Is the Golden Age Over?

Off Topic Politics and World Issues
1

"You will all have read the ridiculous predictions about the world population ballooning to about 11 billion people by 2040 or so. That is not going to happen because the life support systems and resource supplies of this planet will buckle and fail long before the population can reach such horrifying levels, leading to mass famine, wars and widespread panic and desperation, and we are already seeing signs of it with rapidly rising food prices leading to social unrest and revolutions. If you thought that the last century was bad what with 2 World Wars, the Cold War and nukes being used on cities etc, wait till you see what happens during this century - which will probably end up being known as the “Century of The Cull” - compared to what is coming the last century will seem like a golden age.

From an evolutionary standpoint this is of course necessary, as the bloated human population, which is wrecking the planet, needs to be dramatically cut back into line with what is sustainable. As mankind has shown no mercy whatsoever in its ever increasing exploitation of the natural world by doing such things as chopping down the rainforests and fishing out the seas and and is bringing global ecosystems to the verge of collapse, it can likewise expect no mercy from either God or gaia.

Right now the Masters of the System, driven as ever by short-term personal gain, and unable to face the consequences of their earlier actions, are steering the world towards a hyperinflationary abyss, and unfortunately the momentum in this direction has now become unstoppable. Up until quite recently it was thought that it was primarily the US that was headed in this direction, but it would appear from their actions - and from the price of gold in their currencies - that many other nations are keen to follow the example of the US, kind of like the old Tom Lehrer song We will all go together when we go. You can tell how old this song is not just from the attire and demeanour of Tom Lehrer, but from the fact that he refers to “3 billion hunks of well done steak”, which would now have to be revised to 7 billion, i.e. the world population has more than doubled since he sang this song.

http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27324.html

Is this the End?

2

the end of civilization will happen some day, I doubt it will collapse , I believe it will be a catastrophe like the issue in Japan or possibly an eath quake like we have never seen , or the dreaded Captain Trips :slight_smile: I doubt man can go long enough of not fucking it up, for it to just collapse

3

[quote]pittbulll wrote:
the end of civilization will happen some day, I doubt it will collapse , I believe it will be a catastrophe like the issue in Japan or possibly an eath quake like we have never seen , or the dreaded Captain Trips :slight_smile: I doubt man can go long enough of not fucking it up, for it to just collapse [/quote]

My guess is an epidemic, as you mentioned. People are packed into cities like rats nowadays and a virus could travel around the globe in just a couple of days.

4

Thomas Malthus 1798 - The Population Principle.

Population density increases both the frequency and severity of disease.

Secondly, look at the “Market Oracle’s” predictions from anywhere from 2 months to 2 years ago, it’s usually good for a laugh. That site is worthless.

5

[quote]PAINTRAINDave wrote:
Thomas Malthus 1798 - The Population Principle.

Population density increases both the frequency and severity of disease.

Secondly, look at the “Market Oracle’s” predictions from anywhere from 2 months to 2 years ago, it’s usually good for a laugh. That site is worthless. [/quote]

I agree. While there will be some serious problems that will affect most everyone I doubt it’s going to be some Hollywood version of a cataclysmic event.

6

The end of the world is not coming any time soon. What the hell kind of bullshit is in that first post? “Masters of the System”? I’m sorry, I wasn’t aware that the Sith Emperor was in charge of our world. How in the hell can the ENTIRE FUCKING WORLD get wiped out by an earthquake or flood? Believe it or not, this is not the bible where god can send a great flood to sweep the world clean of people. This is a world where a flood is caused by heavy rain, tsunami, hurricane, or dam breakages. None of these things can ever happen at a global scale. Ever. An “earthquake at a scale we have never experienced?” In all of the geologic history of this planet, there is no evidence of an earthquake large enough to wipe out the world. Not even close.

Disease spreading through the entire human population enough so that we cannot maintain a viable gene pool? Please, cut the fear mongering crap. I’ll run some numbers for you since science is rather lacking in threads like these. The ebloa virus, one of the single nastiest viruses in the world, has a mortality rate of 50-89%. There is no known cure for it. However, it does not have the capability to become a global pandemic; its high mortality rate and rapid incubation period cause it to burn itself out within a short period of time, without spreading too far. Any government quarantine on a disease like this is enough to stop an outbreak.

