We've heard about the Red Button and
the Green Button. All well and good. Now suppose there's this newly
installed Yellow Button: Pressing it means you instantaneously remove all
human beings from the earthly equation. That simple; poof they go.
If you'd prefer to be a bit more restrained and even-handed, amend the hypothetical so that pressing the Yellow Button means you incapacitate each human's reproductive function. This way, all unsuspecting individuals still get to live out the rest of their lives despite their newfound inability to procreate.
I'll just stick with the harsher version, for brevity's sake.
Either way, the result is the same in a generation or four: A planet
devoid of humanity, with all else remaining the same.
The kicker: You don't have days/weeks/months to decide whether or not to press
the Yellow Button. You must decide right now, as the button is available for
a limited time only. With ample time to make the call, loose ends might
not end up being so loose, and the lesson being imparted loses some of its
punch.
Showing posts with label wildlife. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wildlife. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 15, 2018
Sunday, November 30, 2014
VHEMT Is Worse Than Humancentric Natalism
Originally published on November 30, 2014. Modified on August 29, 2016.
Recent figures released by the World Wildlife Fund have validated a hunch I've long harboured; wildlife is depopulating at an exponential rate. While most of us were well aware that the number of animals in the natural habitat had been dwindling in some capacity, hardly anyone foresaw that the total amount of sentience on earth in 2014 would be sliced in half to the total amount that existed forty years ago. And yet here we are.
[Edit: On further inspection, 50% appears to be something of a stretch. See Brian Tomasik's speculative but detailed breakdown for a fairly lower figure, cautiously keeping species and individual organisms within species separate.]
This is quite the bombshell for preservationists. What's more, according to the findings, it is unambiguously clear that human impact played a pivotal role in the quickened diminution. While human activity isn’t the sole culprit behind every bit of non-human sentience that’s been halved over the last four decades, it does apply to the overwhelming majority it.
Recent figures released by the World Wildlife Fund have validated a hunch I've long harboured; wildlife is depopulating at an exponential rate. While most of us were well aware that the number of animals in the natural habitat had been dwindling in some capacity, hardly anyone foresaw that the total amount of sentience on earth in 2014 would be sliced in half to the total amount that existed forty years ago. And yet here we are.
[Edit: On further inspection, 50% appears to be something of a stretch. See Brian Tomasik's speculative but detailed breakdown for a fairly lower figure, cautiously keeping species and individual organisms within species separate.]
This is quite the bombshell for preservationists. What's more, according to the findings, it is unambiguously clear that human impact played a pivotal role in the quickened diminution. While human activity isn’t the sole culprit behind every bit of non-human sentience that’s been halved over the last four decades, it does apply to the overwhelming majority it.
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