What would happen to earth if humans vanished?

[Bond]

Originally Posted by Dylflon

What a flippin eco-terrorist!

Haha.

Anyway, whether or not we're here to serve the Earth or our own selfish endeavors seems up for debate to me, but I do believe we, as humans, are here to help eachother. And perhaps in our efforts to help our own kind we must also help the environment, animals, etc. Really a win-win for everyone involved.

But the insinuation that animals would be better off without us seems ridiculous to me. Didn't these people watch Planet Earth? The majority of all animals (unless they're domesticated... by humans!) live a life of prolonged suffering. They spend their entire time finding food, reproducing and raising their young. Fortunately for us, we were able to break past that mold. Perhaps many humans are still living a life of suffering, but it seems to me the majority of us are not, and that has to be a good thing.

[Teuthida]

The majority of all animals (unless they're domesticated... by humans!) live a life of prolonged suffering. They spend their entire time finding food, reproducing and raising their young.

Er...but that's what life is: suffering.

Many people do exactly that as well. You do a modified version. Though you might not seek out food directly, you work for a paycheck to buy your food to survive, reproduce, and raise young.

Seems foolish to think without humans animals would have it rough. One less thing to worry about for most of them. The ultimate predator would be gone.

[Bond]

Originally Posted by Teuthida

Er...but that's what life is: suffering.

Hmm... I feel as though we are now entering into a moral/religious component of the question. I do not believe the life of a human must be a life of suffering. I do not consider my life to be a life of suffering. I think our ability to have food and shelter readily available to us through our own ingenuity has, in a sense, freed us from a life of suffering. But I suppose, the animal also does not know its life to be a life of suffering, as it knows no better.

[Teuthida]

You, as are most Americans and others in industrialized countries, are pretty lucky. There are far more people who have it bad than have it good. There are also humans who cause needless suffering for other humans...but yeah guess this is getting off topic.

Animals hunt to survive. Many people do the same. People who hunt for fun confuse me. Why do that when food is readily available? For the thrill? Then I have to wonder if animals get a thrill out of catching their prey. Surely they must. Adrenaline flowing, knowing that their stomach will be full.

[Professor S]

Originally Posted by Teuthida

You, as are most Americans and others in industrialized countries, are pretty lucky. There are far more people who have it bad than have it good. There are also humans who cause needless suffering for other humans...but yeah guess this is getting off topic.

I think our sense of "having it good" is kind of skewed by our affluence. In natural terms it doesn't mean that Africans have it bad because they don't have a plasma screen TV. Compared to animals, most humans do "have it good". Not because of the luxury of technological conveniences, oir even a normal healthy diet, but because of the biological luxuries of love, friendship, other emotions and recreational sex (we share that trait only with dolphins). These are luxuries that were brought on by convenience, really. Agriculture allowed us to develop in this way.

Compared to many animals, even the most oppressed Africans "have it good". You'll know when they don't anymore when multiple children are the norm with each pregnancy. Then humans will be reproducing just to keep numbers up.

By the way, I'm in no way defending the oppression of African people. Lets not take that assinine leap of logic, thank you.

Animals hunt to survive. Many people do the same. People who hunt for fun confuse me. Why do that when food is readily available? For the thrill? Then I have to wonder if animals get a thrill out of catching their prey. Surely they must. Adrenaline flowing, knowing that their stomach will be full.

I'm a former hunter, and I have to say that unless you've hunted, killed, gutted and ate what you hunted... you'll never understand. There is something very... natural about the whole process. If I could describe it, I would say it was the only time I truly understood my place in the world; the only time I took ownership of my nature and what it is we truly are.

We are, by nature, omnivores. We eat meat and are genetically predisposed to eating meat. If you don't agree with me, just look at your teeth, especially the pointy ones. Plus most experts think our appendix was originally used to help digest raw meat, and cooking made it obsolete.

Hunting helped me understand out place in nature. You're not buying prepackaged chicken or cow parts... you're killing the animal, gutting it, skinning it and butchering it before you every see it in a state reminiscent of a supermarket value pack. You are taking ownership of your carnivorous nature. Not only that, you better understand that these animals are not simply foodstuffs, but living breathing parts of the world, and by killing them for your meal, you gain appreciation for them and their role in it, as well as yours.

But once again, I am a former hunter. I have nothing against it, but like Ron White said:

"Its early, its cold, and I don't wanna fuckin' go."

But I feel better for having hunted.

[Teuthida]

The point is that you don't have to hunt to maintain your sustenance though. I can imagine how hunting made you see your place within nature. I myself am a vegetarian so far in that I would only eat meat if I killed the animal I was consuming.

Even with convenience people can suffer. The more luxuries one has, the less meaning their life might have. To hunt to survive gives meaning to the struggle one endures. People actually like working though they might constantly complain about it. They need to keep occupied. Goes along with the whole money doesn't bring happiness scenario. One needs more than instant gratification to enjoy their life. Could that be why you felt better for have hunted?

Would a caged animal who receives regular meals have a more fulfilling life than one in the wild who has to work for their food? You can't compare many animals to humans in the same way. Many don't have as deep emotions as humans, or any at all for that matter. And as mentioned even fewer engage in sex purely for pleasure. (I think bonobos do as well.)

Even before humans became "civilized" and were as natural as one could be, they still hunted animals to extinction. Mammoths anyone? The point is that in this day in age humans can fix the mistakes they've made during their existence and try to live on this planet with nature instead of further destroying it. The Earth is but one rock with some living things on it which will eventually disappear all together...but it would be nice if the beings on it, humans and others, could maintain it in a manner until that day comes.