World events

[adamswildhoney]

I was just wonder if I was the only one that is somewhat scared by the fact that sciencists are saying that an asteriod is going to hit us in 19yrs and that it has a pretty good chance of end our world as we know it!

Also the big brown cloud that is over Asia is pretty scaring to bc its biggger than the US and its 2 mile thick.


Okay I normally dont get that freak out about things but for some reason Im freak out about this stuff!

Am I the only one?

 

[Angela Harlem]

It concerns me that there are lots of asteroids flying through space for sure. I know very little on the subject but it seems there is often predictions of one hitting us soon. I've also heard that they regularly (regularly? not sure) do make it through the atmosphere but they break up so they are comparatively small by the time they land.

Is the cloud of Asia smog?

 

[z edge]

I am just wondering about this cloud over Asia, is this the one they just discovered? I had never heard about this before, I was wondering how something so big could go unnoticed until now???

I wouldn't worry if I were you, it won't help anything. Plus you can do a lot in 19 years!!

 

[speedracer]

I was just wonder if I was the only one that is somewhat scared by the fact that sciencists are saying that an asteriod is going to hit us in 19yrs and that it has a pretty good chance of end our world as we know it!

Where did you read this?

 

[BAW]

I'm not really worried about the asteroid but the dust cloud does worry me a little. Here is a link with some further info on that.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/06/0601_chinadust.html

 

[OzAurora]

I have heard about both of these things and to be quite honest neither of them worry me- the asteroid, well that is evolution and apart of the universe which I think is something that we cant control and you know our planet will probably be destroyed again by a meteor impact of catastrophic proportions and these things usually happen in a geological timeframe and if this just happens to be whilst I am here, well I guess there aint much one can do about it really, but I would like to think that it could be averted in some way.......and the dust cloud, well us humans have only got ourselves to blame for this one too, apparently I heard a thing on the SBS (alternative TV station here in Australia) that was suggesting that this cloud in asia might have soemthing to do with the unusual weather patterns happening in the world, IE: severe drought in Australia, floods in China & Russia by way of global warming etc, etc I guess that it could be true, but again if it is it is still to do ultimately with how us humans have exploited and polluted the earth yet again- oh well, I will stop rambling......for now!!!!!

 

[cass]

I heard the "big brown cloud" mentioned on the news a few nights ago. The part of the story that alarmed , or maybe rather, saddened me, was the guy from the UN I think it was, spoke as though it was recent news, like this thing just sudenly appeared. We have been warned about the consequences for DECADES!!! I feel rather insulted government agencies are now making announcements like"we must do something NOW...reduce reuse!!" How about 30 years ago boys?
I had a go at changing the world, a bit of environmental ccampaigning in my younger healthier days( I thought i had contracted asthma, (maybe it's that big brown cloud, making it hard to breath). I never could decide if the guys in power really believed what they were saying, if they truly honestly really didn't think we were being greedy and destroying our children's future. It seemed they did , so I got filled with self-doubt and fear and gave up the fight.

I kinda believe in the chaos theory, the butterfly wing effect. As for asteroids?
My neighbours here grew up in the USA during WW@ and left after the Vietnam War. I was so young when i moved here and met them. They showed me pamphlets they were given as school children," In case of nuclear attack..DUCK and Cover!!
They toild me they had discovered a much more effective method to deal with such an event. I was all ears, willing to learn.
they told me...you bend forward, as far as you can ( u know where this is heading?I didn't. at the time ...lol) put your head between your knees.......and...u can guess the rest!!
I think the same method may be useful for incoming meteorites. One went by about ..I know when the World Cup was on, it amused me they reported it as being "the size of a soccer field" It was the closet one yet and the thing that was a worry is they didn't see it coming..it came from the direction of the sun.

Do you watch "catalyst" Aurora..it was on last night, talking about a new super dooper telescope up and functioning (we hope) by 2007. It shall reveal a lot more to us.
I take this very seriously, but at times feel so powerless to make a difference. Live Better With Less is all i can see to do.
Peace and good luck...don't worry...says she

 

[Anthony]

Hey, I was concerned about the meteor, but didn't they just find out that its marginally going to miss us?

Ant.

 

[Popmartijn]

Hello,

Yep, AFAIK, the meteor that's near the earth in 19 years is going to miss us (by a reasonable margin).

As for the meteor they just discovered (as it was coming from the direction of the sun), it passed us a few days ago. Apparently, that one was really close, passing us at the same distance as the distance of the earth to moon. It was also big enough to destroy the whole of the Netherlands, had it hit our country.

In hindsight, that was pretty scary

C ya!

Marty

 

[sharky]

well, if you worry about getting hit by asteroids, find another planet.

as for the dust cloud from China, the problem is that people need to overgraze and overgrow that land so they can put food on the plates of their families. A friend once told a story about how he was on a boat on the Amazon watching people clear the rain forest by burning trees to create farm land to grow food. He said to his Brazilian guide "Don't they know that's harmful to the environment?" to which the guide replied "That's something for first world countries to worry about."

