Quote:
Originally Posted by Ladogaboy
I'm sorry, but this is a very ignorant and narrow-minded viewpoint. It is also just as arrogant as the belief that humans are somehow above and better than their counterparts in ecosystem.
We aren't the only species to cause extinctions. We aren't the only species to radically change the environment. We aren't the only species to enforce selective breeding on other species. We aren't the only species to "pollute." And, despite popular belief, we would be hard pressed to actually destroy life on Earth. Life as we know it, sure, but life, never.
The fact is, our ability to manipulate our environment as well as we do (our hands) is an EVOLVED trait. As is our ability to plan ahead; think of contingencies; create machinery more able than our bodies; imagine a world as it might exist; work cooperatively in order to maximize effect. Some might even argue that our brains/intelligence are the greatest evolved trait that we have.
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I find I fall somewhere in the middle, between extreme environmentalists and those who feel we're not a threat.
It's true that we're not nearly the most damaging species in the history of the earth (read about the Permian–Triassic extinction event), and the climate has always been changing. I'm not concerned that we'll destroy life on earth, but I
am concerned that we may make the earth rather inhospitable for ourselves.
I don't pretend to know what our long-term effects will be on the climate, but I'm absolutely certain we should be concerned with it.