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posted by cmn32480 on Wednesday June 24 2015, @02:17PM   Printer-friendly
from the he-hasn't-been-right-yet dept.

A professor famous for predicting the imminent demise of the human race at regular intervals since the 1970s has predicted the imminent demise of the human race.

Paul Ehrlich, who is the Bing Professor of Population Studies at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, says it's definitely on this time. In a tinned statement issued on Friday, the arm-waving prof lays it on the line:

There is no longer any doubt: We are entering a mass extinction that threatens humanity's existence ... the window of opportunity is rapidly closing ...

"[The study] shows without any significant doubt that we are now entering the sixth great mass extinction event," Ehrlich said ...

"If it is allowed to continue, life would take many millions of years to recover, and our species itself would likely disappear early on," said lead author Gerardo Ceballos.

The original article can be found at The Register, with coverage of the cited study coming from ScienceMag.org


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  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by kaszz on Wednesday June 24 2015, @03:03PM

    by kaszz (4211) on Wednesday June 24 2015, @03:03PM (#200405) Journal

    the window of opportunity is rapidly closing ...

    And nobody with power will give a shit because there will be profits to be made.

    and our species itself would likely disappear early on

    When the Titanic orchestra plays the last tunes, while people are drowning another one will make a buck on listening to them and keeping your feet dry for a few extra minutes.

    Why take decisive action in time when you can die trying to be even richer? ;-)

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  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 24 2015, @03:12PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 24 2015, @03:12PM (#200414)

    When the Titanic orchestra plays the last tunes, while people are drowning another one will make a buck on listening to them and keeping your feet dry for a few extra minutes.

    You must be fun to be around.

    They played because they knew they were not getting on a boat and to calm people down. Might as well go out doing what you like...

  • (Score: 2) by bob_super on Wednesday June 24 2015, @03:40PM

    by bob_super (1357) on Wednesday June 24 2015, @03:40PM (#200428)

    Actually, the point is that three degrees in a century is not going to kill the people who can fly in their water in their Learjet.

    You can be a denier if you're rich and you don't expect the sheep to mount a revolution.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 24 2015, @08:58PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 24 2015, @08:58PM (#200593)

      ...until someone hacks the binary bits that represent your wealth.
      Now you're left with the land surrounding your residence (well, the amount of that that you can defend against interlopers) and what you can produce on that land.

      In a system based on fiat currencies, "wealth" is only "wealth" as long as everybody agrees it is.
      {Image of German child in the 1930s using bundles of reichsmarks to build a playhouse goes here}

      -- gewg_

      • (Score: 2) by bob_super on Wednesday June 24 2015, @09:04PM

        by bob_super (1357) on Wednesday June 24 2015, @09:04PM (#200600)

        > ... and you don't expect the sheep to mount a revolution. [not a big fan of quoting myself]

        As long as enough people have enough to lose, the rich can sleep comfortably on their fiat currency.
        The perpetuating genius of the American Dream is to give almost everyone something tangible to lose.