Even the nastiest of pandemics, something like a SARS or an antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis, lack the ability to “end the world” by the definition of what allows them to become a pandemic; that they have a long incubation period (the virus that causes TB can remain dormant in the body for years, but only 5-10% of people carrying the virus will actually sicken and become infectious), and a relatively low mortality rate. Even something like the Black Plague, which wiped out 70% of Europe’s population, had a relatively small mark on humanity’s history when it still left 350 million people alive out of the 450 million that were originally living in the world. Hardly a world-ending event.

I have no idea whether or not there is a theoretical population ceiling that this planet can support. But I do know that humanity will try its hardest to break that, and continue on growing. We have made a point of surviving, its something we do very well and will continue to do for the foreseeable future.

If you actually read this post, I hope you are a bit smarter now because of it. If you haven’t fuck you go learn something before you go preaching that “The end is nigh”.

7

[quote]grayman19 wrote:
The end of the world is not coming any time soon. What the hell kind of bullshit is in that first post? “Masters of the System”? I’m sorry, I wasn’t aware that the Sith Emperor was in charge of our world. How in the hell can the ENTIRE FUCKING WORLD get wiped out by an earthquake or flood? Believe it or not, this is not the bible where god can send a great flood to sweep the world clean of people. This is a world where a flood is caused by heavy rain, tsunami, hurricane, or dam breakages. None of these things can ever happen at a global scale. Ever. An “earthquake at a scale we have never experienced?” In all of the geologic history of this planet, there is no evidence of an earthquake large enough to wipe out the world. Not even close.

Disease spreading through the entire human population enough so that we cannot maintain a viable gene pool? Please, cut the fear mongering crap. I’ll run some numbers for you since science is rather lacking in threads like these. The ebloa virus, one of the single nastiest viruses in the world, has a mortality rate of 50-89%. There is no known cure for it. However, it does not have the capability to become a global pandemic; its high mortality rate and rapid incubation period cause it to burn itself out within a short period of time, without spreading too far. Any government quarantine on a disease like this is enough to stop an outbreak.

Even the nastiest of pandemics, something like a SARS or an antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis, lack the ability to “end the world” by the definition of what allows them to become a pandemic; that they have a long incubation period (the virus that causes TB can remain dormant in the body for years, but only 5-10% of people carrying the virus will actually sicken and become infectious), and a relatively low mortality rate. Even something like the Black Plague, which wiped out 70% of Europe’s population, had a relatively small mark on humanity’s history when it still left 350 million people alive out of the 450 million that were originally living in the world. Hardly a world-ending event.

I have no idea whether or not there is a theoretical population ceiling that this planet can support. But I do know that humanity will try its hardest to break that, and continue on growing. We have made a point of surviving, its something we do very well and will continue to do for the foreseeable future.

If you actually read this post, I hope you are a bit smarter now because of it. If you haven’t fuck you go learn something before you go preaching that “The end is nigh”.
[/quote]

I think mother nature could throw anything imaginable at us she wanted to , I think the only things stranger than fiction is reality.

I think if all the glaciers melted the majority of land would be under water . A meteor shower, maybe not one earth quake but several simultaneously . Any thing is possible . To deny that would be like denying the inevibility of your own death

8

[quote]grayman19 wrote:
The end of the world is not coming any time soon. What the hell kind of bullshit is in that first post? “Masters of the System”? I’m sorry, I wasn’t aware that the Sith Emperor was in charge of our world. How in the hell can the ENTIRE FUCKING WORLD get wiped out by an earthquake or flood? Believe it or not, this is not the bible where god can send a great flood to sweep the world clean of people. This is a world where a flood is caused by heavy rain, tsunami, hurricane, or dam breakages. None of these things can ever happen at a global scale. Ever. An “earthquake at a scale we have never experienced?” In all of the geologic history of this planet, there is no evidence of an earthquake large enough to wipe out the world. Not even close.

