Which is the greatest threat to the planet

[...of J.Temperance]

Poll question: Which is the greatest threat to the planet

Which is the greatest threat to the planet?

Over population or Global warming? I know that both of these issues are a threat, but which would you say is the greatest threat?



:popcorn:

[Lost-in-FL]

1. Overpopulation of Republicans is not a choice...

[...of J.Temperance]

2. I think that'd be covered by over population in general :)

That I do.

[Lost-in-FL]

4. If that is the case...

Overpopulation of republicans could cause global warming... my vote for overpopulation... :+

[Dogmudgeon]

3. The greatEST threat?

Lack of forsight about either of these problems, as well as a number of others.

Of the two you gave, the worse threat TO "the planet" is global warming; but a mass die-off of human beings is no threat to anything at all except the rest of us human beings.

Yet, somehow, it seems absurd -- and morally numb -- to assume that a diaster on the order of one thousand Holocausts is a trivial thing.

But, yes, Humankind has reached a point where we face great absurdity. The planet will be little affected; we will have a white-knuckled ride, whatever path we take.

--p!

[mandyky]

5. I see global warming as connected to overpopulation

so this is a chicken / egg question for me...

[HysteryDiagnosis]

6. We can always get rid of people (see Iraq wars) plus following

list, but it might be a tad hard to get rid of hundreds of trillions of pent up BTU's before they can do their work.... looks like they have made a good start already.

http://www.zmag.org/list2.htm
The following is a partial list of U.S. military interventions from 1890 to 2000. This guide does NOT include demonstration duty by military police, mobilizations of the National Guard, offshore shows of naval strength, reinforcements of embassy personnel, the use of non-Defense Department personnel (such as the Drug Enforcement Agency), military exercises, non-combat mobilizations (such as replacing postal strikers), the permanent stationing of armed forces, covert actions where the U.S. did not play a command and control role, the use of small hostage rescue units, most uses of proxy troops, U.S. piloting of foreign warplanes, foreign disaster assistance, military training and advisory programs not involving direct combat, civic action programs, and many other military activities.

[against all enemies]

7. Bush

[Hubert Flottz]

8. Bush and the neocons!

[...of J.Temperance]

10. I know that Bush and the neo-cons are a huge threat to the planet, but

The poll is just about over-population and global warming It's not a poll with other options...if I did have the option of Bush and the neo-cons then they'd get 99% of the votes...which, would make the poll pointless, because EVERYBODY on DU AGREES that Bush and the neo-cons are a HUGE threat.

So, I've got two other very interesting choices instead, global warming and over-population.

[SofaKingLiberal]

9. Global Warming

The planet will be survive just fine, actually better without humans.

[Poppyseedman]

14. Are you volunteering to start the revolution?

The planet will be survive just fine, actually better without humans.

:evilgrin:

[Poppyseedman]

11. Neither

The greatest threat to the planet is a viral pandemic. With air travel and mega cities with mass transit, the 1918 pandemic should be a cake walk compared with the possibilities of a world wide flu outbreak in this present age.

Over population was and still is grossly exploited. Not one single predication about the over population crisis has came true. Not one!!!

Global warming is caused by the sun warming up. Ask me in 10,000 years.

[Skinner]

16. That may be the greatest threat to *humans*...

...but not to the planet. I tend to think that the planet would not be harmed one bit by a viral pandemic among humans.

Not sure where you get your facts about overpopulation or global warming. Sure, the most alarmist predictions about overpopulation did not come true. But, for example, the prediction that human population would cause massive extinctions of other species is already coming true. And most scientists agree that our current global warming is being caused by greenhouse gasses produced by humans.

[Poppyseedman]

20. It is true that a viral pandemic would not hurt the planet

but if there are no humans left, what is the point???

I'm sure all the animals will nod a sigh of relief when we finally do ourselves in

[kliljedahl]

12. Only two choices?

Where's peak oil?


Keith’s Barbeque Central

[...of J.Temperance]

13. Well

I know that there are a variety of great threats to the planet, including peak oil, and Bush and the neo-cons. But I thought we'd just have global warming and over-population in this poll.

I do have a poll or two each day, so you know, I will probably be including some of the other great threats to the planet in those polls :)

[PowerToThePeople]

15. Overpopulation

Global warming is a threat to living plants and creatures. But global warming will go away once the human race is extinct. Overpopulation increases the use of the fuels which cause global warming. It is more of the root cause (though fossil fuel use is the "real" cause).

[Vidar]

17. George W Shrub.

[Bluebear]

18. Global warming.

Somehow there are vast areas with NO people. (Like, Wyoming.) population density seems skewed but global warming seems to be an imminent threat.

Love these daily polls!

[...of J.Temperance]

19. Hey

The Administrator even answered THIS poll!

Mah polls have OBVIOUSLY made the BIG time now huh? :)

Zogby had BETTER watch out...ah'm hot on his tail!

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

21. Niether. The Planet Will Be Fine Either Way. We, However, Will Not Be

So if it is which one is more harmul to humans, I'd say probably over population.

[Clarkie1]

22. Overpopulation.

Both are grave threats, but while global warming may return us to the age of the dinosaurs, overpopulation can lead to far greater destruction of ecosystems. Let me put it this way...global warming changes ecosystems, overpopulation destroys ecosystems.

[tx_dem41]

23. WTF?!? No choice for Godzilla?!?!?

Well...I guess I'll just have to choose Global Warming then.

:)

[MercutioATC]

24. Neither.

The planet is just fine and will continue to be fine.

Our continued existance on the planet is in jeopardy, however.

Short of blowing it into little pieces, the planet is perfectly capable of, over time, repairing whatever we do to it. We, however, don't have that kind of longevity.

That's why I think this whole argument is so ridiculous. There seem to be two factions...those who think we're harming the planet and those who think we should do what we "need" to do to the planet to ensure the greatest short-term gain.

Both are wrong.


The REAL point (IMO) is that it behooves us to take care of the planet in a way that maximizes our continued survival. Poisoning the planet won't hurt it in the long term, but it'll sure hurt us.

[Dances with Cats]

25. I asume by "greatest threat....

to the planet" the Bush Family Evil Empire was excluded.

[freestyle]

26. The continuation and expansion of the American way of life is the threat.

Global warming is a major effect of this, but so is wholesale resource depletion and environmental destruction. Our way is tragically destructive and unsustainable and if China and India follow similar patterns then God help us all. The Earth does not need people, but we need the Earth. We would all do well to remember that and plan accordingly.

[Tesha]

27. Overpopulation is the root cause of....

Overpopulation is the root cause of most of the damage that humans
have done to this planet; it's hard to imagine that the planet
would be in nearly as bad shape with (say) 10 million humans on
it rather than the current ~6.5 billion.

That may or may not mean it's the current "worst problem", though.

Tesha

[MsAnthropy]

28. The Bush Family

[Rainscents]

29. You forgot to add... Bush!