The world's ticking timebomb
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Earth 'will expire by 2050'

Our planet is running out of room and resources. Modern man has plundered so much, a damning report claims this week, that outer space will have to be colonised

Observer Worldview

Mark Townsend and Jason Burke
Sunday July 7, 2002
The Observer

Earth's population will be forced to colonise two planets within 50 years if natural resources continue to be exploited at the current rate, according to a report out this week. A study by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), to be released on Tuesday, warns that the human race is plundering the planet at a pace that outstrips its capacity to support life.

In a damning condemnation of Western society's high consumption levels, it adds that the extra planets (the equivalent size of Earth) will be required by the year 2050 as existing resources are exhausted.

The report, based on scientific data from across the world, reveals that more than a third of the natural world has been destroyed by humans over the past three decades.

Using the image of the need for mankind to colonise space as a stark illustration of the problems facing Earth, the report warns that either consumption rates are dramatically and rapidly lowered or the planet will no longer be able to sustain its growing population.

Experts say that seas will become emptied of fish while forests - which absorb carbon dioxide emissions - are completely destroyed and freshwater supplies become scarce and polluted.

The report offers a vivid warning that either people curb their extravagant lifestyles or risk leaving the onus on scientists to locate another planet that can sustain human life. Since this is unlikely to happen, the only option is to cut consumption now.

Systematic overexploitation of the planet's oceans has meant the North Atlantic's cod stocks have collapsed from an estimated spawning stock of 264,000 tonnes in 1970 to under 60,000 in 1995.

The study will also reveal a sharp fall in the planet's ecosystems between 1970 and 2002 with the Earth's forest cover shrinking by about 12 per cent, the ocean's biodiversity by a third and freshwater ecosystems in the region of 55 per cent.

The Living Planet report uses an index to illustrate the shocking level of deterioration in the world's forests as well as marine and freshwater ecosystems. Using 1970 as a baseline year and giving it a value of 100, the index has dropped to a new low of around 65 in the space of a single generation.

It is not just humans who are at risk. Scientists, who examined data for 350 kinds of mammals, birds, reptiles and fish, also found the numbers of many species have more than halved.

Martin Jenkins, senior adviser for the World Conservation Monitoring Centre in Cambridge, which helped compile the report, said: 'It seems things are getting worse faster than possibly ever before. Never has one single species had such an overwhelming influence. We are entering uncharted territory.'

Figures from the centre reveal that black rhino numbers have fallen from 65,000 in 1970 to around 3,100 now. Numbers of African elephants have fallen from around 1.2 million in 1980 to just over half a million while the population of tigers has fallen by 95 per cent during the past century.

The UK's birdsong population has also seen a drastic fall with the corn bunting population declining by 92 per cent between 1970 and 2000, the tree sparrow by 90 per cent and the spotted flycatcher by 70 per cent.

Experts, however, say it is difficult to ascertain how many species have vanished for ever because a species has to disappear for 50 years before it can be declared extinct.

Attention is now focused on next month's Earth Summit in Johannesburg, the most important environmental negotiations for a decade.

However, the talks remain bedevilled with claims that no agreements will be reached and that US President George W. Bush will fail to attend.

Matthew Spencer, a spokesman for Greenpeace, said: 'There will have to be concessions from the richer nations to the poorer ones or there will be fireworks.'

The preparatory conference for the summit, held in Bali last month, was marred by disputes between developed nations and poorer states and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), despite efforts by British politicians to broker compromises on key issues.

America, which sent 300 delegates to the conference, is accused of blocking many of the key initiatives on energy use, biodiversity and corporate responsibility.

The WWF report shames the US for placing the greatest pressure on the environment. It found the average US resident consumes almost double the resources as that of a UK citizen and more than 24 times that of some Africans.

Based on factors such as a nation's consumption of grain, fish, wood and fresh water along with its emissions of carbon dioxide from industry and cars, the report provides an ecological 'footprint' for each country by showing how much land is required to support each resident.

