Quote:
| Originally Posted by Garf "...But this happens on a regular basis anyway. We are NOT capable of destroying the environment, and it is only human arogance that leads us to assume that what we are doing is anymore than an uncomfortable millisecond in the life of the earth.
The human race has been here for a microscopic portion of the age of the earth. It is, in fact, difficult to comprehend how truly insignificant we are" |
Not true at all Garf. We are quite capable of ruining the environment.
Our impact on the biosphere as a whole and biodiversity in particular is far greater than anything before us other than individual catastrpohic events. I would suggest reading "The Future of Life" by Edward O Wilson for a detailed discussion of the scientific evidence.
Even those that argue for catastrophic events shaping evolution (such as Leakey and Lewin) make the point that as the only self-aware beings on the Planet we have a duty to protect bio-diversity and the planet as a whole.
This point is made in their excellent book "The Sixth Extinction" where they argue exactly for what you have said cannot happen. The sixth extinction is caused by humanity's inability to steward the resources of the Planet (their argument, not mine).