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http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/aug/18/aliens-destroy-humanity-protect-civilisations

I thought I was supposed to be the crazy one here...  O_o

 :) Hehe interesting. So who knew trying to make earth look like stroggos could do something like that, the more you know *star glides through post*

Sigh at these speculations.  Extra-terrestrials may also be very offended by the fact that we wear clothes and may wipe us out for that reason.

The Discovery and Science channels often have this sort of stuff, and while I certainly wouldn't discredit the science involved in it, it just comes off as pretentious.  For instance, having people like Michio Kaku talk about obvious scenarios, obvious philosophical notions, obvious hypothetical situations and then take ownership of them or claim some kind validity for them.

There's some show either coming up or already done about how we could fight off an alien invasion... are you kidding me?  You're going to speculate on the technology of a completely alien race, force it into a box that fits your understanding of the universe, and discuss how you would be able to contest it?  It just screams egotism.

/rant (seems I'm in a ranting mood right now)

I'd like to know who these "scientists" are, exactly. It's one thing to study climatology, geology, epidemiology and such; it's quite another to speculate about "what aliens might get angry about." I'm quite fond of science fiction and, compared to this, I've read much more sensible, clear-headed and believable futurism and ET-contact by so many authors who didn't even pretend to rely on scientific training.

It sounds like a rather desperate clutch at something that one might hope makes environmentalism "cool."

All the while people with more realistic views of the future guess that we will run out of oil pretty soonish, and that will remove a lot of the environmental problems (and possibly a lot of the people along with them). Within that picture, I'd sooner expect any aliens one might want to factor in to shrug and deal with the many more interesting matters that you'd think a space-travelling life-form could find to worry about; why would they give a crap about the moss-like infestation of a random planet?

I think Tab and fourier said it perfectly, haha.

But then again.. people like to speculate on these things.. sorta like the zombie apocalypse. How they get called 'scientists' though is way beyond me. I'm also quite sad that Penn State was mentioned as being involved in such 'research'. They're better than that.. sorta.

All I see when I read an article like this is propaganda: "How can we make people feel scared or guilty enough to make them adhere to our agenda?"  In this case the agenda is reducing CO2 emissions, and the scare factor is aliens.  It used to be that nuclear weapons were the big reason aliens might destroy the human race.  Humans seem hard wired to expect someone or something, be it aliens, asteroids, zombies,  wrath of God, or lately "climate change" to come along and try to wipe them out as a species at some point.  It seems that some people want to live their lives in fear of sudden annihilation.  During the Cold War the fear was very real since the threat was real.  Now the threat, if there is one, is not obvious but people still seem to want to have that fear.  Sometimes I wonder if people need a bogeyman to fear.  It's like during the Hajj  where everyone stones the devil.  I wonder how much of a leap it would take for people to go back to burning witches.

Well what i find most amusing among these "scientists" is like: omg it's so hot outside this week, zomg it must be cuz of the CO2 problems! or wow it's cold out there must be another ice age!! I prefer listen to those that makes a study over many years that's more belivable.

But hey!! i forsee that i'll be the king of sweden next year! ;)

 I imagine the high priests of the carbon cult are getting desperate. I will not deny that climate change exists but the fact remains that for a long time now the  so called scientific community has been making bold predictions and doomsday scenarios they really had no way of knowing were true. This theory is every bit as valid as the water world scenario and far more entertaining. And far far far more entertaining than anything al gore has shit out.

The moniker "Climate Change" is what gets me.  It was Global Warming, but then it was changed to Climate Change, which is the equivalent of saying "falling downward".  It's implying that there's such a thing as a non-changing climate.  The climate is in a constant state of change and has been since the Earth began.

I would be more willing to let this slide if they said that these theories were made by a nerd instead of a scientist.

wait.... correct me if I'm wrong... do you guys meant that there's no global warming or climate change either happening at all right now???  O_o

Uh no i believe there is an climate change happening atm, but if it's due to the ammount of greenhouse gases or the sun going nuts or some other reason remains to be seen.
However the amount of shit we let out in the atomsphere will of course have an effect and needs to be reduced and alternative fuels needs to be more than just an option.
(it's kinda crazy thought seeing more and more ppls drive around in SUV which tear even more on the oil reserves)

I prefer to have clean air to breathe if possible :)

I have no doubt there is climate change going on as there's no such thing as a non-changing climate.  Here's what I believe:

Is man's activitiy having an effect on the climate?  Certainly.  Man does not live in a vacuum on this world, but the extend of the effect I believe has been greatly exaggerated.  Are CO2 emissions a danger?  No.  A single volcanic eruption can burp out more CO2 and other greenhouse gasses in one eruption than man has released in his entire history.  Not only that, but plant life converts CO2 into oxygen.  CO2 is a necessary part of the biological functioning on this world.  Should man reduce pollution?  Absolutely.  There's no reason not to.  Then the real serious question - is man's daily activity going to cause catastrophic and irreversible change in the Earth's climate?  No.  The forces that drive the Earth's climatic function are far too powerful.  The Earth has weathered solar storms and asteroid and comet impacts, and life continues to thrive.  Man is simply not capable of destroying the earth through technological means.  If the planet were that fragile you would not be here discussing this with me as natural forces would have done in all life before man even existed.

What I do think is that Al Gore and others have taken fringe environmental concerns and blown them out of proportion with fear mongering and guilt tactics in order to profit.  This is tragic for a few reasons.  First, that by profiting from it they continue to sell a lie.  Second, that by crying wolf so many times skeptics turn completely away from the issue.  Third, that real environmental problems become buried or forgotten since focus has been taken completely away from them, and resources that could have been devoted to solving these more concrete problems have been squandered on things like carbon trading.  Lastly, that real scientific questioning of any of this has fallen prey to the modern-day equivalent of witch trials.  Dare question Global Warming as a scientist and you'll be burned at the stake - or at least your career will be.  It's happened many times already.  That's not science, that's fanaticism when people behave like that.  I've often heard it said that science and religion are irreconcilable, and in a sense that is true.  I believe a scientist has every right to believe in a religion and can still be objective in following the scientific method, but if scientists as a group start to behave in the way a religion behaves then whatever they are doing can no longer be called science.

I think George Carlin said it best...

"People are always talking about saving the planet.  Save the planet this, save the planet that.  The planet's fine!  It's not going anywhere.  We are!"

George Carlin was a very wise man.  I still feel bad for the poor unsuspecting sporkers in the fun house.  ;)

I don't think people have changed all that much from the days of witch hunts.  The witch hunt is just variable.  You can see how people can be worked up into mindless frenzies driven by fear, so much so that legislation, however illogical, is put in place to somehow pacify the masses; unfortunately, these are rarely coincidental and often part of a government's machiavellian machinations :(

True.