[Lanny_MacDonald]

Originally Posted by MelBridgeman

its not bad for the earth..the earth doesnt care, it bad for us...It is pretty arrogant at this point, to think otherwise...the earth has been through much bigger disasters with bigger consequences than our little carbon polluting would ever do..99% of species on this planet are no longer, and whether is out fault or not we are next...and there is nothing we can do about it, despite our best efforts to terraform mars.

This is somewhat true. We will not kill the planet, we will only destroy our species, and pretty well every other species of flora and fauna that has evolved in the biosphere. This big chunk of rock, with the molten iron core, will continue to float around in space for the next few billion years until the sun goes super nova and swallows up the planet. There is no doubt about that. We cannot destroy the "planet". What we can do, and what we are doing, is damaging the atmosphere of the planet that sustains life, and as we do this it impacts every living breathing entity on the face of the earth. While we may not be able to destroy the "planet" we are damaging the thing layer of gases that provide the possibility of live on this chunk of rock.

I also have a problem with the defeatest BS about "there is nothing we can do" so we might as well not even bother. We have the ability to do so much as a species. We did enough to get us into this mess, we should at least try to get us out of it. Science has done some pretty amazing things, and there are some excellent technologies out there that are actually working in reversing some of the impacts. We should not give up, we should continue to push forward and find better ways of doing things and trying to reverse the effects we have had on the planet. If we can clean up Love Canal and Lake Erie, we can certainly halt the damage we are doing to the atmosphere and reverse those effects.

to think that 100 years ago there were basically no cars....is it fair to think 100 years from now, there wont be anymore?

That is a distinct possibility. Unlikely, but possible. We will likely have to move to a different fuel source as oil reserves will likely be completely exhausted unless managed better. The biggest channlenge will be getting to tat point 100 years from now. If things continue to degrade as they are, and the biosphere continues to suffer, we may see massive failures to our food sources, increases in diseases, and wars over the remaining resources. We could kill ourselves off before we get to that point 100 years in the future.

I have no problem getting off Oil, cutting down emissions etc...going green all the stuff, but dont deny this isnt the birth of more big business...and that people who think they can make some cash off of the green movement aren't funding everything they can..(just like big bad oil!).

Really? Doesn't sound that way. Anytime anyone has suggested that we do anything to the O&G sector you spaz out and attack them. Many solutions have been presented and you dismiss them all. Even when gived the spotlight to prove that you have even the slightest grasp on emerging technologies, and how they can be used, you duck the issue and hurl more insults toward those who are working on the problem and finding solutions.

You also say that the "green movement' is making massive dollars, which is unsubstantiated in any sort of way. We know that the O&G sector is making profits at levels never dreamed of in the past, and its well documented, but I haven't seen the "green movement" posting record profits. Heck, maybe you can point out who that "green movement" is, which companies are involved, and point ot their profit statements. I would like to know who these companes are so I can get a chunk of them and invest in our future!