Nothing will be here in a billion years. Setting aside the fact that no species lasts that long anyway, Earth only has a few hundred million years of habitability left, if “nature” has its way. The sun’s steadily brightening as it ages and tectonic processes are causing changes in Earth’s atmosphere that will eventually prevent photosynthesis from operating, at which point Earth become the domain of a few hardy strains of bacteria again.
That is, unless humans (or our very distant descendants) decide to do some meddling to keep Earth alive. There’s various ways to do that, from solar shields reducing the solar influx to moving Earth’s orbit farther out to stripping material from the Sun itself to moderate its output.
“Gaia” has no foresight. She will sorely miss humanity’s technological descendants once the planet gets in that situation, there’s nothing she can do about it herself.
There were things here a billion years ago. There will be things a billion years from now.
No, there really won’t be. The Sun is getting brighter as it ages, in just a few hundred million years Earth will either cook to death or every single molecule of carbon dioxide will have to be taken out of the atmosphere to counteract the effect. Either way photosynthesis ends at that point.
Unless something technological intervenes.
Also, a billion years ago the only “things” that were around were bacteria. The Cambrian explosion didn’t happen until 530 million years ago.
Humanity is a blip that will be forgotten.
Unless our descendants are still around, which they could easily be. Humanity doesn’t need Earth to survive long-term. The reverse is not true.
Yes, to continue this argument please read above, then once you reach this comment, once again read above. Continue to do so until the extinction of humanity.
I’m saying even humans with the ability to make pottery were able to survive in niches that our pests can’t even survive in, from the desert to the artic. We outcompete everything even without industrial technology and can survive on some pretty crazy diets. Invertebrate life could survive an extinction event that wipes us out, but I can’t imagine any vertebrate doing so (including the ocean ones).
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Nothing will be here in a billion years. Setting aside the fact that no species lasts that long anyway, Earth only has a few hundred million years of habitability left, if “nature” has its way. The sun’s steadily brightening as it ages and tectonic processes are causing changes in Earth’s atmosphere that will eventually prevent photosynthesis from operating, at which point Earth become the domain of a few hardy strains of bacteria again.
That is, unless humans (or our very distant descendants) decide to do some meddling to keep Earth alive. There’s various ways to do that, from solar shields reducing the solar influx to moving Earth’s orbit farther out to stripping material from the Sun itself to moderate its output.
“Gaia” has no foresight. She will sorely miss humanity’s technological descendants once the planet gets in that situation, there’s nothing she can do about it herself.
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No, there really won’t be. The Sun is getting brighter as it ages, in just a few hundred million years Earth will either cook to death or every single molecule of carbon dioxide will have to be taken out of the atmosphere to counteract the effect. Either way photosynthesis ends at that point.
Unless something technological intervenes.
Also, a billion years ago the only “things” that were around were bacteria. The Cambrian explosion didn’t happen until 530 million years ago.
Unless our descendants are still around, which they could easily be. Humanity doesn’t need Earth to survive long-term. The reverse is not true.
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Yes, that’s the original idea I made the comment to.
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Yes, to continue this argument please read above, then once you reach this comment, once again read above. Continue to do so until the extinction of humanity.
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I’m saying even humans with the ability to make pottery were able to survive in niches that our pests can’t even survive in, from the desert to the artic. We outcompete everything even without industrial technology and can survive on some pretty crazy diets. Invertebrate life could survive an extinction event that wipes us out, but I can’t imagine any vertebrate doing so (including the ocean ones).
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We were the one bipedal line out of 7 or more, that only almost died out. We are made to be more adaptable.
I don’t know about you, but I sure won’t be
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I’ll take your spot if you don’t want it.
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