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The Forum > General Discussion > Germaine Greer and the environment - fact or fiction?

Germaine Greer and the environment - fact or fiction?

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"Instead of trying to find a way to live on Mars, humans should be trying to rejuvenate our own planet, feminist Germaine Greer has told an Adelaide audience."

She says however: "Acclaimed physicist Stephen Hawking quite calmly argues that human beings will soon have rendered the earth uninhabitable — the result being that people will have no option but to colonise space,” she said.

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/technology/science/germaine-greer-urges-people-to-think-about-earth-first-before-looking-to-mars/story-fni0c0qr-1227305543886

However what the page doesn't tell you is an information leaflet about the session is titled: "Equality is Not Enough: Ecofeminism and Survival."

Is this nothing more than creating a battle between the sexes - and no serious concern for the environment - or does Germaine have a valid point?
Posted by NathanJ, Thursday, 16 April 2015 12:38:21 PM
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NathanJ

"Stephen Hawking quite calmly argues that human beings will soon have rendered the earth uninhabitable"

Humans may well find themselves too smart for there own good...and as for the battle of the between Males and females, its what drives us to breed is the problem, not who we are.

Major thinkers view the time-line on a yearly bases and the growth of the planets people...and while some think we have the space in the world, this is far from the truth. Sustainable environments...is the key to longer times to come and natures blue-prints have illustrated this very clearly.

I've never heard of Germaine Greer, but many of the comments below show the people are thinking about these issues and taking them to mind to find solutions.

To over-load Australia would be the most stupid thing any of us can contemplate.....I heard someone say.."If white Australians weren't so lazy, we would not need to import smarter youth from other countries"....I disagree with the comment...but what do you think NathanJ?....but that could be a bogan question:)

Stephen Hawkings comments are his own opinions..

Tally
Posted by Tally, Thursday, 16 April 2015 5:59:47 PM
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Greer is 76, why should she be worried about the earth becoming uninhabitable?

I also wonder whether she quoted Hawking correctly, or added her own interpretation: firstly, in cosmic terms it is certainly "soon" when Earth becomes uninhabitable, but chances are that it will not happen during the lifetime of anyone we know. Second, I don't believe that Hawking, of a very sound logical mind, claimed that colonising space is the ONLY option - surely he is aware that dying out is another.

Feminism? Environmentalism? more likely a case of early-stage dementia.
Posted by Yuyutsu, Thursday, 16 April 2015 6:01:04 PM
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"but chances are"... Yuyutsu!...I never thought your mind could ever think of gambling...:).....We are talking about the planet...not waiting for god to fix it:)....Oh dear:)

When your ready?

Tally
Posted by Tally, Thursday, 16 April 2015 6:51:19 PM
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Dear Tally,

The chances of Earth becoming uninhabitable during the lifetime of anyone we know, are pretty slim. The chances of that occurring as a result of human actions (as opposed to astronomical or geological events), is a small fraction of the above and the chances that you and I can do anything about it are even more negligible.

The most we could expect within this time-period, in terms of escaping to space, is for a small colony of people to exist on Mars, still heavily dependent on supplies from earth. The price of maintaining such a colony would lower the standard and quality of living on earth tremendously - and for what?

Should this planet become uninhabitable, which eventually it will without a gamble, surely we will find somewhere else, whether in this galaxy or another, even in this universe or another, to complete our spiritual journey. The bodies we would have then may not be exactly as our current human form, but it should make no real difference.

Meanwhile, in order to reduce the suffering, we can prepare by refraining from bringing new humans into this planet. So long as this planet is still inhabitable, this will also produce many other benefits for the fewer those who will remain anyway.
Posted by Yuyutsu, Thursday, 16 April 2015 8:11:19 PM
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Dear Yuyutsu....

I totally agree, and what's more, the point of us finding any planet at our stage of development is precisely why the human race shouldn't burn the candles at both ends while we don't have the technology to do so at this time.

If we take it easy with the planets resources/population now, the 300 hundred years needed to carry out vast space travel just might not be science-fiction....mankind could start with maybe a small resort on the moon and that would be the only move I'd make at this point in time.....but even that's some 50+years from now.

Food for thought?....A mining team not so far off from now, could be drilling down below into the moons surface and begin carving out a huge cavern, and then having three stage pressure doors to create the atmosphere needed.......all still fiction, but the people that would PAY!...to have a meal or just enjoy the low gravity..would be fruitful indeed.

Tally
Posted by Tally, Friday, 17 April 2015 4:58:49 PM
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All this worry over the climate is pointless. There is another ice age coming eventually, and when it does most of the population will be wiped of the planet. A few thousand years will pass, the ice will thaw and the survivors will start all over again.

I'm surprised Stephen Hawking isn't smart enough to see our best preparations should be used to plan a comfortable way to survive on a frozen earth. It's got to be easier to prepare for the future on the only planet we know for certain can accommodate us, than to be wasting time, money and resources on a project that will only benefit a handful of people on a one way journey. Hawking may be a genius but like so many in academia, he lacks common sense.
Posted by ConservativeHippie, Friday, 17 April 2015 5:24:17 PM
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Dear ConservativeHippie...

"All this worry over the climate is pointless. There is another ice age coming eventually, and when it does most of the population will be wiped of the planet"

You can not be sure of this....True, the planet is well over its stable time frame, and the prospects of us ever leaving here' are next to zilch.

Iam happy to spend my time here on this planet and that's life as we all know it. On the other hand, we could have another 2.7 times to the value of what we already understand....If we go back in time, there is no time clock that can say this will happen at this precise moment and nor can we predict anything.

All life has started with chance and will end the same way.

Tally
Posted by Tally, Friday, 17 April 2015 6:19:30 PM
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I've always been a little awkward about the opinion of Stephen Hawking on this but a comment from a man like that must be afforded some level of seriousness.
I would say he isn't, in this instance, considering the impossibility of such a task: simply acknowledging that we are in truly desperate times and putting his name to such a statement will wake people up to that reality!! It's a political statement if you will...
Posted by Cupric Embarrasment, Saturday, 18 April 2015 11:54:34 AM
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As for Germaine, she is simply saying Hawking did not say populating other planets was possible!

People seem to get so bent out of shape whenever Germaine is heard but atleast she has a considered opinion to give. GO GERMAINE!!
Posted by Cupric Embarrasment, Saturday, 18 April 2015 12:06:18 PM
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