Some of us believe that the sooner civilization crashes the better it will be for the planet...

[GliderGuider]

The logical implication is that the most effective form of ecological activism possible...


Is to vote Republican...

[OKIsItJustMe]

1. That belief is naive

If/when “civilization crashes” we will take the rest of the ecosystem with us.

People will eat everything, down to the soil, rather than starve to death.
http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/famine/hunger.htm
http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/genocide/stalin.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Famine_food
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geophagia
http://www.drroyspencer.com/2015/05/is-north-korea-cutting-down-all-its-trees/

[2naSalit]

2. Not to mention cannibalism...

But I also agree that the biosphere will make a regenerative type recovery after we are gone, just not like what is here now.

[OKIsItJustMe]

3. If the biosphere is destroyed, in what sense did it benefit from our departure?

People have this romantic view that humanity will disappear, leaving a hole that “nature” will fill.

It’s not going to happen. Not now.

We have gotten to a point that we seriously contemplate setting up colonies on the Moon and Mars. You may safely assume that if things get bad enough, we will do likewise on Earth. If we need to build domes, we will.

[2naSalit]

4. We probably won't

completely destroy all life forms in the biosphere so I'm suspecting that there will be something that survives at some level. I didn't say that there was a benefit to our destruction but some life forms will survive and from that baseline, some kind of biospheric revival is likely... though it will probably be very different from what it is while we are here. But we won't be around to know what that is or looks like. the planet will survive us, and it will be much different after we have destroyed ourselves and a lot of life forms that we now recognize.

[Finishline42]

8. What happens to all the petro chemical plants when they lose power?

What happens to all the petrochemical plants when they lose power?

What happens to all the nuclear plants?

What happens to all the hazardous chemicals stored in manufacturing plants and warehouses?

These facilities operate everyday and keep these poisons under control but when it all goes up in smoke these places will be vast uninhabitable areas - like Bhopal and Chernobyl.

When government fall apart and nobody has the money to do simple things like take the trash to the land fill or keep the sewage plants working.

[OKIsItJustMe]

9. These things will have mostly localized effects, and be relatively short-lived

I don’t mean to downplay them, however, the effects of Climate Change would be global, and would last 100's of 1000's of years.

If we affect the climate enough to kill ourselves off (in spite of our technology) what other species will survive?

Let’s say (for example) we affect weather patterns enough to cause general crop failure. (Other species eat plants, or eat other species which eat plants.)

[Agnosticsherbet]

5. The earth is a large ball of molten iron with surface impurities

And an infection of various life forms upon its surface.

There us nothing bout the planet that will notice.

In about two billon years, the sun will expand to a red giant, and the earth will be evaporated.

Why do people think the earth will be better?

[Binkie The Clown]

6. An oldie but a goodie

[OKIsItJustMe]

10. Except, it’s not just us

“Nature” will almost certainly survive. However, most of what we think of as “Nature” might not.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permian%E2%80%93Triassic_extinction_event

[Binkie The Clown]

12. True. And each time, what WAS nature gets replaced by a new and different nature.

It may take a few million years, but eventually, life finds a way, and ecological health and diversity return, only to be replaced again by another new nature.

That new nature may not have polar bears and white rhinos, but OUR nature doesn't have trilobites and megatheriums. Nothing is permanent, and mourning change is like mourning sunset. It's perfectly natural and mourning doesn't prevent it from coming.

[OKIsItJustMe]

14. Or, it might not

It appears that Mars may have had life at one time.

If so, life apparently did not “find a way.”

[Binkie The Clown]

15. Good point.

Either way, humans probably won't be here to notice which way it goes.

Maybe, just maybe... In a galaxy far, far away... intelligent life might take another stab at surviving. Of course we won't how that experiment turns out either.

[OKIsItJustMe]

16. I (for one) would consider it a great loss regardless of whether I was here to know or not

Too many people have this notion of “Gaia” as a wise & benevolent godess who will work to preserve life.

“Gaia” is a hypothetical construct. We don’t know how common or uncommon life is. Based on our limited observations, it could extremely common or extremely rare.

We have an extremely limited dataset, but, whether it meets our expectations or not, to our knowledge ours is the only inhabited planet in the cosmos.

[caraher]

7. A colleague of mine told our university president he voted for Romney for exactly that reason

I'm not sure whether he was joking... though if he did vote for Romney it could only have been for that reason!

[kristopher]

11. Speaking of twisted belief systems...

http://listverse.com/2011/08/15/top-10-bizarre-belief-systems/

Other than perhaps degree of commitment, I can't see any essential difference between your posts and number 2 on their list:

Church Of Euthanasia



The argument over the reality of Climate Change and Global Warming may rage around the world, but it is hard to find opposition to the concerns raised around over-population. So great is the problem that China, a country whose standing as a superpower is built on the size of its population, has conceded to implementing the infamous One Child Policy. This policy limits couples to one child and imposes fines and even forced sterilization in the events of subsequent successful pregnancies.

The Church of Euthanasia takes a “What’s done is done?” attitude to children already present, but steps up the bizarre scale by promoting the use of suicide, abortion, cannibalism and, of course, sodomy as means of addressing the population issue. Proclaiming itself as “a non-profit educational foundation devoted to restoring balance between Humans and the remaining species on Earth”, the Church of Euthanasia is a vocal opponent to everyone from anti-abortion groups to those Jonathon King described as giving “the rotting the dead the will to live, go on and never die.

”Started by the Rev, Chris Korda in Massachusetts, USA, the Church of Euthanasia has only one commandment, “Thou Shalt Not Procreate”. However, it does stress that all of its principle pillars, suicide, abortion, cannibalism and sodomy, are only supported as voluntary means of achieving the Church’s goals. This means that the Church does not sanction murder, rape and involuntary sterilization and cannibalism is limited to only eating people who are already dead.“Save The Planet, Kill Yourself” is a standard slogan and bumper sticker, but this and other similarly catchphrases paled into deathly insignificance against the Rev. Korda’s music video release, “I Like To Watch”. Using a blend of hard-core pornography and footage of the collapsing World Trade Center, Rev. Korda struck a discord with almost every level of society and provided invaluable publicity for the Church of Euthanasia.

Prior to this, the Church had only really come to prominence...

[GliderGuider]

13. Huh. That policy seems completely rational to me.

Go figure!

However, it does stress that all of its principle pillars, suicide, abortion, cannibalism and sodomy, are only supported as voluntary means of achieving the Church’s goals. This means that the Church does not sanction murder, rape and involuntary sterilization and cannibalism is limited to only eating people who are already dead.

I don't see anything whatsoever wrong with this position. I certainly would never kill anyone, or eat someone who wasn't dead yet! Even the amoral have rules, after all.