Many have predicted the end of the World around 2012. Given the current economic trends, food shortages (and skyrocketing prices) and energy costs that will only go up due to a looming production/consumption imbalance...

Could we be on track for global nuclear war in the next half decade?

While I don't think this is the case, I certianly get the feeling that people don't see any resolution to our current situation and neither of the three contenders for US President are talking about it seriously.

What say you?

-spence

I have a more morbid vision of the ensuing doom! Rising costs of everything, shortages of food, fuel, money.....rising unemployment and more and more foreclosures.......I see us turning on each other at some point.

i went to buy some tomatoes ( PLANTS) today

i have flats of them growing anyways...

but, they were all gone... and i mean EVERYTHING was gone :huh:

the place was stripped like a grocery store
before a Nor Easter.....

technology will prevail.... i have great faith in carbon nano tubes
i have great faith in alternate fuels like algae

life is a roller coaster.... it ain't no flat road...:agree:

Don't worry be happy. I figure that isn't anything I can do so why worry about it. Now if it comes to turning on each other I am pretty small so I won't be a very good meal for anyone but you Larry you could feed a whole family. Hey Craig I pick my first asparagus tonite

I am sure people in 1930-45 said holy crap how will we ever survive. A great depression followed by war on a scale hopefully we will never know but somehow the nation got through it. What I would like to see from our political leaders is a plan of action that will result in change things even if it is bitter going down. We were able to get a man on the moon in less than ten years after making it a national goal. Why can't we do the same for algae or hemp based biofuel. How about a tax structure that rewards people who save. For every 500 dollars average increase in your designated savings account over the course of a year you get 50 off your taxes. A higher % income tax rate for those people making over 5 million. A higher inheritance tax for amounts over 10 million. Elimination of hard and soft pork projects. There is a lot of stuff we could do if we had the stomach and backbone for it.

I think we are in for a tough road,, Yes there is an economic crisis looming and the foreclosures will get worse,,,,

It will be very tough for some and gas and food prices will really show their effects on many this fall,,, If there is no give this winters fuel prices might just break the bank.

I also think the News only tells the doom and gloom,,,, We will get through it,,, it just might hurt a little,,,,:humpty::humpty::humpty::humpty::humpty: So here it comes,,,

I watched an amazing program on The History Channel a few days ago. It was about the history of Earth, all 4.5 billion years of it, how it cooled from a lump of motlen rock to become what we have today. The planet has been through so many incredible global changes in its' exsistence, it seems rather vain to say that we humans, as insignificant as we are in the Earth's history, can influence the course of our planet's evolution. There have been times when Earth has boomed with millions of species of organisms only to freeze and lose almost every living thing on the planet. Extinction of global levels has happened throughout Earth's history.

We human beings are but one of Earth's tenants, here for probably a short time in the grand scheme of things. Our ability to think so advanced may ultimately become our greatest liability...

Our pollution will be wiped away, it may take a few million years, but in Earth years, that is the blink of an eye, and there will come a day when finding proof that human beings exsisted will be much like finding dinosaur fossils.

Here is an interesting read, it is the prologue to the book Jurassic Park, take a second and read it in the context of today's upheaval and global warming fears:


You think man can destroy the planet? What intoxicating vanity. Let me tell you about our planet. Earth is four-and-a-half-billion-years-old. There's been life on it for nearly that long, 3.8 billion years. Bacteria first; later the first multicellular life, then the first complex creatures in the sea, on the land. Then finally the great sweeping ages of animals, the amphibians, the dinosaurs, at last the mammals, each one enduring millions on millions of years, great dynasties of creatures rising, flourishing, dying away -- all this against a background of continuous and violent upheaval. Mountain ranges thrust up, eroded away, cometary impacts, volcano eruptions, oceans rising and falling, whole continents moving, an endless, constant, violent change, colliding, buckling to make mountains over millions of years. Earth has survived everything in its time.


