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> Lastly, the camaraderie amongst the colonies of parakeets themselves positioned them as easy targets for hunters. When a bird was wounded, the accompanying p

> Lastly, the camaraderie amongst the colonies of parakeets themselves positioned them as easy targets for hunters. When a bird was wounded, the accompanying parakeets would swarm around it in sympathy, thus leaving themselves vulnerable to the aggressor. > This bird was the last flightless bird native to North America and possess –to its detriment– a friendly demeanor that allowed humans to approach and capture it with little resistance. Humans are dicks.

melling 3y ago
We also aren’t very intelligent. Consider climate change for example. It’s a slow moving train wreck over a couple of centuries. Yet, we are still approaching peak fossil fuels with the goal of going net zero by 2050. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/world-oil-gas-coal-demand-peak-by-2030-iea-says-2023-10-24/ https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/world-oil-gas-coal-d... Clearly, that’s not going to happen.
- jhedwards 3y ago
  I don't necessarily agree with this sentiment. Scientists have been aware of climate change for over 100 years, and we have developed a pretty deep understanding of the mechanisms at play and the factors affecting the climate. In addition, we've developed an understanding of the historical climate which is surprisingly detailed considering the nature of the evidence. I think this shows that we are very intelligent. In addition to being intelligent, however, as a species we are governed by power structures that are slow-moving and hard to change. In general that's probably a good thing, but when technology affects the world in ways that are extraordinarily rapid from the pov of a geological timescale, we find ourselves without any reasonable mechanism on hand to rapidly undo that damage. I think it's actually kind of frightening to imagine the kind of power that would be needed to make the large-scale changes to society and infrastructure necessary to reverse climate change! That being said, as one would expect given our slow moving power structures, I think we are making slow changes. They may not be enough, but I am confident that in 100 years or so civilizations across the globe will reflect a much more climate-conscious approach to technology and infrastructure. And actually, if you look at it from a geological timescale, that is indeed a rapid change.
  - MarkMarine 3y ago
    The downside being 4 billion people will starve in that 100 years… to say little about the multitude of species that will be extinct at the end of that. How do you read this article and come with this take?
    - jhedwards 3y ago
      Humans are just another animal and we behave as such. The fact that, as an animal, we have comprehensively analyzed our own destructive forces and developed technologies to mitigate them, I find that really incredible.
mymythisisthis 3y ago
He really are.
MarkMarine 3y ago
We sure are. Penguins also had a similar friendly demeanor toward humans, so, spoiler alert when we found a thriving flock of them on an island… someone decided killing them and boiling them for oil on an industrial scale was the correct thing to do with the ecosystem. Dollop episode about this: https://youtu.be/w8pHcy5nG_8?si=cWGDeNknauVyYe6N https://youtu.be/w8pHcy5nG_8?si=cWGDeNknauVyYe6N

melling 3y ago

We also aren’t very intelligent. Consider climate change for example. It’s a slow moving train wreck over a couple of centuries. Yet, we are still approaching peak fossil fuels with the goal of going net zero by 2050. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/world-oil-gas-coal-demand-peak-by-2030-iea-says-2023-10-24/ https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/world-oil-gas-coal-d... Clearly, that’s not going to happen.

jhedwards 3y ago
I don't necessarily agree with this sentiment. Scientists have been aware of climate change for over 100 years, and we have developed a pretty deep understanding of the mechanisms at play and the factors affecting the climate. In addition, we've developed an understanding of the historical climate which is surprisingly detailed considering the nature of the evidence. I think this shows that we are very intelligent. In addition to being intelligent, however, as a species we are governed by power structures that are slow-moving and hard to change. In general that's probably a good thing, but when technology affects the world in ways that are extraordinarily rapid from the pov of a geological timescale, we find ourselves without any reasonable mechanism on hand to rapidly undo that damage. I think it's actually kind of frightening to imagine the kind of power that would be needed to make the large-scale changes to society and infrastructure necessary to reverse climate change! That being said, as one would expect given our slow moving power structures, I think we are making slow changes. They may not be enough, but I am confident that in 100 years or so civilizations across the globe will reflect a much more climate-conscious approach to technology and infrastructure. And actually, if you look at it from a geological timescale, that is indeed a rapid change.
- MarkMarine 3y ago
  The downside being 4 billion people will starve in that 100 years… to say little about the multitude of species that will be extinct at the end of that. How do you read this article and come with this take?
  - jhedwards 3y ago
    Humans are just another animal and we behave as such. The fact that, as an animal, we have comprehensively analyzed our own destructive forces and developed technologies to mitigate them, I find that really incredible.

mymythisisthis 3y ago

He really are.

MarkMarine 3y ago

We sure are. Penguins also had a similar friendly demeanor toward humans, so, spoiler alert when we found a thriving flock of them on an island… someone decided killing them and boiling them for oil on an industrial scale was the correct thing to do with the ecosystem. Dollop episode about this: https://youtu.be/w8pHcy5nG_8?si=cWGDeNknauVyYe6N https://youtu.be/w8pHcy5nG_8?si=cWGDeNknauVyYe6N