amicus
Literotica Guru
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2003
- Posts
- 14,812
It has only been a half century or so that man made it off the planet and observed the beautiful but seemingly fragile Blue Marble against the black of space.
It seemed like, was in fact, a ‘giant step for mankind’, to actually set foot on the Moon and observe ‘Earth Rise’, although only twelve humans have thus far done so.
During those heady years, driven by the Cold War, and the necessity of controlling the space around the planet, awareness and concern as to the ecology of Mama Earth began to penetrate the social fabric of the planet.
To digress for a moment to the wonder of fiction and ‘War of the Worlds’` When Worlds Collide‘, ‘This Island Earth’, ‘The Day the Earth Stood Still’, and hundred more usually lesser quality films about extra-terrestrial life in the universe.
UFO’s and Roswell gave way to real science and plate tectonics came into play, we continued to dig up the bones of our human ancestors and the rest of the ancient flora and fauna of Mama Earth and slowly learned her secrets.
Thanks, in part, to the space race with the Russians, and the advent of computer technology and the ‘information highway’, that once begun, grew at an astounding rate, the acquired and accumulated knowledge has flashed around the plant at the speed of light.
Just in the past dozen or so years, the knowledge percolated outside intimate scientific circles and became available to the lay public. Thus with a few strokes on the keyboard or a remote control, information formerly difficult to obtain is easily accessible.
That is good…but has a downside.
As we learn more and more about everything, including, but not limited to, Solar Radiation, the Sun, our own weather maker here on earth, sunspot cycles and solar flares and even the periodic functions of the sun; as we learn about past climate changes on the earth through deep core drilling and archeological and pale ontological discoveries and theories; as we learn of astrophysics and the nature of the solar system and the universe, there are some who feel we live continuously on the verge of eminent disaster and extinction level events (Deep Impact) and many others, we have, I think, become a tad bit nervous about the future.
CharleyH poked at me recently, accusing me of verbosity, using a lot of words to say not much at all…perhaps…since I have not even presented my new, ‘theory’, as of yet.
I suppose that must suffice although I could provide more foundation, but those aware, will, I think, see my upcoming point.
A sentence or perhaps a paragraph during a Science Channel program tonight, jelled my thoughts. To paraphrase, “about three and a half billion years ago, the assault on planet earth by asteroids and comets and meteors slowed appreciably.
The time frame is so vast and huge, but sixty five million years since the extinction level event that eliminated the dinosaurs and ninety percent of all other plant and animal life on earth, was a long, long time ago.
They speak of ‘super volcano’s’ like the one that has erupted three or more times in the Yellowstone area of the mid United States, also extinction level events recorded in the rocks of earth. Our newly found science of deep space astronomy indicates that there are thousands of earth crossing asteroids and comets, with X percent being of a size to bring about another extinction level event for Mama Earth.
The more we learn, it seems, the more fraught with danger our future appears.
My theory challenges that assumption.
Earth sweeps around the sun once a year…in a billion years, it does it a billion times, no rocket science there.
The other planets, especially the gas giants, with a hundred times the gravity of earth, also, sweep around the sun and have for billions of years, vacuuming up the stray debris left over from the formation of the solar system.
Theoretically, the threat of a collision with earth diminished with each sweep around the sun.
Earth can be, I postulate, in her early twenties compared to a human lifespan, based on the evolution of the planet, the sun and the solar system in general.
Her violent teen age years should be a thing of the past.
As the moon moves farther away each year, the gravitational effects lessen appreciable over a billion years or so. Thus the volcanic action and plate tectonic action should decrease accordingly.
One of the favorite sayings of scientists of all genre’s seems to be, “It happened once, it can happen again, that is almost a guarantee…” (I paraphrase)
Perhaps….and then again, perhaps not.
My new theory is, although most likely not original, but I have not heard it expressed elsewhere; my theory is that earth is entering a more settled, ‘middle age’ of her life and the violent events of past history need not necessarily repeat.
So, ‘chill out’, all you knowledgeable worryworts, the best is yet to come for Mama Earth. There may be another super volcano, there may not; that island in the Atlantic may slip and inundate the east coast of the US and all the Atlantic basin with a thousand meter high tidal wave, then again, it may not.
The earth’s magnetic poles may reverse and we may all be irradiated and mutated, but, maybe not.
Of course, it will take on the order of a billion years to prove or disprove my ‘new’ theory; geez, usually I am thinking only about a generation ahead of everyone else.
