Comments on: before and after

before and after

tarantula — Sat, 04 Jun 2005 09:37:00 -0800

Atlas reveals global devastation....... a new atlas just released by the UN showing before and after satellite imagery of the last 30 years (more or less) of human impact. NEATO!

By: Busithoth

Busithoth — Sat, 04 Jun 2005 09:46:16 -0800

that argentina/paraguay shot is sheer insanity. (last comparison in series). I hope Bolton's got some mad photoshop skills to shut this line of non-constructive commentary up.

By: R. Mutt

R. Mutt — Sat, 04 Jun 2005 09:51:15 -0800

The actual UN link with high resolution, downloadable images.

By: keswick

keswick — Sat, 04 Jun 2005 09:54:01 -0800

See, I told you the coming flu pandemic is a good thing.

By: Civil_Disobedient

Civil_Disobedient — Sat, 04 Jun 2005 10:12:02 -0800

I'll bet the cure for that upcoming pandemic was in that rainforest down there.

By: acetonic

acetonic — Sat, 04 Jun 2005 10:42:16 -0800

Looks like progress to me.

By: amberglow

amberglow — Sat, 04 Jun 2005 10:45:47 -0800

I thought cities were more efficient uses of resources--public transit, less driving, etc.?

By: Stan Chin

Stan Chin — Sat, 04 Jun 2005 10:50:58 -0800

But we couldn't fund scientific research for cures without economic development! But then, maybe our rampant industrialization causes the pollution that creates more diseases! But then, where would the money to research cures for those diseases come from?! But if we did cure something, it would only allow more overpopulation and more devastation to the environment! O what a world what a world. I going to go watch TV.

By: scarabic

scarabic — Sat, 04 Jun 2005 10:59:05 -0800

Jesus fucking Christ! Thank you for not breeding.

By: fenriq

fenriq — Sat, 04 Jun 2005 11:00:17 -0800

Neato in a This-is-really-sad kind of way. The BBC has the pictures side by side and faster loading. To me, it looks like its time to start colonizing other planets before we fill this one up. That and I want to go and buy the biggest chunk of land I possibly can.

By: futureproof

futureproof — Sat, 04 Jun 2005 11:02:13 -0800

High density well planned "green" cities are the most efficient way of mass living. Suburbs (and most cities) are hurting the world.

By: Busithoth

Busithoth — Sat, 04 Jun 2005 12:16:17 -0800

Looks like progress to me. posted by acetonic at 1:42 PM EST on June 4 [!] Progressing to what, exactly, though?

By: bigtimes

bigtimes — Sat, 04 Jun 2005 12:52:04 -0800

While this is indeed horrible, I wonder if we could find just as many good things that have happened.

By: keswick

keswick — Sat, 04 Jun 2005 12:56:33 -0800

Good things? No, humanity is inherently evil! Didn't you get the MeFi talking points memo?!?!

By: talos

talos — Sat, 04 Jun 2005 13:12:13 -0800

Eight, in total, released pairs of images from the UNEP site (in French, but the links are pretty obvious). Includes higher resolution photos.

By: Drexen

Drexen — Sat, 04 Jun 2005 16:17:04 -0800

Wow. It's a cliché, but these photos really bring it home - from a planetary perspective, humanity is exactly like a skin disease. The filgree wrinkles and veins and nodules of a splotch of some malignant growth are replicated in the road systems, factories, agriculture and the amenities infrastructure surrounding cities and other large developments. Neat!

By: bigtimes

bigtimes — Sat, 04 Jun 2005 16:51:03 -0800

Quick everyone! Kill yourselves!

By: elpapacito

elpapacito — Sat, 04 Jun 2005 18:08:26 -0800

Those one-liner responses...bah ! If you need to waste time at least make the waste worth something..otherwise you may as well write FUCK YOU for what it's worth There's a set of problems here 1. Apparent but realistic scarcity of natural resource 2. Need to Feed / Clothe / House / Cure humans 3. Need not to destroy our environment in the process so that we Feed/Clothe/House/Cure ourself to death/misery 3. Increasing population = all the above needs increase 4. More population tries to become richer as they seek what they think to be a better lifestyle (the western illusion) What needs to be done ? Some points are obvious and need to be reinstated..their implementation isn't always easy but sometime are just as simple as closing an open faucet or eating less ( I don't mean starve..eat little more the one body needs) 1. Reduce _Waste_ of quantities of goods needed for human consumption 2. Reduce _externalities_ of our production method. 3. Optimize production of goods and tools to make them LAST or be relatively easily recycled Among the wastes I think the most destructive wastes are generate by those who look for monetary profit at obtain it by the means of mindless destruction of resources. Indeed among these people we find the ones to which _bottom line_ profit is the only or the primary objective of their works and meddling...it seems to me they show the signs of a compulsive addiction to money ..they justifications are usually along the lines of 1. it's good for the economy (that means nothing..nukes are good for somebody too..economy is just an abstract concept ) 2. we need to feed people (people don't eat money) 3. whatever..we're free to do so ! (but we're not free of stopping you from destroying ourselves ! Hypocrit) 3. you're a ommunist/fascist/imperialist/republican/democrat etc (that's pure pointless namecalling) That is not to say that all people who think about obtaining monetary profit from their work are necessarily crazy..as money is a credit instrument useful and practical in exchanging good....BUT doing that by the means of making the majority suffer the negative and sometime unpredicted consequences of the monetary enrichment process enriching a minority of money is FOOLISH. I wanna see what one will do with millions if those millions don't cure their cancer ..which proves the foolishnes of excessive selfishness.

By: Civil_Disobedient

Civil_Disobedient — Sat, 04 Jun 2005 19:35:00 -0800

Those one-liner responses...bah ! Hey, my one-liner was apropos.

By: benightedly_heedful

benightedly_heedful — Sat, 04 Jun 2005 19:39:28 -0800

Sorry, I have to disagree that one-liners are a waste; bigtimes' comment was so much better than elpapacito's.

By: sfenders

sfenders — Sat, 04 Jun 2005 20:52:45 -0800

R. Mutt had the only useful comment.

By: bigtimes

bigtimes — Sun, 05 Jun 2005 14:34:05 -0800

It's a quick and easy solution, we've been doing it for years.

By: Citizen Premier

Citizen Premier — Sun, 05 Jun 2005 15:38:51 -0800

The Japanese are doing it quite a lot; they must be more aware of the problem than we are.