America's consumption 'footprint' is 12.2 hectares per head of population compared to the UK's 6.29ha while Western Europe as a whole stands at 6.28ha. In Ethiopia the figure is 2ha, falling to just half a hectare for Burundi, the country that consumes least resources.

The report, which will be unveiled in Geneva, warns that the wasteful lifestyles of the rich nations are mainly responsible for the exploitation and depletion of natural wealth. Human consumption has doubled over the last 30 years and continues to accelerate by 1.5 per cent a year.

Now WWF wants world leaders to use its findings to agree on specific actions to curb the population's impact on the planet.

A spokesman for WWF UK, said: 'If all the people consumed natural resources at the same rate as the average US and UK citizen we would require at least two extra planets like Earth.'

The world's ticking timebomb

Marine crisis:
North Atlantic cod stocks have collapsed from an estimated 264,000 tonnes in 1970 to under 60,000 in 1995.

Pollution:
The United States places the greatest pressure on the environment, with its carbon dioxide emissions and over-consumption. It takes 12.2 hectares of land to support each American citizen and 6.29 for each Briton, while the figure for Burundi is just half a hectare.

Shrinking Forests:
Between 1970 and 2002 forest cover has dwindled by 12 per cent.

Endangered wildlife:
African elephant numbers have fallen from 1.2 million in 1980 to half a million now. In the UK the songbird population has fallen dramatically, with the corn bunting declining by 92 per cent in the past 30 years.


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Responces:

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By Magalie:

Do you really...

Earth has been here for millions of years. Its been through SO MUCH crap before us. Its been through floods, shifting of the plates, and astroids to name a few. Humans are like gnats. Occasionally it will have an earthquake and shake off some of us. Earth is much stronger than people take it credit for. Us humans are so egotistical, we think that we can really damage the earth that bad. Im not saying that we should litter, and change our oil at our house and dump it on the grass, no of course not. I am for recycling and hybrid cars and saving trees and endangered species just as much as most of other people in the world. But taking it overboard that in the next 47 years? I just have to say that you have to give Earth more credit than that. We are ants on this planet and Earth can take us out of here just as fast as we got on here. And I don't think we have anything to worry. By the time something will happen we will be gone.

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By Truthbringer:

What A Long Strange Trip It's Been

Let me make sure I've got this straight:

Because we are running out of resources, we are about to undertake the task of turning two inhospitable planets in the depths of space into homes for billions of people, and then transferring those people there.

A task which would (were it remotely possible) certainly require more of the earth's resources than all man's previous endeavors combined.

Oh yes, that's much more plausible than your conspiracy theory; Pardon my insolence.

-------------

By Brett R:

the environmentalist timebomb

According to a report from the Libertasia institute

With the explosion of the wild environmentalist we may need two new universes to house the human population. Just in the last 3 years ski resorts have declined 17%. Research facilities have declined 12% and the smoke from arson caused by enviro-terrorists has released 3.7 million cubic tons of green house gases into the air.

The report also examined the amount of spray paint needed to sustain the average human. The average capitalist consumes 1.2 mililiters of spray paint a year while the average pastry chef consumes a mere 0.4 mililiters. The average environmentalist consumes 14.2 liters for activities like spray painting fur coats and defacing property where the owners don't agree with them politically. The toxic chemicals released by these spray paints decimate the environment. For example the cod population has decreased. We haven't decided how these are related but trust me they must be.

Hmmm a handful of antecdotes and unsubstantiated statistics. The only differences between mine and michaels is that mine is satire and his should be.

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By RandomScout :

Re: Earth 'will expire by 2050' by The Observer

...Such worries about overpopulation and resource scarcity have a long history. The Roman writer Tertullian warned in 200 A.D. that "we men have actually become a burden to the earth" and that "the fruits of nature hardly suffice to support us." In 1798 the Rev. Thomas Robert Malthus published An Essay on the Principle of Population, in which he claimed that population growth would always outstrip food supplies, inevitably resulting in famine, pestilence, and war. Biologist Paul Ehrlich notoriously updated Malthus’ gloomy predictions in his 1968 book The Population Bomb, which predicted that hundreds of millions of people would die of famine in the 1970s.

