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Authors say Earth's hot birth foretells its death
Washington Post / Mpls (red)Star Tribune ^ | 2/11/03 | Kathy Sawyer

Posted on 02/12/2003 5:32:05 AM PST by Valin

Imagine the blue marble of Earth turning white, as the glaciers advance, sea levels drop, harbors turn to meadows, and "snouts of ice" a third of a mile high bulldoze the skyscrapers of Manhattan.

Scientists have been saying for some time that Earth is doomed, that the dying sun will balloon out and embrace the planet in the ultimate global warming -- but the incineration is at least 7 billion years away, and first, it's going to get very, very cold.

At least two scientists have concluded that the Earth is already on the downward slope, its biological heyday millions of years in the past. In their just-published book, "The Life and Death of Planet Earth," astrophysicist Don Brownlee and paleontologist Peter Ward, both of the University of Washington, lay out a grim, deliberately provocative scenario.....

(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...


TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: donaldbrownlee; peterward; rareearth; rareearthnonsense
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Have a nice day
1 posted on 02/12/2003 5:32:05 AM PST by Valin
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To: Valin
Like all apocalyptic visions and prophecies, this one involves some guesswork.

FROM THE STORY!
2 posted on 02/12/2003 5:37:17 AM PST by TLBSHOW (God Speed as Angels trending upward dare to fly Tribute to the Risk Takers)
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To: TLBSHOW
There's no need to guess. It is absolutely certain that the Earth will be a lifeless body one day.
3 posted on 02/12/2003 5:44:11 AM PST by A Vast RightWing Conspirator
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To: Valin
...and many want to end the space program...
4 posted on 02/12/2003 5:48:42 AM PST by cdefreese
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To: Valin
What a bunch of wingnuts these scientists are.

All this nonesense about billions of years and star life cycles and evolution and every manner of irresponsible clap-trap thrust forward as "truth" with nary a proof.

When I was in grade school, we learned the basic scientific principle that assertions in science, called hypotheses and theories, were testable, and that if they agreed with tests, they were considered reliable descriptions of the chaos of nature. If they could not be tested, they were not really valid science.

Most of modern science, including Geology, Physics, Biology, and Astronomy, is little more than a gussied up naturalisitic non-deistic religion masquerading as science.

There is no possibility at all of ever testing if birds came from dinosaurs, humans from apes, or if stars last billions of years and ballon out or turn into black holes or any of the rest of this crap.

They tell us the earth is billions of years old based on radioactive isotope dating of rocks. Yet they fail to mention that this relies on the naturalistic assumption that the various isotopes they are measuring in these tests must be assumed to have all been one isotope of one element at the "beginning". The thought that maybe both elemental isotopes were always present never seems to cross their mind, mostly because this might tend to disprove preconceived notions they hold so dear of how old the Earth or Moon or whatever "should be". The fact that the assumption is totally unprovable should give one pause in accepting it as true.

When I interview students for college, I advise those interested in pursuing a career in hard science to pick chemistry. It is the least ideologial and most pracitical and rewarding branch, IMHO.

Written human records go back no further than 5,000 to 10,000 years. Everything else must be taken on faith based assumptions coming out of steady-state theories and the like.

That being the case, it is no more unreasonable scientifically to assume that your favorite religious books depiction of pre-history is true than it is to abide the assumptions of the naturalisitic scientists trying to convince us we are just a bunch of electrons descended from a monkey.

5 posted on 02/12/2003 6:05:01 AM PST by Hermann the Cherusker (crying my eyes out)
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To: Valin
This is interesting, and there are many amusing jokes one could make, such as, "Maybe we should start keeping an elephant count," et al.

However, unfortunately, radical environmentalists will use this--and anything else--as an excuse for the state to seize private property in the interest of "protecting the environment".