Such a deal!
Amicus the Optimist…
Or is that optometrist?
It seemed like, was in fact, a ‘giant step for mankind’, to actually set foot on the Moon and observe ‘Earth Rise’, although only twelve humans have thus far done so.
During those heady years, driven by the Cold War, and the necessity of controlling the space around the planet, awareness and concern as to the ecology of Mama Earth began to penetrate the social fabric of the planet.
To digress for a moment to the wonder of fiction and ‘War of the Worlds’` When Worlds Collide‘, ‘This Island Earth’, ‘The Day the Earth Stood Still’, and hundred more usually lesser quality films about extra-terrestrial life in the universe.
UFO’s and Roswell gave way to real science and plate tectonics came into play, we continued to dig up the bones of our human ancestors and the rest of the ancient flora and fauna of Mama Earth and slowly learned her secrets.
Thanks, in part, to the space race with the Russians, and the advent of computer technology and the ‘information highway’, that once begun, grew at an astounding rate, the acquired and accumulated knowledge has flashed around the plant at the speed of light.
Just in the past dozen or so years, the knowledge percolated outside intimate scientific circles and became available to the lay public. Thus with a few strokes on the keyboard or a remote control, information formerly difficult to obtain is easily accessible.
That is good…but has a downside.
As we learn more and more about everything, including, but not limited to, Solar Radiation, the Sun, our own weather maker here on earth, sunspot cycles and solar flares and even the periodic functions of the sun; as we learn about past climate changes on the earth through deep core drilling and archeological and pale ontological discoveries and theories; as we learn of astrophysics and the nature of the solar system and the universe, there are some who feel we live continuously on the verge of eminent disaster and extinction level events (Deep Impact) and many others, we have, I think, become a tad bit nervous about the future.
CharleyH poked at me recently, accusing me of verbosity, using a lot of words to say not much at all…perhaps…since I have not even presented my new, ‘theory’, as of yet.
I suppose that must suffice although I could provide more foundation, but those aware, will, I think, see my upcoming point.
A sentence or perhaps a paragraph during a Science Channel program tonight, jelled my thoughts. To paraphrase, “about three and a half billion years ago, the assault on planet earth by asteroids and comets and meteors slowed appreciably.
The time frame is so vast and huge, but sixty five million years since the extinction level event that eliminated the dinosaurs and ninety percent of all other plant and animal life on earth, was a long, long time ago.
They speak of ‘super volcano’s’ like the one that has erupted three or more times in the Yellowstone area of the mid United States, also extinction level events recorded in the rocks of earth. Our newly found science of deep space astronomy indicates that there are thousands of earth crossing asteroids and comets, with X percent being of a size to bring about another extinction level event for Mama Earth.
The more we learn, it seems, the more fraught with danger our future appears.
My theory challenges that assumption.
Earth sweeps around the sun once a year…in a billion years, it does it a billion times, no rocket science there.
The other planets, especially the gas giants, with a hundred times the gravity of earth, also, sweep around the sun and have for billions of years, vacuuming up the stray debris left over from the formation of the solar system.
Theoretically, the threat of a collision with earth diminished with each sweep around the sun.
Earth can be, I postulate, in her early twenties compared to a human lifespan, based on the evolution of the planet, the sun and the solar system in general.
Her violent teen age years should be a thing of the past.
As the moon moves farther away each year, the gravitational effects lessen appreciable over a billion years or so. Thus the volcanic action and plate tectonic action should decrease accordingly.
One of the favorite sayings of scientists of all genre’s seems to be, “It happened once, it can happen again, that is almost a guarantee…” (I paraphrase)
Perhaps….and then again, perhaps not.
My new theory is, although most likely not original, but I have not heard it expressed elsewhere; my theory is that earth is entering a more settled, ‘middle age’ of her life and the violent events of past history need not necessarily repeat.
So, ‘chill out’, all you knowledgeable worryworts, the best is yet to come for Mama Earth. There may be another super volcano, there may not; that island in the Atlantic may slip and inundate the east coast of the US and all the Atlantic basin with a thousand meter high tidal wave, then again, it may not.
The earth’s magnetic poles may reverse and we may all be irradiated and mutated, but, maybe not.
Of course, it will take on the order of a billion years to prove or disprove my ‘new’ theory; geez, usually I am thinking only about a generation ahead of everyone else.
Such a deal!
Amicus the Optimist…
Or is that optometrist?