Well, are the alarmists right this time around? Is the end finally nigh? No. ...

http://reason.com/rb/rb062602.shtml

I have put a note in my diary, to make sure that I do something on that day.

I am thinking about making a new planet prior to that though. I am proposing a large planet built entirely of wood.

I am going to call it Planet Ralphie. If you want to come to Ralphie, I will sell you a ticket for $100,000 that you must pay by next Monday.

e-mail me for more info.

I am interested in your plan. I think that this is an excellent idea and I am ready to leave this Earth and create a new planet.

Because the planet will be made of wood, maybe we could call it planet Wood?

Would we take some cars and gas with us. It might be quite hard to get around if we don't have wheels. Maybe a couple of fire extinguishers would help as well.

I have the money, how soon would this happen? I am ready to go anytime.

This is my planet and it WILL be called Planet Ralpie.

I am the ruler of Ralphie, and what I say, goes. There is no democracy and that is the end of the story.

We will not need gas or cars, as we are going to bring elephants and camels to ride around on.

I have received over $70 million in advance bookings and progress on the planet is going well. I am currently spending my time between the Hamptons and LA, but I have hired a supervisor to oversee construction of Ralphie. In the interests of expediancy and budgeting, I have decided to have Ralphie constructed in China. Approximately 10 million chinese laborers are currently building Ralphie from matchsticks. Completion is scheduled for October 7 2005 and on that day we will launch into space. We are looking at anchoring Ralphie from the Dominican Republic, which I purchased last week for $75,000. Ralphie will then have a stairway between it and Earth.

Send money if you are interested.

Ralphie

I have recruited over 5000 environmental supporters to come to live on Ralphie. They are sending their money in now. We all got together at the Renaissance fair and agreed to move there and start a new and better society.

We are going to legalize pot and ban marriage. There will be no war, no work, no money, nothing. Just a whole lot of sex and drugs. We are with you Ralphie and will all be in the Dominican Republic on October 7.

E-mail me when you receive the money. I sent it over with a courier the other day. It had to be cash as none of us have a bank account. We had to rent an 18 wheeler as $500,000,000 is a lot of dough!

Thanks,

Greenie

You have GOT to be S.H.I.T.T.I.N.G me! A planet made entirely out of wood? what are you, on crack? then here are my questions:

1. where the HELL will this planet be placed?

2. will it's core also be constructed out of wood?

3. where the HELL will you find enough wood to construct such a structure?

4. will the money used to build this large "prospect" of yours be used from the $100,000 so-called "tickets?

5. How does wood react in a sub-zero anti-gravity atmosphere?

6. How large will this so-called planet be?

7. What other materials will be included on this planet? nothing but wood?

8. What about oxygen?

9. What about food?

10. What about water?

Damn, I could keep going on, but untill you answer those FIRST will I drill you some more on this F.U.C.K.E.D up and BULL$HIT Plan: Planet of yours! you Envirowackos have no thought left in the real world but your own make-believe crackaddict fantasies...wake up and look around! There's more to this life than welfare living, bongs and cheap weed!

I am surprised at the responses to this Observer article. First, let me say that we will be extremely lucky to make it to 2050 before serious threats to human existence begin to take place.

It's sad but simple: When you use up anything at a faster rate than you create it, you have a deficit. When it comes to natural resources, deficits have life and death consequences.

The petroleum industry estimated a few years ago that we have 40 years of oil left, but their calculations did not include the incredible growth in consumption by China and India. Our failure to limit consumption and find alternative fuels will mean not just parking the SUV, but the inability to grow or harvest or transport food in large quantities (to name just one problem).

