I think many humans already have been victims in the 6th mass extinction back to around 1900 when the population started to go above what is sustainable which is about 1 billion people that could be maintained for thousands of years. So, once we went beyond 1 billion people it is possible to say that everyone who died before their time for any reason was a victim of the 6th mass extinction already. For example, for earth to maintain it would already have to lose about 6 billion people to be sustainable. So, this is something to think about too.
Have any of you studied Lifeboat theory when too many people survive a ship sinking to fit in the lifeboat. It is an interesting exercise that my wife went through with a group of people I think with Life Spring or EST 30 years ago. If you do this exercise, if you are civilized, it is really going to put everyone doing this through some changes.
The point is would you be one of the people who survives (for whatever the reason) or would you be one of the people that chooses to (die for the good of the group) or would you be one of those people who would gladly kill anyone to make sure you are one of the survivors on the lifeboat?
This is one version of it a little different than the one I discussed but it will do:
I did this exercise in a Sociology lesson and thought it would be interesting to see other people’s views.
This is what the person who took the test chose:2, 5, 6, 9 and 11. They're of little/no use.
A passenger liner is wrecked at sea and these 15 people find themselves together in a lifeboat. The lifeboat however can only support 9 people. If six are not eliminated everyone will die. If you were in command of the lifeboat, which would you choose to survive?
1. A doctor. GP. He is addicted to drugs and very nervous, aged 60.
2. A black Minister. Protestant. Age 27.
3. A Prostitute, no parents. She is an excellent nurse. Has already saved a drowning child. Age 37.
4. A male criminal. Charged with murder. He is the only one capable of navigating the boat. Age 37.
5. A man mentally disturbed, who carries important government secrets in his head, age 41.
6. A salesman. He sales automatic washing machines. Member of the local Rotary Club. Age 51.
7. A crippled boy, paralyzed since birth. He can not use his hands, or do anything for him-self, so must be fed by others. Age 8.
8. A married couple. He is a construction worker, who drinks a lot. Age 27. She is a housewife with two children at home. Age 23.
9. A Jewish restaurant owner married with three children at home. Age 40.
10. A teacher considered one of the best in Essex. Age 32.
11. A catholic Nun. Supervisor of a girl’s school. Age 46.
12. An unemployed man, formally a professor of literature. He has a great sense of humour, showed courage in the last war and was in a concentration camp for three years, age 53.
13. A married couple deeply in love, but yet no children. Both Irish. He is studying to be a pharmacist. Age 24. She is a housewife, helps with a playgroup. Age 21.
Discuss who you would save and why.
end quote from:
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=305573
I think you get the general Idea. You could also make up different people and scenarios to see how people would choose. Or you can be (if you are adults) the actual people in the lifeboat and watch the fireworks start. (or people being unnaturally polite) or both.
There have to be some rules though so people all don't have to get into therapy after this game.
Sixth mass extinction is here: US study
AFP via Yahoo! News20 hours agoThe world is embarking on its sixth mass extinction with animals disappearing about 100 times faster than they used to, scientists warned Friday, and humans could be among the first victims. Not since...Humans next to go in sixth mass extinction
The Manila Times18 hours agoEarth entering 6th extinction phase, many species including humans labelled ‘the walking dead’, study finds
The Times of India17 hours ago
Humans could be among the victims of sixth 'mass...
www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-20/sixth-mass-extinction...CachedThe world is embarking on its sixth mass extinction with animals disappearing about 100 times faster than they used to, scientists warn, and humans could be among the ...Humans could be among the victims of sixth 'mass extinction', scientists warn
PostedThe world is embarking on its sixth mass extinction with animals disappearing about 100 times faster than they used to, scientists warn, and humans could be among the first victims of the next extinction event.Not since the age of the dinosaurs ended 66 million years ago has the planet been losing species at this rapid a rate, a study led by experts at Stanford University, Princeton University and the University of California, Berkeley said.
The study "shows without any significant doubt that we are now entering the sixth great mass extinction event," co-author and Stanford University professor of biology Paul Ehrlich said.
And the study, which was published in the journal Science Advances on Friday and described by its authors as "conservative", said humans were likely to be among the species lost.
"If it is allowed to continue, life would take many millions of years to recover and our species itself would likely disappear early on," lead author Gerardo Ceballos of the Universidad Autonoma de Mexico said.
The analysis was based on documented extinctions of vertebrates, or animals with internal skeletons such as frogs, reptiles and tigers, from fossil records and other historical data.
The modern rate of species loss was compared to the "natural rates of species disappearance before human activity dominated".
It can be difficult to estimate this rate, also known as the background rate, since humans do not know exactly what happened throughout the course of Earth's 4.5 billion year history.
For the study, researchers used a past extinction rate that was twice as high as widely-used estimates.
If the past rate was two mammal extinctions per 10,000 species per 100 years then the "average rate of vertebrate species loss over the last century is up to 114 times higher than it would be without human activity, even when relying on the most conservative estimates of species extinction," the study said.
"We emphasise that our calculations very likely underestimate the severity of the extinction crisis because our aim was to place a realistic lower bound on humanity's impact on biodiversity."
The causes of species loss range from climate change to pollution to deforestation and more.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, about 41 per cent of all amphibian species and 26 per cent of all mammals are threatened with extinction.
"There are examples of species all over the world that are essentially the walking dead," Professor Ehrlich said.
The study called for "rapid, greatly intensified efforts to conserve already-threatened species, and to alleviate pressures on their populations - notably habitat loss, over-exploitation for economic gain and climate change".
AFP
end quote from:
Humans could be among the victims of sixth 'mass...
Also, an interesting though horrific thought is that ISIS has already made this choice and their choice is to literally kill everyone on Earth who isn't Sunni Muslim by one means or another.
And of course other religions are going to make a choice only to save their religion too.
Saturday, June 20, 2015
Humans could be among the victims of sixth 'mass extinction'
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