You point a finger at these farmers for what they have done in China but if you had a starving family to feed, you would do the same thing.

 

[speedracer]

well, if you worry about getting hit by asteroids, find another planet.

as for the dust cloud from China, the problem is that people need to overgraze and overgrow that land so they can put food on the plates of their families. A friend once told a story about how he was on a boat on the Amazon watching people clear the rain forest by burning trees to create farm land to grow food. He said to his Brazilian guide "Don't they know that's harmful to the environment?" to which the guide replied "That's something for first world countries to worry about."

You point a finger at these farmers for what they have done in China but if you had a starving family to feed, you would do the same thing.

Countries that are in the initial stages of industrialization and mass agriculture will create a lot of pollution--it's kind of a stage they need to go through.

Of course, we in the US could do a better job of keeping pollution under control, too...

 

[rafmed]

Earth Summit has answer to Asian brown cloud
It's a little less talk, a little more action...

Tue 13 August 2002
NETHERLANDS/Amsterdam


Asian brown cloud nothing new. The solution is overdue. The Earth Summit can take action. So can you.


Pilots and astronauts have been talking about it for years. Now the United Nations and climate scientists have made it official: there's a giant cloud of brown haze stretching across Asia. And unless they get their heads out of the fog, they'll do exactly what pilots and astronauts have done: talk about it for years.

But hold on a minute. Scientists say the cloud is playing havoc with rainfall patterns, could be dramatically affecting monsoons in the region, and destabilising the agricultural output of the region. According to UNEP chief Klaus Toepfer, the cloud is caused by:


The burning of fossil fuels by vehicles, industries, and power stations

The burning of agricultural wastes

Emissions from millions of inefficient cookers burning wood, cow dung, and other bio-fuels

Forest fires

That's funny. Global warming is supposedly caused by all those things, and having the same impact.

So isn't the answer to these problems the same? Astute reader, the answer is "Yes." And it's already on the list of demands that the Earth Summit in Johannesburg will be considering in a few weeks' time:

Get renewable energy into the hands of two billion people without power. Take 10 years to do it if you must, but get on with it now.

A majority of the world's powerless (electrically speaking at least) live in Asia. Unless we get clean, renewable energies into their hands, the haze is only going to get thicker. How do we know that?

Well, consider the following story, from the BBC's Science and Technology pages:

"Scientists from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego, which coordinated the project, say the pollution is unprecedented in the region's history, and will get worse as the population increases.

Tiny particles in the cloud reflect the sun's rays, cutting its heat by up to 10 percent.

In the ocean, less sunlight could threaten the survival of water-plants and plankton - key organisms in the world's food chain. Reduced sunlight also means that less water evaporates from the ocean - leading to lower rainfall and increasing the risk of drought.

Scientists now want to discover how permanent the cloud is, and whether it is growing."

Guess what? That's not a story from this week. It's from a story dated June 11, 1999 - three years ago - and entitled "Pollution Cloud Threatens Asia."

In 1999, the cloud was detected only over the Indian ocean, not the whole of Asia. So the answer to one question is "Yes, it's growing." Now, is it permanent?

Not if we can help it. What can you do to help clean up the haze? Sign the petition that Greenpeace and the Body Shop will be presenting to the Earth Summit in Johannesburg, demanding renewable energy for two billion people within 10 years.

If we can put human beings on the moon, we can put clean energy into the hands of a fraction of the earth's population - without just talking about it for years.




Greenpeace website

 

[Lilly]

honestly, im not scared. like z said, a lot can be done in 19 years.

i'm not worried about any asteroid cos kobe said he'd bring me along in his spaceship when this happens.

 

[U2Bama]

Eventually, a theory will be published stating that President Bush's environmental policy is to blame for the asteroid, and that he had prior knowledge of it.

 

[Anthony]

You don't need 'prior knowledge' to know that if you pollute the world's atmosphere, environmental problems will arise.

Ant.

 

[U2Bama]

Really?

 

[Anthony]

Yes, really. It seems that Mr. Bush isn't acquainted with this fact.

Ant.

 

[rafmed]

Funny, pollution is the topic, and no ones mention the countries that have not signed the Kyoto threaty, or the ones that having signed it, violate it.

 

[U2Bama]

Funny, I thought the asteroid was the topic?

 

[LOVE MUSCLE]

Yes, really. It seems that Mr. Bush isn't acquainted with this fact.

Ant.

Yeah but this cloud is over China not America, so why should we have to worry about it?

 

[rafmed]

I was just wonder if I was the only one that is somewhat scared by the fact that sciencists are saying that an asteriod is going to hit us in 19yrs and that it has a pretty good chance of end our world as we know it!

Also the big brown cloud that is over Asia is pretty scaring to bc its biggger than the US and its 2 mile thick.


Okay I normally dont get that freak out about things but for some reason Im freak out about this stuff!

Am I the only one?

Is now clear Bama?

 

[U2Bama]

No. I was talking about the asteroid.