Disease spreading through the entire human population enough so that we cannot maintain a viable gene pool? Please, cut the fear mongering crap. I’ll run some numbers for you since science is rather lacking in threads like these. The ebloa virus, one of the single nastiest viruses in the world, has a mortality rate of 50-89%. There is no known cure for it. However, it does not have the capability to become a global pandemic; its high mortality rate and rapid incubation period cause it to burn itself out within a short period of time, without spreading too far. Any government quarantine on a disease like this is enough to stop an outbreak.

Even the nastiest of pandemics, something like a SARS or an antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis, lack the ability to “end the world” by the definition of what allows them to become a pandemic; that they have a long incubation period (the virus that causes TB can remain dormant in the body for years, but only 5-10% of people carrying the virus will actually sicken and become infectious), and a relatively low mortality rate. Even something like the Black Plague, which wiped out 70% of Europe’s population, had a relatively small mark on humanity’s history when it still left 350 million people alive out of the 450 million that were originally living in the world. Hardly a world-ending event.

I have no idea whether or not there is a theoretical population ceiling that this planet can support. But I do know that humanity will try its hardest to break that, and continue on growing. We have made a point of surviving, its something we do very well and will continue to do for the foreseeable future.

If you actually read this post, I hope you are a bit smarter now because of it. If you haven’t fuck you go learn something before you go preaching that “The end is nigh”.
[/quote]

Well, fyi, there is a giant volcanoe under Yellowstone that, if it erupted, would take half of the US with it.

And its overdue.

9

Is this the end? We can only hope! :slight_smile:

jk

…jk

10

I wouldn’t call it a golden age- these are mythological constructs and labels, I’d say we did ok and have now a slightly better vision where we could go from here on.
Even other, natural catastrophes aside, I do believe humanity has only a few thousand years left to get it’s shit together and achieve some form of a more benevolent singularity.
There are thousands of reasons why our fragile modern societies could collapse permanently into more primitve forms.
And at some point in the next dozens of decades, this will surely happen.

The two most important milestones for evading this would include:

Achieving at least some kind of ecological homeostasis. Birth control is a must here.
Flushing certain ideologies down the toilet. Especially most religions. They are humanity’s greatest scourge.

Personally, I’m a big fan of humankind, I’d like to see us thrive, although I literally wouldn’t bet on it.

11

The entire population is not going to die, but obviously things will get uglier and even more chaotic

Wild life
Along with my wife
Im going up in the mountains for the rest of my life

12

No two people would ever have the same answer to these questions. It’s entirely dependent on what your idea of “The Golden Age” is/was, and your experience in life.

IE: Brad the college kid might think facebook, Twitter and 24/7 shopping is just tits. Whereas I would prefer things probably 120 years ago.

Brad the college kid may think things are just fine because he has no experience in the real world. I may think cats and dogs are about to start living together because I spend the majority of my time in shit holes.

Depends almost entirely on personal bias.

13

[quote]Deorum wrote:
Is this the end? We can only hope! :slight_smile:

jk

…jk[/quote]

When you turn into a zombie, you need not look any further as to who will take you out.

jk…

jk…

14

God damnit, the hits just keep coming here in the PWI forum.

You got ChristFags in the Broham Chris’s thread speaking in tongues about their Mediterranean deity smiting they ghey element to hell to be eternally raeped by Satan.

And here you have King Troll himself, HH, posting some Fail, end of the world nonsense.

Why look to the Off Topic forum for lulz when plenty can be found here?

15

[quote]Schwarzfahrer wrote:
I wouldn’t call it a golden age- these are mythological constructs and labels, I’d say we did ok and have now a slightly better vision where we could go from here on.
Even other, natural catastrophes aside, I do believe humanity has only a few thousand years left to get it’s shit together and achieve some form of a more benevolent singularity.
There are thousands of reasons why our fragile modern societies could collapse permanently into more primitve forms.
And at some point in the next dozens of decades, this will surely happen.

The two most important milestones for evading this would include:

Achieving at least some kind of ecological homeostasis. Birth control is a must here.
Flushing certain ideologies down the toilet. Especially most religions. They are humanity’s greatest scourge.

Personally, I’m a big fan of humankind, I’d like to see us thrive, although I literally wouldn’t bet on it.
[/quote]

Amen