Cheer me up... Please?

[Dead_Parrot]

God, I'm, Depressed

Global politics, reptiles running everything... and don't go near the E/E forum....

[XemaSab]

1. I'm sorry to hear that.

Just so you know, you are not alone.

I've been depressed for a long time, and there are a lot of other people here who are also depressed.

I don't know what will cheer you up, but I'm here if you want to talk.

PM me if you want to.

[Dead_Parrot]

2. I'll stick to posts. it might help someone else...

OK, here's my main grief: I did a projection for E/E a while back - by the time we get "renewable energy" up to speed, we'll have conditions similar to the last 'great extinction' 50 million years ago. Add to that the pointless wars, the shifting sands of the DNC and that DU is turning into FR by way of blind partisanship, and we're bickering about port management and a "finger photo"?

What's the damn point?

ed:thanks XS, not being alone helps.

[XemaSab]

4. Ouch

That's a tough one.

I'm a scientist (birds and dirt) and sometimes it's a tough place to be in. Sometimes I think things would be better without humans, but I'm human so I have to root for my "team," and I'm American and I have to root for that team too.

I think we're going to be okay as long as we focus on what matters. And that's making sure that our vision survives.

Even if all the liberals are extirpated, obviously liberal thinking will resurface at some point, but why not ensure the survival of this mode of thinking now?

I've long thought that the MO of the Bush administration is to throw so much crap at us that we can never get organized against any part of it. But if we succumb to that, then they win.

If I thought that their little hegemony would go on indefinitely, then I would bag it in and move to Ireland or somewhere else where they speak English and don't get brutally cold winters, but they don't have any woodpeckers in Ireland, so I'm stuck here. Moreover, it's easy to think that we liberals are permanantly hosed, but really, who the hell are the BFEE going to put up in '08? Condi? McCain? Hardly...

I think we can fight and win against them on everything but the climate, and my solace with that is that all the extant species today have survived the last ice age and then some and they have proven the ability to adapt to anything the climate throws at them.

Beyond that, it's all up in the air, but hey, W might get hit by a bus tomorrow and save us all a lot of trouble, ya know?

(ps I can't spell)

[Robeson]

5. Ya' know Xema, in an odd funny way, that was a positive post....

....It kind of made me feel good. Of course, I have a buzz right now, and it's getting late, so if I was sober, I'm sure in my - sometimes unintentional - asshole way, I'd try to nitpick the finer points. But for now, it's good....:thumbsup:

[XemaSab]

8. I'm not sure whether I should feel flattered or not

Post back when you sober up and I'll see how I feel about it. :P

[Dead_Parrot]

6. Hmm...

I wish I could agree on "being OK" - CO2 levels are already more than they've been for at least 500,000 years, possibly 4,000,000: Bear in mind Antarctica was ice free 3,000,000 years ago...

...You're into birds. How do you feel about wiping out all the wild penguins?

(PS - Eire is warmed by the northern atlantic thermohaline circuit - aka gulf stream - bad place to move, damn thing will be gone in 10 years)

I guess my main problem is, are humans worth the trouble? is homo sapiens sapiens really that good? given the invention of the slush fund, the sweetener and the lobbyist, why bother?

King penguins wouldn't be that bad as a dominant lifeform...

[XemaSab]

11. You're right about the gulf stream

New Zealand then?

Shit! They don't have woodpeckers either! Heinous!!! x(

And yes, humans are worth the trouble. Witness the kudzu thread... only humans can know what they're doing that's destructive, and change their behavior accordingly.

Wiping out all the wild penguins would be a shame, but the real question is can we turn back? I don't think we can turn back any more than the modern Germans can "undo" the Holocaust. We just have to forge ahead. There's no other option. And every extinction produces something "wonderful and strange," as Shakespere would have it.

[Dead_Parrot]

12. NZ?

Moved here two years ago. For exactly those reasons.

Humans can change thier behavoir.. but we don't. Since Alexander we haven't.

Hence NZ - the biodiversity.

And no, we can'r create penguins. We might manage the DNA, but not the imprinting at birth.
You know that....

[XemaSab]

13. You moved to NZ because there are no woodpeckers???

:(

[Dead_Parrot]

14. no: no gulfstream.