It will certainly survive us. If all the nuclear weapons in the world went off at once and all the plants, all the animals died and the earth was sizzling hot for a hundred thousand years, life would survive, somewhere: under the soil, frozen in arctic ice. Sooner or later, when the planet was no longer inhospitable, life would spread again. The evolutionary process would begin again. Might take a few billion years for life to regain its present variety. Of course, it would be very different from what it is now, but the earth would survive our folly, only we would not. If the ozone layer gets thinner, ultraviolet radiation sears earth, so what? Ultraviolet radiation is good for life. It's powerful energy. It promotes mutation, change. Many forms of life will thrive with more UV radiation. Many others will die out. You think this is the first time that's happened? Think about oxygen. Necessary for life now, but oxygen is actually a metabolic poison, a corrosive glass, like fluorine.

When oxygen was first produced as a waste product by certain plant cells some three billion years ago, it created a crisis for all other life on earth. Those plants were polluting the environment, exhaling a lethal gas. Earth eventually had an atmosphere incompatible with life. Nevertheless, life on earth took care of itself. In the thinking of the human being a hundred years is a long time. Hundred years ago we didn't have cars, airplanes, computers or vaccines. It was a whole different world, but to the earth, a hundred years is nothing. A million years is nothing. This planet lives and breathes on a much vaster scale. We can't imagine its slow and powerful rhythms, and we haven't got the humility to try. We've been residents here for the blink of an eye. If we're gone tomorrow, the earth will not miss us.

So, we may be destroying life as we know it, but I might disagree when it is said that humans are destroying the planet. The Earth is very resilient. I realize this has little to do with the original post regarding the Mayan calendar, but hey, I'm on my first cup of coffee, bear with me!:tooth:

It's not about saving the planet, it's about saving ourselves. Carlin did a great piece on that thought. People have to learn to give to get, right now greed rules and there's no giving, only gimme,gimme. And THIS is what we get in return. Hooper, nice post.

Don't worry be happy. I figure that isn't anything I can do so why worry about it. Now if it comes to turning on each other I am pretty small so I won't be a very good meal for anyone but you Larry you could feed a whole family. Hey Craig I pick my first asparagus tonite
ProfessorM
i havent had time to mow the bed....
and i see nothing emerging...yet Paul...
but thanks for the heads up...just the same....
since it's gonna rain all next week..
i'll get right on that endeavor...on sunday

George Carlin does a skit on saving the planet that is hilarious and thought provoking. The guy is right on the money. Well worth the listen. Be ready for some salty language. Hooper you will like this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eScDfYzMEEw

I'm not really buying into the Mayan Calendar Prohpecy. I don't think there will be Armageddon on December 21,2012..


Extremely accurate calender in every sense though.Tides,sunset/rises,and the movement of heavenly objects like planets and yes comets and large asteroids were so accurately predicted you can use it to this day and be completely accurate.The cycles of some of these objects in our solar system bring them very close to Earth and its the belief of some that the Mayan calender has predicted that the Earth and one of these objects will occupy the same space on Dec.21,2012.

Like you I don't buy it though.No proof just theory.

The Flying Spaghetti Monster is the real deal.
http://www.venganza.org/

2012 is the last day of the Mayan calandar.. or that is how far the mayan's thought that THEIR civilization would end.. They got it off by 400 years. :hihi:

Alternative fuels will come to the forefront.. Big Oil is trying to rape us all why they still can and the Whitehouse is pullling the strings to make it happen....

Time will prevail...but can the normal person who is not loaded make it through the tough times ahead??

1984 was the end of the world ... sorry ... You must have missed it .. We depleted the worlds oil resources in 1973 ..

George Carlin does a skit on saving the planet that is hilarious and thought provoking. The guy is right on the money. Well worth the listen. Be ready for some salty language. Hooper you will like this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eScDfYzMEEw

Prof,

I LOVE George Carlin, I've seen him a few times at the Melody Tent here in Hyannis. Great clip, thanks, I enjoyed that!:kewl:

I believe that date is when the earth will be the center of the galaxy which happens every 26,000 years. I could be mistaken however, I think I heard somewhere that the world will shift 3 degrees on it's axis. Who knows????