We are producing more carbon dioxide than the natural carbon absorbers (eg trees) can handle; and thus unnaturally warming the planet. Also, certain trigger mechanisms will accelerate the problem. For example, Western Siberia is now melting. This in turn is releasing vast quantities of carbon dioxide and methane.

We are draining aquifers with forced irrigation many times faster than they replenish themselves.

Grain production is beginning to lag behind world-wide needs as China, India and Africa become less able to produce food because of land mismanagement. In the case of China, their needs will escalate prices soon, because they have the cash to buy up significant percentages of the world's grain production.

Top soil is erroding faster than nature produces it.

The list could go on and on. It amazes me that people deny environmental realities that are thousands of times more imminent and deadly than terrorism.

You have GOT to be S.H.I.T.T.I.N.G me! A planet made entirely out of wood? what are you, on crack? then here are my questions:

1. where the HELL will this planet be placed?

It will be adjacent to Earth off the Dominican Republic.

2. will it's core also be constructed out of wood?

The very centre of the core is made of paper-mache so the coat hangars that are at the center of Ralpie have something to attach to.

3. where the HELL will you find enough wood to construct such a structure?

We have been buying wood from Canada. Also we recycle a lot of wood from old houses and make some new wood from old newspapers.

4. will the money used to build this large "prospect" of yours be used from the $100,000 so-called "tickets?

Yes. It is already paid for. Because it is being built in China we paid cash.

5. How does wood react in a sub-zero anti-gravity atmosphere?

Seems to work fine. Remember that the space station is also built of wood, as is the Shuttle.

6. How large will this so-called planet be?

Approximately the size of Rhode Island. A lot of people live in Rhode Island and they seem quite happy with the size of it.

7. What other materials will be included on this planet? nothing but wood?

Essentially it is all wood. We have laid in the utilities when it is being constructed so that it is ready to roll.

8. What about oxygen?

We have a big pipe from Earth, so we will never run out.

9. What about food?

We are going to use space robbies (a special kind of helicopter) to deliver supplies from Earth.

10. What about water?

We will pipe in water from Earth. It is the cheapest way of doing this.

Damn, I could keep going on, but untill you answer those FIRST will I drill you some more on this F.U.C.K.E.D up and BULL$HIT Plan: Planet of yours! you Envirowackos have no thought left in the real world but your own make-believe crackaddict fantasies...wake up and look around! There's more to this life than welfare living, bongs and cheap weed!

If oyu want to come with us, send the money. The more the merrier as we say.

Ralphie

Ralphie, you are a dumbass. That's all I have to say.

And yes, I will admit that it is a funny post. It made me laugh for minutes on end.

I give you a 7 in your sense of enviro-seriously-mental purely fictional humor of yours.

Just to confirm, everything is going fine and to schedule.

Ralphie is now half built and is taking shape nicely. We hired another 10 million laborers to maintain the pace of construction. We have also changed the design a little so that we have added a couple of large lakes. We had to build a wall around the edge of it, to keep the water from spilling out.

We have also built a lot of subterranean housing units on the bottom side of Ralphie, so that we can keep the land free on the top surface. This actually works great, because the underside has the best views of Earth. We are actually going to fence the edges of Ralpie to stop anyone from falling over the edge. This is the only problem with Ralphie being flat.

I have flown over Ralphie in a space-robbie and it sure looks good from up there.

Launch date is still 7 October.

I would love to see the day someone sets your plannet on fire. Now THAT would be hilarious.

In fact, I will devote my life as inter-galactic wood-planet terrorist who will bring others with me in happiness to see to it that Planet Ralphie is attacked and thoroughly burned to it's flat core and nocked off it's balance into the deep vast space of bull.s.h.i.t.ness where it rightfully belongs.

or I could build an outerspace torpedo and blast planet Ralphie to woodchips. Sounds like even more fun to me.

Oh and Ralphie, do the world a favor...