I like woodpeckers:
Used to have a UK green woodpecker in my back garden, FWIW....
The only thermohaline currents running past NZ are he deep, cold Antarctic currents,

[XemaSab]

15. I've heard there's really good seabirding down there

Have you found this to be the case?

How's the rest of the birding?

[Dead_Parrot]

16. I had to drive slowly up my drive...

...because it was a blue penguin nesting path.

Other than that, spotting a kiwi, kea or kakapo makes up for it...

[XemaSab]

17. Keas are WICKED!!!!

I had the honor of cleaning out the bird drawers at my school, and HOLY COW... those beaks are weapons! :wow:

[Dead_Parrot]

18. He he...

To quote Mark Caradine:
"Keas" are so called because they screach thier name when they attack. It would be nice if "pallas' grasshopper warbler" could do that...

"Last chance to see", Doug Adams & Mark Caradine. Hope you've read it...

[XemaSab]

19. I haven't

reading books about endangered birds (or any birds for that matter) gets me antsy. :(

[Dead_Parrot]

20. You should do...

It is, to be honest, the best book I've ever read. It gives you an idea about "endangered"... "200? thtat's loads of them"

hint: the worlds most endagered species is/was the Chatham Island Robin.

One (pregnant) female. that's endangered...

[XemaSab]

21. I thought it was Spix's Macaw

But at any rate, it's depressing as hell when you think about it. :P

And I missed the mynas in Vancouver so I get antsy about missing other birds.

[Dead_Parrot]

22. Amd, of course, never mind the polar bears,,,,

Gods, I could cry....

[wain]

10. I'm always optimistic in the long run

The day to day stuff can really get to you, if you let it. From an historical perspective mankind manages to muddle thorough and figure out how to fix things it broke. There are good times and there are bad times. For example, look at our life environment in the US over the last 100 years. We have, or are in the process, of repairing mistakes made in the environment and with people. Sometimes it's hard to believe what previous generations have done, either by neglect, ignorance or intent. And what will future generations think of us? I think we try to do what's best. We may not always get it right, but in the long run we're getting better.

I always remember reading the impact Lyndon Johnson made as a congressman in his state of Texas. His leadership brought electrification to rural Texas, freeing its citizens of the daily drudgery previously spend on just washing, cleaning and cooking. And light at night.

So, I think we are better off than before. Politics goes in cycles. One party pushes it too far, and the citizenry votes back.

If enough of us keep smiling and moving forward, fewer will be depressed.

[Dead_Parrot]

23. Welcome to DU, Wain...

By training I'm am astrophysicist, with an interest in history - as close to a "day after tomorrow" paleoclimatologist as you can get.

Dem or gop doesn't matter any more: we've kicked the enviroment beyond anything we've evolved with.

Hence the plea for help...

[wain]

27. I appreciate the welcome

As a student I placed faith in scholarship, believing the rigor imposed yielded objective reasoning. I no longer have such blind faith. I think personal philosophy and emotion create a degree of subjectivity, particularly when projecting the future. Too often yesterday's conjectures are pr oven faulty. DDT maybe one example. Yes, mankind can influence evolving environment, but he has shown a ability to react and make corrections.

Have you given up? Do you believe we have passed the point of no return?

Sorry, have to sign off as a corporate MS fix is starting on my laptop.

[henslee]

3. Um did you see the video of the autistic basketball hero?

That can cheer up anyone.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBYPaNc57Ik&search=autistic

[Crazy Dave]

7. It's Friday!

Plus a DU group hug :grouphug:

[Dead_Parrot]

9. In NZ, it's sat morning....

we're still fucked, but a :hug: back at ya!

[CBHagman]

24. You're in beautiful New Zealand?

I've never been -- I'm stuck here in DC with the rat bastard in the White House, although I like DC itself -- so maybe we should all come visit you or something.

:hi:

[Dead_Parrot]

25. I'd recommend it...

.. I moved out here from the UK 18 months ago with a wife, daughter and suitcase...

Trust me, if you can work hard, drink lots and be liberal, there's no finer place...

[emmajane67]

26. I am jealous. I would love to go home to NZ for a visit.

Glad you are enjoying our lovely country.
Oh no, attack of the homesicks coming on.

:cry:

But a big "Kia Ora" from a real life kiwi.

:hi: