we are what makes the Earth semi-relevant in the universe.
edit on 1-3-2017 by TruMcCarthy because: (no reason given)



posted on Mar, 1 2017 @ 06:48 PM
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originally posted by: seasonal
a reply to: soficrow

I could see this being true if we (as a people) were intent on making useless statues instead investing time into science, ag, research and so fourth.


useless statues = useless television shows, movies and other forms of entertainment, useless celebrities, useless computer games, useless toys, etc.

I'd say we have a lot more useless s*** today than the Easter Islanders ever dreamt of having or even wanted to have.



posted on Mar, 1 2017 @ 06:54 PM
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When hard times arise we excel ourselves, we are lazy and destructive, yes, but when needed we play the game which is called survivalism.



posted on Mar, 1 2017 @ 06:59 PM
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originally posted by: TruMcCarthy

originally posted by: Restricted

I believe the planet would benefit greatly from our complete absence.



Benefit how? Seems to me the only reason planets exist are to be mediums by which intelligence is able to arise. Humans are by far the most important resource the Earth has ever produced. Without humans the Earth is just a rock with un-important sub-lifeforms roaming around. The Earth is lucky to have humans, we are what makes the Earth semi-relevant in the universe.


That is a brand of arrogance I haven't seen in a long time.

You're first on the list to go.



posted on Mar, 1 2017 @ 07:23 PM
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Easter Island inhabitants didn't go extinct.

en.wikipedia.org...

The Rapa Nui are the native Polynesian inhabitants of Easter Island in the Pacific Ocean. The easternmost Polynesian culture, the Rapa Nui people currently make up 60% of Easter Island's population and have a significant portion of their population residing in mainland Chile. They speak both the traditional Rapa Nui language and the primary language of the island, Spanish.[citation needed] At the 2002 census there were 3,304 island inhabitants—almost all living in the village of Hanga Roa on the sheltered west coast.



posted on Mar, 1 2017 @ 07:29 PM
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I would love to trash this professor if I was his student. I'd hand him a book called "An Essay on the Principle of Population" written by Thomas Malthus in 1798.

I'd complain to the uni that professor is an idiot.

in 100 years there will likely be ai 10 times smarter than all of the collective intelligence of humanity



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