Take with you (and I mean this when I say this) ALL of the environmentalists, democrats, communists, liberals, anti-americans, canadians, AND gays with you to planet Ralphie so when I launch the outerspace missile and blow you up to microdust, you will never ruin the world again.

Then we can kill all those basstard oxygen/water-wasting cows, chickens and sheep, kill all the trees for asswipe tissues, drill all the oil out of the ground to use in our SUV's...

Today is my first and foremost day of training on: "How to be a proper Planet Ralphie terrorist"

Training is great! I even paid some private underground muslims to teach me everything about how to properly terrorize a country (OR in this case, planet) without blowing your cover too soon. They gave me some heads-up on how to start fires without the use of gasoline and matches. Hell, I've gotten so good at that already that I've already started several fires across the U.S (even in Utah) and am gathering a pretty good sized group of 5 that will travel with me in the future to Planet Ralphie, when the time comes, on October the 7th. Five tickets have already been bought. As training continues, so will my excitement grow for that great and terrible day on Planet Ralphie.

We have already infiltrated your lame ass organization. You need to remember that I am only in this for the money, so Planet Ralphie is fully insured for everything. There is no way that you and your cyber-freaks will ever be allowed on board.

It is currently taking shape nicely and looks like it will indeed be sold out on Independence Day, when it's launch into space occurs. We have also had a mega sprinkler system installed, so there is no fire that we couldn't handle here anyway.

We have now got a contract with Disney to launch space fireworks every night - good revenue from that. The Sierra Club has rented a huge billboard space from us that will say "Save the World" and be visible through the entire world during their hours of darkness. We also will be running McDonalds and Coke commercials.

Keep the money coing in. Tickets are still available and after the launch, they will go up in price.

Ralphie

DAMN! THIS gets F.U.CKIN funnier by the second! I can't keep from laughing and it hurts so damn much!!!!! lol this ENTIRE enviroepisode from start to finish needs further publicity.

*** We have already infiltrated your lame ass organization. You need to remember that I am only in this for the money, so Planet Ralphie is fully insured for everything. There is no way that you and your cyber-freaks will ever be allowed on board.

Shove your stupid little planet back up your ass where it was s.h.i.t.t.e.d from. That's right. S.H.I.T.T.E.D from. HA! you don't know me. I am being payed by ALL the Republicans AND Bill Clinton HIMSELF to blow up your pathetic planet.

~ It is currently taking shape nicely and looks like it will indeed be sold out on Independence Day, when it's launch into space occurs. We have also had a *** mega sprinkler system installed ***, so there is no fire that we couldn't handle here anyway.

LOL! With WHAT water source? like hell you are getting it from planet earth once your gone. My terrorists AND THE ENTIRE PLANET EARTH will make sure of that!

*** We have now got a contract with Disney to launch space fireworks every night - good revenue from that. The Sierra Club has rented a huge billboard space from us that will say "Save the World" and be visible through the entire world during their hours of darkness. We also will be running McDonalds and Coke commercials.

Well well well! the COMMUNISM FOR KIDS AKA DISNEY WORLD organization agreed to light the sky with hazzardous chemicals that further increases global warming and spreads that HORRIBLE gap in the OZONE LAYER, the same hole that you ignorant envirowackos so bluntly push through while you don't even realize it, and all those cow-threatening fireworks for the ceremony for all of your leave! I'll be there to cheer you on a joyous trip and make sure you NEVER come back here again.

*** Keep the money coing in. Tickets are still available and after the launch, they will go up in price.

By the way, how exactly do you plan to launch this WOODEN PLANET of yours anyways? you really couldn't make it past between 17,000 and 24,000 miles per hour (the speed you need to break into orbit) without the planet disintegrating quickly in less than 6 seconds. Or unless you want to tie it by a chain off the earth, but either way, if you want to leave this planet COMPLETELY, then I would JUST LOVE to be there on the launch date to see it evaporate before the planet reaches 20 meters into the air.

