Xref: utzoo sci.bio:893 sci.research:329
Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!bellcore!faline!ulysses!sfmag!sfsup!glg
From: glg@sfsup.UUCP (G.Gleason)
Newsgroups: sci.bio,sci.research
Subject: Re: Thoughts on Life, Plate Tectonics and the Greenhouse Effect
Message-ID: <2752@sfsup.UUCP>
Date: 4 Feb 88 23:29:43 GMT
References: <952@tahoe.unr.edu>
Reply-To: glg@/guest4/glgUUCP (xt1112-G.Gleason)
Organization: AT&T Information Systems
Lines: 46

In article <952@tahoe.unr.edu> malc@tahoe.UUCP writes:
	[ stuff deleted about plate-techtonics, climate shifs, C02, etc.]
>The re-appearance of a long-ago postponed oceanic evaporation, perhaps?

>Damned scary, to think that man and his works might be capable not only of
>poisoning the Earth's atmosphere and oceans, but ultimately of turning the
>Earth into a corrosive, geologically dead hellhole like Venus.

>Brrrrrrrr.

A scary thought indeed!  You may get some replies that you are jumping to
conclusions, and probably do not have much hard evidence for a coming
catastrophy, but that is not the important point.  The truth is that we are
not able to understand the complex inter-relationships that keep the
environment of our space-ship stable enough for the wheels of life to keep
turning.  You mention one definitly measurable global change that is a
result of industrialization (as known so far).  It is possible that this
particular change can be coped with, but what other unseen long-term effects
are occuring.  It is in fact possible that the earth as a whole has already
been killed.  That is, that there is some effect not yet measured or understood
which has the long term effect of a life-less planet.  Maybe a number of effects
coming together.

Life, it seems, is some sort of happy accident, and as Keynes said "In the
long-run, we're all dead."  On the other hand, don't we have an obligation
to use our best energies, to try to understand our environment well enough
that we don't destroy it?  Yes, in the long view, change is the only constant,
and it is clear that life does cause long-term environment changes, and our
current civilization may be no different.  Is there more reason to fear the
death of our species than death of our selves, or death of the planet?

I don't pretend to know the answers to these questions, but isn't it time we
stopped being so blind about it?  I cannot help thinking that our planet and
its inhabitents are at a crossroad, that this is a unique historical time
when the planet is rapidly changing.  Just for mental excercise try imagining
the world in 1000 years, 1,000,000 years.  There are just too many processes
going on that are not sustainable, for it too look anything like today.  Your
example of the increase of CO2 from burning hydrocarbons, is just one.  Maybe
we are helpless to control these processes, but if we do not at least try to
understand what is happening we do not have a chance to control them.

Evolution has proceeded blindly for billions of years, should we let it
continue on its blind search?  Should we get involved in the process?  Can
we help getting involved?  I don't know.

Gerry Gleason