How Can The Earth Become A Lifeless Rock In Just 150 Years As The Movie Depicts?

[PunkMaister]

In the movie the level of environmental damage is beyond insane to say the least. Needless to say not even the worst of the worst of supercomputer models places the planet in such dire circumstances just 150 years from now, so how does it get to that point in the first place? Just how does Earth gets to a level that rivals the permian extinction in which 99.9 of all life on Earth perished?

In Avatar's Earth life only exists in 2 forms Humans and Algae and not green algae either as there is no sunlight to photosynthesize anymore but a genetically engineered Chemosynthesic variety.

There are 2 schools of thought one that believes that a combination of very damaging wars, and both natural and man-made disasters of unimaginable scale wrecked the Earth.

Then there those that say that just population and greed does that kind of damage in 150 years time. Well hello Dolly hold the presses. We have been in an industrialized society for over 200 years now, if things got damaged at the rate we see in the movie we would already be wearing Exopacks to breathe in the streets right now. Damage like cause over just the use of resources would not turn the Earth bare and lifeless in 150 years it would take centuries for the atmosphere to become like in the movie unless the following things happened. And keep in mind that unlike the movie we are moving toward renewable resources and so on.

A. Starting from this date all humans became insane in the membrane and cut down all the trees in the planet, killed all it's domestic animals not for food but because they wanted em dead.

B. Humanity deliberately massively for no good reason poisons and nukes the oceans so no living creature is left alive. does any of this makes sense? It probably does to those that propose this school of thought whatever...

C. Humanity burns not uses just burns Saddam Hussein style all the oil, coal and fossil fuels the world over. Then it also burns down all it's cities and whatever woodland and grassland that might be left. Again does this makes sense? Apparently it does...


All of the above done continually for years or a decade etc might turn the planet into the toxic lifeless soup we see in just a 150 years time as in the movie.

This is just to illustrate that the timeline for that kind of damage is just way off the charts. Having said that we still need to take care of our planet but if anyone thinks we could be in that same situation 150 years from now this is the only 2 ways that could happen. Again which one makes the most sense to you...

[rapunzel77]

Well, I think it is more to do with the story aspect than any true scientific research. There are several sci-fi stories, movies, etc that depict earth as a barren wasteland. I think that is what it is supposed to be. The worst case scenario or an exaggeration of a real problem. I don't think it is meant to be literal. It is almost symbolic of what could happen. Perhaps not on that scale but something similar. I figure that in the Avatar universe, planet earth is undergoing the typical sci-fi distopia complete with overly centralized government and corporations (especially RDA who practically runs the show), mind-numbing materialism, etc. From the pictures I saw in the Activist's survival guide, earth looked kinda like Wall-e in so far as there was nothing but urban environments with dozens of signs, etc, etc. It looks awful and that is probably the point.

Remember that Wall-e had a similar idea, at least when it came to the trash and the toxicity. The humans had to leave and continue their mind-numbing materialist lifestyle that inevitably made them babies. Totally and completely dependent on technology.

[Woodsprite]

Could never happen in reality, but Cameron's vision was that we poisoned the earth ourselves. He's a pro-eco-terrorist and thinks we're the primary cause of global warming (which I don't believe's happening anyway), but you can also take the fact into account that most sci-fi films that depict the future always depict it as a horrible wasteland (as rapunzel already put it), usually destroyed by man one way or another (except "The Time Machine" as far as I know, both in the book and movies, where the ultimate end is destruction; not caused by man, just by evolution).

[txen]

I don't think we could make the earth a lifeless rock if we tried. I really doubt that is how it will go down. The largest problem is the ever exponential increasing population. That is what is driving deforestation and most other environmental problems. The earth will loose diversity and will be degraded that is for sure as we already see it happening.

Something to consider. I live in California and we have many different type of environments. If you study them you find that diversity is at the maximum in some of the desert areas. Most would think that it would be in the forests up in the mountains, but that is not the case. Most deserts are not at risk of clearing for agriculture, or other uses. It should stay mostly safe. I understand that this only applies to temperate conifer forests and not the jungles (rain forests) where maximum diversity occurs and is most under threat.

[Huurraaa]

Look at Easter Island, now a bare rock that was once filled with trees. I bet the clans that lived there didn't believe things would turn out this way.