LOL! Now I'm leaving this CRACKHEAD HIPPIE site before I die from laughing, which would be hilarious if it happened. I WILL SEE YOU ON YOUR BURNING DAY, PLANET RALPHIE!!!! YOU AND ALL YOUR CRACKHEAD ENVIRONMENTAL FRIENDS!!!!

~* I AM GOD *~

hate to burst your bubble "I am god," but fire doesn't burn in space.

Fire does burn within an air source...And there supposedly is an airsource that surrounds this so-called "Planet Ralphie"...

We ran into a bit of a glitch with the original Planet Ralphie, after Hurricane Wilma broke it free from the Dominican Republic where it was anchored.

It was fully loaded with paying residents, but unfortunately it ended up being blown to the moon where it is still in orbit. Fortunately the air pipe is still working good, so all 500,000 people on board are in good shape. We are currently building a space tug, to go and get them and tow it back through space back to Earth.

The original Ralphie has been so successful that I am planning on building a new and bigger Ralphie 2. Ralphie 2 is going to be made entirely of hemp, as it is a lot cheaper to buy, once the Hippies have taken the leaves of them. Ralphie 2 will essentially be an Organic Hemp farming operation with a simple agrarian ecomnmy and life style. Planet Ralphie 2 will also have beaches and warm oceans! The clear air and intense sunshine in space allows us to grow a full crop of hemp in only 7 days.

If you want to be involved in this operation just send the money to me. Estimated launch date is 04/01/06.

Ralphie

Whatever drug you are one is one hell of an effective drug...pass it over!!

Seriously though, how old are you? ten?

Ralphie 2 is progressing nicely now. Apart from the labor and production problems caused by the hippes smoking all the building materials, we are making good progress. The planet is now over 1/4 mile in diameter. The hippies want to make an artificial atmosphere on R2 filled with pot smoke, so they will be in Nirvana - sounds like a pretty good idea to me, so I am raising the price for living there to $180,000 per person, althought the $100,000 price is still good until 12/31/05, so if you want a good deal, with a great view and you can be stoned for the rest of your life, it's a bargain. Contact me for full details.

R

Happy New Year to all my followers and clones.

Don't forget to send the money and join us on Planet Ralphie!

Yay! more flammable stuff to burn! Planet Ralphie 2 will burn and it shall be GLORIOUS!

http://www.newscientistspace.com/article.ns?id=dn8725

Space-elevator tether climbs a mile high
15:29 15 February 2006
NewScientist.com news service
Kimm Groshong

In January, LiftPort team members deployed a mile-long tether with the help of three large balloons in the Arizona desert (N Aung/LiftPort Group)Related Articles
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LiftPort Group
Centennial Challenges, NASA
Elevator 2010, Spaceward Foundation

A slim cable for a space elevator has been built stretching a mile into the sky, enabling robots to scrabble some way up and down the line.

LiftPort Group, a private US company on a quest to build a space elevator by April 2018, stretched the strong carbon ribbon 1 mile (1.6 km) into the sky from the Arizona desert outside Phoenix in January tests, it announced on Monday.

The company's lofty objective will sound familiar to followers of NASA's Centennial Challenges programme. The desired outcome is a 62,000-mile (99,779 km) tether that robotic lifters – powered by laser beams from Earth – can climb, ferrying cargo, satellites and eventually people into space.

The recent test followed a September 2005 demonstration in which LiftPort's robots climbed 300 metres of ribbon tethered to the Earth and pulled taut by a large balloon. This time around, the company tested an improved cable pulled aloft by three balloons.

Rock solid
To make the cable, researchers sandwiched three carbon-fibre composite strings between four sheets of fibreglass tape, creating a mile-long cable about 5 centimetres wide and no thicker than about six sheets of paper.

"For this one, the real critical test was making a string strong enough," says Michael Laine, president of LiftPort. "We made a cable that was stationed by the balloons at a mile high for 6 hours…it was rock solid."