6 posted on 02/12/2003 6:05:18 AM PST by Savage Beast
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To: A Vast RightWing Conspirator
The tusks that fought in mighty brawls
on mastodons are billiard balls.
The sword of Charlemagne the just,
is Ferris-oxide known as rust.
Great Caesar's bust is on the shelf,
and I don't feel so well myself
7 posted on 02/12/2003 6:13:41 AM PST by Valin (Age and Deceit, beat youth and skill)
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To: Valin
We're all going to die.
8 posted on 02/12/2003 6:27:11 AM PST by You Dirty Rats
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To: Valin
That's by Arthur Guiterman.
9 posted on 02/12/2003 6:33:06 AM PST by Doctor Stochastic (Vegetabilisch = chaotisch is der Charakter der Modernen. - Friedrich Schlegel)
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To: Doctor Stochastic
Thanks! It's something that stuck in my brain from the 5th grade.
10 posted on 02/12/2003 6:55:32 AM PST by Valin (Age and Deceit, beat youth and skill)
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To: You Dirty Rats
HAH. Thats the first thing I thought of... hearing Ruby Rod (Chris Tucker) in the 5th Element screaming 'WE ALL GONNA DIE!'


11 posted on 02/12/2003 7:03:51 AM PST by new cruelty
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To: Valin
The guy was rather funny.

"What Fruits," the Speaker jeered, "can Science show?"
And Science brought his words by Radio.

No weather is Bad
When you're suitable Clad.

There's another line in the one you posted:

The grizzly bear whose potent hug
Was feared by all, is now a rug.
12 posted on 02/12/2003 7:33:17 AM PST by Doctor Stochastic (Vegetabilisch = chaotisch is der Charakter der Modernen. - Friedrich Schlegel)
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To: Valin
Bump
13 posted on 02/12/2003 7:46:35 AM PST by Fiddlstix
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To: Doctor Stochastic
There's another line in the one you posted:

The grizzly bear whose potent hug
Was feared by all, is now a rug.

Well it HAS been along time ago. :-)
14 posted on 02/12/2003 8:03:51 AM PST by Valin (Age and Deceit, beat youth and skill)
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To: Valin
It is a WELL KNOWN fact that eventually everything dies.....stars, our sun of course, mother earth, and even Dick Clark.
15 posted on 02/12/2003 8:07:50 AM PST by PISANO
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To: Valin
HORATIO
What's that, my lord?

HAMLET
Dost thou think Alexander looked o' this fashion i' the earth?

HORATIO
E'en so.

HAMLET
And smelt so? pah!

Puts down the skull

HORATIO
E'en so, my lord.

HAMLET
To what base uses we may return, Horatio! Why may not imagination trace the noble dust of Alexander, till he find it stopping a bung-hole?

HORATIO
'Twere to consider too curiously, to consider so.

HAMLET
No, faith, not a jot; but to follow him thither with modesty enough, and likelihood to lead it: as thus: Alexander died, Alexander was buried, Alexander returneth into dust; the dust is earth; of earth we make loam; and why of that loam, whereto he was converted, might they not stop a beer-barrel?

Imperious Caesar, dead and turn'd to clay,
Might stop a hole to keep the wind away:
O, that that earth, which kept the world in awe,
Should patch a wall to expel the winter flaw!

16 posted on 02/12/2003 8:11:35 AM PST by boris
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To: Valin
Razors pain you; Rivers are damp;
Acids stain you; And drugs cause cramp.
Guns aren't lawful; Nooses give;
Gas smells awful; You might as well live.
--Dorothy Parker
17 posted on 02/12/2003 8:13:40 AM PST by boris
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To: Valin
Do we need to know this? "It's a healthy thing for people to realize what a treasure this is in space and time . . . and protect their environment as much as possible," Brownlee said.

Wrong Answer! What we need to do is get off this rock, terraforming other worlds and prolonging earth-life by spreading it around the galaxy. It is far more important that we prevent radical environmentalists from hampering our exploration of space, the type of radicals who are trying to get the moon declared offlimits to human activity despite the fact that is a lifeless dust ball.

18 posted on 02/12/2003 8:33:37 AM PST by rmmcdaniell
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To: Hermann the Cherusker
That being the case, it is no more unreasonable scientifically to assume that your favorite religious books depiction of pre-history is true than it is to abide the assumptions of the naturalisitic scientists trying to convince us we are just a bunch of electrons descended from a monkey.

Keep repeating your lies.

19 posted on 02/12/2003 8:40:32 AM PST by rmmcdaniell
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To: Valin
Clearly we need to burn more fossil fuels to forestall the glaciers...
20 posted on 02/12/2003 8:44:24 AM PST by malakhi (fundamentalist unitarian)
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