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This vastly underestimates human capacity to destroy earth, which is also reason why lost of people do not believe in climate change to begin with. If we go, a

This vastly underestimates human capacity to destroy earth, which is also reason why lost of people do not believe in climate change to begin with. If we go, all vertebrates go too. At least all cat and bigger sized. Life will survive, but I would not call if "fine". Is it still fine if it's only microscopic life? When it stops being fine?

throwaway9990 9y ago
Dinosaurs died off. Earth is fine. I think unless we start blowing up Earth with nuclear weapons on purpose, it will be fine. If humans are gone today, the CO2 levels will go back to normal pretty quickly with plenty of animals surviving all over the place.
- jacquesm 9y ago
  > Earth is fine But dinosaurs clearly are not. > I think unless we start blowing up Earth with nuclear weapons on purpose, it will be fine. What you think is not so important. What the worlds scientists specialising in that field think is important. If you feel that short of nuclear global destruction our impact is negligible then that contradicts just about all peer reviewed research. > If humans are gone today, the CO2 levels will go back to normal pretty quickly with plenty of animals surviving all over the place. That does not align with my understanding of the word 'fine', but seems to imply a rather apocalyptic ending for the human race, something that we might do better to avoid.
- TeMPOraL 9y ago
  The point is, nobody really gives a damn about Earth itself, and why should we? It's a rock. What we care about is us, humans. When we say "save the planet", what we mean is "save the ecosystem that's letting us live here, and enjoy that life". If we break things and die as a result, sure, something else will live. But we don't care about that something else, we care about us. It's a stupid shorthand, but for some reason people appreciate the fake humility of saying it's about Earth, not about us.
- worldsayshi 9y ago
  > Earth will be fine I'm so tired of hearing this empty phrase being used. Sure it was fun as a punchline but move along already. It's such a derailment of the discussion. It doesn't state what we mean by "earth" - is it the rock, the ecosystem, life itself? And it implies that the "earth" that is fine is the one that we actually should care about. I have no idea, because the way it's used is not really falsifiable and it's not really anything but a rhetorical trick.
  - throwaway9990 9y ago
    Not sure why you're tired of it since I haven't heard this argument used much. Regardless, when I say Earth, I mean the rock and likely ecosystems that currently exist and might develop on it. I think these things cannot be easily separated that's why Earth is used.
    - srdev 9y ago
      It’s used in nearly every climate change discussion. Its not particularly profound or thought provoking.
    - worldsayshi 9y ago
      > and likely ecosystems that currently exist Well if that's part of "Earth" then "Earth will be fine" is a lie.
- yongjik 9y ago
  "At this rate most major cities will have to be abandoned in X years." "Meh, dinosaurs have come and gone. The Earth will be fine." "...To combat this, we need budget. Starting this year, your tax will increase by five percent." "Murder! Fire! Revolution! How dare you!" ...happens all the time.
- koonsolo 9y ago
  So what if we blow up Earth? Even if we would blow up the sun, the Milky Way will be fine, and so will all other galaxies around us. No worries. ;P
- c0nducktr 9y ago
  I don't really care if the "Earth is fine" if it's uninhabitable for humans.
  - throwaway9990 9y ago
    I don't really understand this point. Humans are going to die off at some point anyway. Why does it matter if it's 3 generations from now VS 300 VS 3000? You won't be there to see it.

throwaway9990 9y ago

Dinosaurs died off. Earth is fine. I think unless we start blowing up Earth with nuclear weapons on purpose, it will be fine. If humans are gone today, the CO2 levels will go back to normal pretty quickly with plenty of animals surviving all over the place.

jacquesm 9y ago
> Earth is fine But dinosaurs clearly are not. > I think unless we start blowing up Earth with nuclear weapons on purpose, it will be fine. What you think is not so important. What the worlds scientists specialising in that field think is important. If you feel that short of nuclear global destruction our impact is negligible then that contradicts just about all peer reviewed research. > If humans are gone today, the CO2 levels will go back to normal pretty quickly with plenty of animals surviving all over the place. That does not align with my understanding of the word 'fine', but seems to imply a rather apocalyptic ending for the human race, something that we might do better to avoid.
TeMPOraL 9y ago
The point is, nobody really gives a damn about Earth itself, and why should we? It's a rock. What we care about is us, humans. When we say "save the planet", what we mean is "save the ecosystem that's letting us live here, and enjoy that life". If we break things and die as a result, sure, something else will live. But we don't care about that something else, we care about us. It's a stupid shorthand, but for some reason people appreciate the fake humility of saying it's about Earth, not about us.
worldsayshi 9y ago
> Earth will be fine I'm so tired of hearing this empty phrase being used. Sure it was fun as a punchline but move along already. It's such a derailment of the discussion. It doesn't state what we mean by "earth" - is it the rock, the ecosystem, life itself? And it implies that the "earth" that is fine is the one that we actually should care about. I have no idea, because the way it's used is not really falsifiable and it's not really anything but a rhetorical trick.
- throwaway9990 9y ago
  Not sure why you're tired of it since I haven't heard this argument used much. Regardless, when I say Earth, I mean the rock and likely ecosystems that currently exist and might develop on it. I think these things cannot be easily separated that's why Earth is used.
  - srdev 9y ago
    It’s used in nearly every climate change discussion. Its not particularly profound or thought provoking.
  - worldsayshi 9y ago
    > and likely ecosystems that currently exist Well if that's part of "Earth" then "Earth will be fine" is a lie.
yongjik 9y ago
"At this rate most major cities will have to be abandoned in X years." "Meh, dinosaurs have come and gone. The Earth will be fine." "...To combat this, we need budget. Starting this year, your tax will increase by five percent." "Murder! Fire! Revolution! How dare you!" ...happens all the time.
koonsolo 9y ago
So what if we blow up Earth? Even if we would blow up the sun, the Milky Way will be fine, and so will all other galaxies around us. No worries. ;P
c0nducktr 9y ago
I don't really care if the "Earth is fine" if it's uninhabitable for humans.
- throwaway9990 9y ago
  I don't really understand this point. Humans are going to die off at some point anyway. Why does it matter if it's 3 generations from now VS 300 VS 3000? You won't be there to see it.