[PunkMaister]

Originally Posted by Huurraaa

Look at Easter Island, now a bare rock that was once filled with trees. I bet the clans that lived there didn't believe things would turn out this way.

Even that took centuries not 150 years so your argument is moot because is not that it cannot possibly happen but that it cannot happen in the amount of time the movie presents get it? Capish? To produce a Permian like extinction would take what I described earlier now if you want to believe we will all go insane and do all that is your prerogative...

[Spock]

The questions posed are poorly constructed and explained. But I've gone with the second option nonetheless. Although I believe it would be more subtle than what you've described.

[Huurraaa]

Originally Posted by PunkMaister

Even that took centuries not 150 years so your argument is moot because is not that it cannot possibly happen but that it cannot happen in the amount of time the movie presents get it? Capish? To produce a Permian like extinction would take what I described earlier now if you want to believe we will all go insane and do all that is your prerogative...

relax...I was talking to txen. You see how my post was right next to his? and I thought I didn't need to quote him. damn.

[PunkMaister]

Originally Posted by Spock

The questions posed are poorly constructed and explained. But I've gone with the second option nonetheless. Although I believe it would be more subtle than what you've described.

Really? Care to explain how can we get into a Permian like extinction without very damaging wars and natural and man made disasters?

Originally Posted by Huurraaa

relax...I was talking to txen. You see how my post was right next to his? and I thought I didn't need to quote him. damn.

With all due respect you did vote for option # 2 in the poll.

[Spock]

Originally Posted by PunkMaister

Really? Care to explain how can we get into a Permian like extinction without very damaging wars and natural and man made disasters?

Yup, I would, hey, I did write a 2000 word blog on it. It doesn't state that it will lead us to a permian like extinction event, but the issues I highlight could cause devastation on a massive scale. Here is the link:

http://spakey.wordpress.com/2010/03/...n-of-humanity/

[PunkMaister]

Originally Posted by Spock

Yup, I would, hey, I did write a 2000 word blog on it. It doesn't state that it will lead us to a permian like extinction event, but the issues I highlight could cause devastation on a massive scale. Here is the link:

http://spakey.wordpress.com/2010/03/...n-of-humanity/

Umm. that's no good because what we see in the script, the survival guide etc. Rivals the Permian extinction and you have nothing that comes even close to that. Still funny article and right to the point. The OP of this thread is not that it cannot happen but that it cannot happen in the short amount of time depicted in the movie something that you or anyone has yet to prove it can without again very damaging wars and disasters both natural and manmade.

[Spock]

Originally Posted by PunkMaister

Umm. that's no good because what we see in the script, the survival guide etc. Rivals the Permian extinction and you have nothing that comes even close to that.

No. Nothing in the script relates to the permian extinction at all. And many of my points have the potential to unfold into a catastrophic event that could rival the permian extinction.

[PunkMaister]

Originally Posted by Spock

No. Nothing in the script relates to the permian extinction at all.

Actually it does, Earth in the movie is nothing more than a bare lifeless rock with nothing but 2 lifeforms Humans and Genetically engineered Chemosynthetic Algae. Both the script and the Survival guide make this abundantly crystal clear.

Originally Posted by Spock

And many of my points have the potential to unfold into a catastrophic event that could rival the permian extinction.

Not in 150 years which is the point of this thread. The damage we see on the movie would take centuries at best not just 150 years.

[Spock]

Originally Posted by PunkMaister

Actually it does, Earth in the movie is nothing more than a bare lifeless rock with nothing but 2 lifeforms Humans and Genetically engineered Chemosynthetic Algae. Both the script and the Survival guide make this abundantly crystal clear.

The Permian extinction wiped out everything over 1 foot tall. Clearly humans are alot taller. Choose your words wisely.

Originally Posted by PunkMaister

Not in 150 years which is the point of this thread. The damage we see on the movie would take centuries at best not just 150 years.

But it only took 150 years. And the issues I outlined in my blog toute the arrival of disaster to be "Imminent" within 100 years let alone 150.

[J Sully]

i don´t think it is that unrealistic.

latest reports say that a big coral dying is upon us. just now a big coral bleaching took place on the Lord- How Islands, and only cause the temperature went up for about 2°C!!+

If we kill the coralreefs that would be very bad!!!!