That was great..Like you said very thought provoking..I have seen him at South Shore Music Circus years ago,,Very good

Turning on each other?????? Christ, I hope not..........I sure don't want to have to eat anyone from Brockton.

I believe that date is when the earth will be the center of the galaxy which happens every 26,000 years. I could be mistaken however, I think I heard somewhere that the world will shift 3 degrees on it's axis. Who knows????

it is true. However, if you forward that email to 54 different people, you will be able to save the earth from impending doom :jester:

I have a more morbid vision of the ensuing doom! Rising costs of everything, shortages of food, fuel, money.....rising unemployment and more and more foreclosures.......I see us turning on each other at some point.

yeah me too. once the system stops working, I envision gangs of thugs (the rest will be killed or starve) killing, raping, and pillaging for food and fuel to stay alive. Got thousands of rounds of ammo saved for my AK-47, .45, and 12 guage. A thompson center B/P and a compound bow for when all the high powered ammo runs out. :nailem:

Europe was wasted in the middle ages, plagues wiped out millions, war has been raging since history began, dictators massacring millions.
The US civilians in WWII rationed gas, rubber, metal, meat.

Gas is $3.50 a gallon and we're all about to call it quits.

We're humans, the top of the food chain, we got through ice ages,floods, plagues, famines, wars, disease..........something tells me will get through this too.

IG is READY :)

Ok, she's like really hot but can you at least teach her how to hold a weapon :hihi:

-spence

Hey as long as I can hit what I aim at it's all good :happy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGgN1p3evmE

Spence???

Applogies here please.:wavey:

I didn't see no target in that video :bounce:

-spence

Awe it's ok spence no need 4 apologies I understand why you find the urge to find flaws in my shooting, although shooting the bullseye in a tight group I believe that is decent shooting :uhuh: Oh 1 question for you where's your video of you shooting :lasso:

Hmmm, I probably wouldn't characterize my urges in that manner :devil2:

But anyway...the weapons I practice with are very advanced technically speaking. If a video were to surface it could cause serious problems for the US Government and some associates from Alpha Centauri, which I'm not at liberty to name at this time.

I do have over six thousand posts though, which should go far enough in proving my manhood.

-spence

I do have over six thousand posts though, which should go far enough in proving my manhood.

-spence

http://www.striped-bass.com/Stripertalk/showthread.php?t=47498

I showed I/G this last night.. funny s#^% man... :hihi:

I agree with the guy who said you need your own column or section in the scuppers. It would be pretty funny....but like you said we all may become to dependent and there will be major crisis at hand. :rotf3:

wow this got way :topic: sorry back to the 2012 thread...:cputin:

IG is READY :)

One word, WOW, on so many levels!:wave:

wow this got way :topic: sorry back to the 2012 thread...:cputin:
This thread sux anyway - - - We're all gonna die - - - POST MORE PICS :hee:

-spence

K spence more pics will be posted if I get your definition of Alpha Centauri Cause the way you have used it in your last post really makes no sense to me have you been catching up on your video games or astrology the past few weeks :huh:

Alpha Centauri is the closest star system to Earth (other than the Sun obviously) and one of its stars, Alpha Centauri B has a good chance of supporting life as astronomers believe it's quite "Earth like". One could assume that a visitor from Alpha Centauri, having made the trip, would be in posession of some mighty fine firepower.

While initially I made the remark as a cunning joke, with hindsight I realized it was also a reference to the movie "Men in Black."

-spence

It was also used quite a bit in the TV show "Lost In Space"!:tooth:

I have over 14,000 posts......I feel so macho!:laugha:

yea man, for some life will be better than others. Its the way it is has always been.