A platform linking the balloons and the tether was successfully launched and held in place during the test. LiftPort calls the platform HALE, High Altitude Long Endurance, and plans to market it for aerial observation and communication purposes.

But the test was not completely without problems.

The company's battery-operated robotic lifters were designed to climb up and down the entire length of the ribbon but only made it about 460 m above ground. Laine told New Scientist that the robots had worked properly during preparatory tests and his team is still analysing the problem.

Carbon nanotubes
In March, LiftPort hopes to set up a HALE system in Utah's Mars Desert Research Station and maintain it for three weeks. Then, later in the spring, Laine says he wants to test a 2-mile (3.2-km) tether with robots scaling to at least half way up.

Laine aims to produce a functioning space elevator by 2018 – a date his company chose in 2003 based on a NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts study, which said an elevator could be built in 15 years. "This is a baby step, but it's part of the process," he says of LiftPort's recent test.

The idea is to build the actual elevator's ribbon from ultra-strong carbon nanotube composites and to have solar-powered lifters carry 100 tonnes of cargo into space once a week, 50 times a year.

Beams and climbers

Laine sits on the board of the California-based Spaceward Foundation, which partnered with NASA to put on two space-elevator-related competitions that were the first of the agency's Centennial Challenges programme – the Tether Challenge and the Beam Power Challenge.

The first is designed to test the strength of lightweight tethers while the beam challenge tests the climbing ability and weight-bearing capability of robots scaling a cable. Laine’s team is not competing in the NASA challenges so there is no conflict of interest.

In October 2005, none of the competition entrants performed well enough to claim the twin $50,000 purses. But the challenges are scheduled to take place again in August 2006 with $150,000 top prizes. Nineteen teams have signed up for the beam power challenge so far and three will compete in the tether challenge.

Ben Shelef, founder of the Spaceward Foundation, hopes the competitions will drum up interest and drive technological innovation. He told New Scientist he is pleased to hear of LiftPort's successful test. "A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step," he says.

We are running a little behind schedule on Ralphie 2. Due to unforeseen weather, we have been growing a little slowly, and will not be up to launch size until October 1.

The concept of hemp planets is really catching on. I have now been contracted by the US Government to build a planet to house the Mexicans on! As it is a living organic planet, it should keep all those agricultural workers busy trimming the planet! We have determined that hemp grows much better in space, as the light is so much better and is 24 hours a day. Each hemp plant can produce over 4,000 pounds of pot a month, so we should make out like bandits, even with all the hippies smoking as much as they can.

I have 7 hemp planets now in the works, including an organic peace planet which is filling up quite nicely. We are also building a paintball space planet just for fun. I am also building a planet which will be like a giant space cruise ship, which will fly out to the moon and back - that one will be a big seller!

If you are interested in living on one of my planets, just drop me a line and I'll get right back to you.

The point is that we have become a burden to the planet. What Malthus, those who preceded and those who followed him, got wrong was the date, not the substance of what they said.

The fact is that nobody knows how long the global environment can hold off catastrophic change. I say catastrophic change, because the change is already with us.

There are thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands of minute changes taking place every day in microclimates and micro-environments the world over, and they are building towards an overall change that will come suddenly, with a sudden, catastrophic release of energy. The most likely point of release for this catastrophic change is Greenland. With the steady loss of albedo in the arctic, with the shrinking of the pack ice, the environment up there is steadily getting warmer. When temperatures rise just a little above what they are now the ice on Greenland will become unstable, because the ice melts, as you all know, from the bottom up, and when that ice sheet becomes unstable it will start to crumble into the sea in the form of billions of tonnes of ice, and that will cause tsunamis the like of which have not been seen for about 15,000 years.

When will it happen? Nobody can be sure of that, but happen it will. It is inevitable. Just as it happened 15,000 years ago. or perhaps our compacent sceptics doubt that the last ice age ended too.

Blind scepticism is as stupid as alamism (is that a word?)

Conor
www.arkindra.co.uk
www.conorcorderoy.co.uk