Joined: January 24th 2008
Last Logged In: January 26th 2008 Gender: Male
Birthday: November 30th 1999
Location: Washington
Country: United States
Education: BA in Geography, Working on a MS in resource Managment
What's in a Value?
When we begin to talk about value, we need to define it, other posters have put forth some excellent ideas. But I wonder, is it possible to place a value on a life form based on it's importance to the over all system? For instance, if you remove say the Dodo bird from an ecosystem, how many other species will be affected? It turns out that this question is incredibly difficult to answer until the said species has been removed. No one expected the calvaria tree to become extinct after...
Posted by rpnolet on 01-24-2008 in Are humans the most valuable organisms on the planet?Let's get started.
First off I want to say that this discussion should avoid turning into a "look had bad NASA is", talk. That is not at all what I am trying to get at. NASA provides huge benefits, from land use mapping to rain forest studies. Their contributions to the scientific community is not in question here. At the heart of the issue is if NASA is still in the best position to achieve the most efficient success in the exploration of space or could private entities build better, safer cheaper,...
Posted by rpnolet on 01-24-2008 in Should space exploration in the U.S. be privatized?does not appear likely...
Given the historical context between North, Central and South America the prospects do not really appear conducive to such a union.
Posted by rpnolet on 01-24-2008 in Like the EU, should the North/South American countries form a union?Movies are improving in some circles
I agree with previous posters that Hollywood films are lack luster at best lately. I was just discussing this with my friend the other day and we agreed the only reason to see a major film release was the visuals. Don't get me wrong though I love a high budget big special effects film, but the plots are definitively lacking. The trend of adapting books to film has been an interesting turn of events though. Few can argue that the Lord of the Rings series had nothing to offer even to...
Posted by rpnolet on 01-25-2008 in What happened to good movies?Simple answer
I started to reply to this and I launched into a long diatribe on the constitution and the founding fathers, but then I realized that the bottom line is that our government should act in it's own best interests. The U.S. must protect the interests of it's citizens. This will inevitably raise the hackles of many, but let me take this logic to it's conclusion before you vilify me. To act in a nations best interest must by default take into account the future posterity of...
Posted by rpnolet on 01-25-2008 in United States InterventionIt is not the number it is the impact...
I am not worried about over population in the least, I am however very worried about over consumption. I encourage readers to take this simple quiz: http://www.earthday.net/footprint/ The earth has more then enough resources to maintain many times the current world population of humans, we just need to use those resources more efficiently.
Posted by rpnolet on 01-25-2008 in Should we start worrying about overpopulation?What about water?
what is really at stake here? if we look at a topographic map we see a major watershed that is important to both India and Pakistan. Do not be fooled, this is not a conflict over pride or religion, but water and the ability to grow enough food. One of the primary agricultural areas in Pakistan receives water that originates in Kashmir, as does northern parts of India While the history of the region is turbulent, and by legal agreement there in fact should have been a legal vote to...
Posted by rpnolet on 01-25-2008 in Who does Kashmir belong to?An interesting argument but is it over simplistic?
The video was very entertaining, but can something so complex be boiled down into four categories? I am not so sure. And if we use his argument and take the most extreme situations, we find that draconian legislation and over compensation may in fact lead to global famine and War as well as major environmental degradation, not just 'economic recession'. The other issue here is who should act, not just IF anyone should act. There are arguments that state that only those...
Posted by rpnolet on 01-25-2008 in A cost-benefit analysis of global warming.