Mother Nature will rule in the end no matter what humans think, say, do or don't do. Could the recent stretching pains the Earth is undergoing (Haiti, Cuba, Chili, Japan, and now Iceland) be the beginning of the the End?

Iceland volcano could have world consequences
1783 eruption changed weather patterns, sent poisoned air to British Isles

REYKJAVIK, Iceland - Blasts of lava and ash shot out of a volcano in southern Iceland on Monday and small tremors rocked the ground, a surge in activity that raised fears of a larger explosion at the nearby Katla volcano.

Like earthquakes, predicting the timing of volcanic eruptions is an imprecise science. An eruption at the Katla volcano could be disastrous, however — both for Iceland and other nations.

Iceland's Laki volcano erupted in 1783, freeing gases that turned into smog. The smog floated across the Jet Stream, changing weather patterns. Many died from gas poisoning in the British Isles. Crop production fell in western Europe. Famine spread. Some even linked the eruption, which helped fuel famine, to the French Revolution. Painters in the 18th century illustrated fiery sunsets in their works.

The winter of 1784 was also one of the longest and coldest on record in North America. New England reported a record stretch of below-zero temperatures and New Jersey reported record snow accumulation. The Mississippi River also reportedly froze in New Orleans.

"I've stated many times to my co-workers while trying to understand the genetic code, that Mother Nature's a real bitch!".

saw a show today explaining where all the heavy metal came from originally

and the theory postulated is that our Earth's interior core
is similar to a nuclear reactor...

these cores (@ nuke plants) we keep cool and stable with constant monitoring
of temperatures and water

...but the earth is a self regulating
reactor.... and it may have to blow chunks
once in awhile :point: every 230 years or so to do just that...

there is a reason all the real old brick buildings down south
are bolted together and thats because of a HUGE quake
that 2/3 rds of All American's felt back in the 1800's

Here's an interesting hypothesis regarding increased earthquake activity as of late:

Since the prescribed method of drilling/extracting oil is to pump the oil out, and since the general practice is to pump water down to force the oil up, if the oil's viscosity is naturally greater than that of water, wouldn't water tend to heat up much faster and more explosively under pressure?
And since water is more fluid than oil, it would lead me to believe that it would seep down to the lowest level possible, thus increasing the possibility of increased heat and pressure build up.

Picture that an engine's radiator has a "coolant" added so that it can handle and dissapate the heat most effectively, and if there was nothing but water, wouldn't it tend to heat up faster and lead to more "overheating" episiodes?

Replacing the oil with water under the earth's crust could be similar in effect, and could lead to these "pressure-cooker" explosive earthquakes we've seen.

Keep in mind that this is just speculation, but it caught me off guard when my friend asked me what I thought.

You have to laugh at human beings lack of any knowledge of their history. Do you guys have any idea what transpired over the last 5000 years? Do you know that Mayans, Aztecs, Egyptians, Romans, Estruscans, Greeks where major world empires that are now 3rd world countries? Did you know that 1/3 of Europes population was wiped out by the plague? How about our own country.....despite Obama's best efforts to convince us that he is president "at our most challenging time" we did have a major civil war, killing millions of people, droughts that wiped out once fertile farmlands, depresssions, recessions, world wars, etc.
The times they are a changin, always have and always will.

I don't know about any of these "scientific" theories about the end of the world, but I'm sure about one thing. I'm gonna start looting before any of this stuff starts happening. I don't want to be left with 26" tv's, 2gig iPods and canned lentils. I'm gonna get the good stuff before it's gone.

.....despite Obama's best efforts to convince us that he is president "at our most challenging time"
You put this in quotes so I'm assuming you can cite a reference in appropriate context?

-spence

Don't make me move this to the political forum......

No, no politicals here.....Mother Earth has and knows no politics. Humans to Earth are like like a flee on a dog, a nuisance.

Don't make me move this to the political forum......

I'm not saying nothing. Those two have agendas:rotf2:

whoa!!!...IG... that gun toting shot...do you have a twin sister?

That has got calendar potential!:uhuh: