End of the World is Near

[Tigerman]

Well, OK, the end is about 7.5 billion years away… but that’s pretty near in terms of eternity. A couple of scientists at some school in Washington have written a new book about our dying planet. A review states:

In its 4.5 billion years, Earth has evolved from its hot, violent birth to the celebrated watery blue planet that stands out in pictures from space. But in a new book, two noted University of Washington astrobiologists say the planet already has begun the long process of devolving into a burned-out cinder, eventually to be swallowed by the sun.

“Astrobiologists”… how cool is that for a job title?

By their reckoning, Earth’s ‘‘day in the sun’’ has reached 4:30 a.m., corresponding to its 4.5 billion-year age. By 5 a.m., the 1 billion-year reign of animals and plants will come to an end. At 8 a.m. the oceans will vaporize. At noon - after 12 billion years - the ever-expanding sun, transformed into a red giant, will engulf the planet, melting away any evidence it ever existed and sending molecules and atoms that once were Earth floating off into space.

Some would tell me not to worry… that 7,500,000,000 years is a long way off… but the idea that this planet will someday be gone is, I think, still somewhat discomforting.

If the planet was cooling, we could, in principle, begin painting the surface black to collect more heat. Could we afford it? And what would be the many possible ramifications of a planet suddenly covered in black paint? Any planetary remediation project would always run the risk of making things worse.’

“Planetary Remediation”… that’s a catchy phrase!

Read for yourself at http:

//boston.com/dailynews/013/ascribe/_End_of_World_Has_Already_Begu%3A.shtml

[_monkey]

So couple of students in Washington are telling us what we already know. I don’t get it. What’s the book called … “Solar system evolution for dummies”? Non-news and a non-post if I ever saw one.

[sandman]

Damn! And I just bought a bumper pack of guitar strings! All that money! Wasted!

[Tigerman]

Non-news and a non-post if I ever saw one.

Sorry monkey. From now on I’ll try to post only messages that are as high in quality as all of your posts.

[formosa]

Tigerman: just logging on after a long day at the “office.” And I found your post very interesting! I had heard about this news in the China Post a few days ago, or maybe it was an internet story, but your outlining of the time table, 4 am 5 am, 12 noon, that brought it all home much better. Thanks for the post.

The fact the this Earth has had its day in the sun, so to speak, and that we are now on a downward spiral, is good reason to enjoy each day to the fullest even more, get more drunk, fuck more beautiful women, eat more glorious dinners and worry less about things that don’t matter so much, like making heaps of money or rising to the top of my field. Of course, it would help if I had a “field”. Sigh.

Anyway, keep posting these kinds of things. They make the forum more interesting. There’s room for everyone, I think. That is, until we all vaporize. Maybe after World War III, of which we are on the brink of… BURP!

[_monkey]

You needen’t go that far, Tigerman. Just don’t tell us that the earth is round … that will disturb some of us folks who are set in our ways.

[Big_Fluffy_Matthew]

Damn! And I just bought a bumper pack of guitar strings! All that money! Wasted!

if you play the guitar as well as you dance, I think they were a waste whether the world ended or not. If it did, it would be a relief

[Acintyabedhabedhanan]

SCIENTISTS: EARTH DOOMED

Hmm, just thinking out loud…

As an astro-archaeologist, I can assure you that the aliens who built the pyramids will be here to rescue us, just like they did the Atlanteans.

I LIKE ICKE!

[Mr_He]

Well, if your house is about to fall off a cliff, you just move somewhere else. At least we have ample time to prepare. If we assume that the present human invention/development rate continues for another few centuries, we’ll be able to figure out something at the time the house tips over. After all, we have 7.500.000.000 years to do it in. (or was it 1.000.000.000)?

[kingjk1]

I think it was just 500,00,000, barely enough time to get my next order of books from Amazon. And I’m curious what the ‘scientists’ think will take over after plants die out, because then even insects won’t survive, or at least that’s what I remember from my high school biology (regular, not astro-) classes.